CHAPTER 9 â The Funeral That Became a Crime Scene
Three days later...
Emily Brooks was buried again.
Not because her body had moved.
Because the first investigation had been officially reopened.
Police officers.
Federal agents.
Medical examiners.
Everyone gathered at the cemetery.
Lily held Olivia's hand tightly.
She didn't fully understand why so many strangers surrounded her mother's grave.
She only knew everyone looked afraid.
The chief medical examiner approached Olivia.
"We received authorization."
"We're reopening the case."
Margaret quietly sobbed.
For years...
Everyone believed Emily had died in a tragic single-car accident.
Now...
Nobody was certain.
As workers carefully prepared the grave...
A black luxury SUV suddenly stopped beside the cemetery.
Evelyn Carter stepped out wearing sunglasses.
She walked toward the grave as though she still controlled the world.
"You should stop this."
Olivia didn't move.
"No."
Evelyn looked at Lily.
"This will only traumatize the child."
Before Olivia could answer...
Lily looked directly at Evelyn.
"My mommy wasn't scared of you."
Evelyn's expression cracked for half a second.
The little girl reached into her backpack.
"I found something after Mommy died."
She handed Olivia a tiny silver music box.
"It was hidden under her bed."
Olivia carefully opened it.
Inside...
Wasn't jewelry.
Wasn't money.
It was a microSD memory card taped beneath the velvet lining.
The entire cemetery seemed to stop breathing.
Richard stared at the tiny card.
His voice barely escaped.
"Oh... no."
Olivia looked at him.
"You know what this is?"
Richard nodded slowly.
"If Emily recorded what happened..."
"...then everyone responsible is finished."
Just then, an FBI technician inserted the memory card into a secure laptop.
The screen flickered to life.
A shaky video appeared.
Emily's frightened face filled the display.
Behind her...
A woman's voice shouted,
"Take the phone away from her!"
The video suddenly cut to black.
The technician's eyes widened.
"There are another thirty-seven video files."
Olivia slowly looked toward Evelyn.
The older woman's face had turned completely white.
For the first time since this nightmare began...
The woman who had terrified everyone...
Looked terrified herself.
And the cemetery realized that Emily Brooks had left behind something far more powerful than an inheritance.
May you like
She had left behind a witness.
Her own voice.
