CHAPTER 1 — THE COFFIN THAT REFUSED TO MOVE
Rain drifted over the cemetery like a gray curtain.
No one spoke louder than a whisper.
Twenty-two-year-old Emily Carter had been buried far too soon.
She had been the brightest graduate in her university class, known for helping strangers, volunteering at children's hospitals, and never walking away from someone in need.
Then, three days earlier...
She died.
The official report called it a tragic car accident.
The funeral was arranged in less than forty-eight hours.
Closed casket.
No public viewing.
No questions.
Emily's wealthy fiancé, Richard Vaughn, insisted she had suffered severe facial injuries and wanted everyone to remember her smile instead.
Her mother, Margaret Carter, wanted to argue.
But grief had crushed her strength.
Now the funeral was nearly over.
Eight pallbearers stepped forward.
"Ready?"
They nodded.
"One... two... three!"
Nothing.
The coffin didn't move.
The men stared at each other.
Again.
"One... two... three!"
Their muscles tightened.
Faces turned red.
Still nothing.
One man stumbled backward.
"What is this made of?"
Another shook his head.
"I've carried military coffins."
"I've buried men twice this girl's size."
"I've never felt anything this heavy."
Whispers spread through the crowd.
"Did they use concrete?"
"Is someone inside?"
"This isn't normal..."
Even the funeral director looked frightened.
He quietly checked the paperwork.
Everything appeared correct.
Solid oak coffin.
Standard construction.
Expected weight...
Less than two hundred pounds.
Yet it felt like nearly a thousand.
Margaret slowly stepped toward the grave.
She stared at the coffin without blinking.
Something inside her suddenly awakened.
The same instinct that had told her something was terribly wrong ever since Richard rushed the funeral.
She remembered the bruises on Emily's wrists the last time they met.
Richard had claimed she had fallen down the stairs.
Emily had smiled...
But her eyes had begged for help.
Margaret looked directly at the funeral workers.
"Open it."
The cemetery fell silent.
One worker hesitated.
"Mrs. Carter... perhaps this isn't the right—"
"I said..."
Her voice became ice.
"OPEN IT."
The screws came loose one by one.
The lid slowly lifted.
Every person leaned forward.
Then...
Someone screamed.
Because lying beside Emily's body...
Wrapped tightly in black plastic...
May you like
Was another human body.
And it was still warm.
