CHAPTER 6 – THE MAN WHO WALKED INTO HIS OWN FUNERAL
The phone rang only once.
Edward Bennett answered immediately.
His hands trembled.
"...Michael?"
Silence.
Then a weak voice came through the speaker.
"Dad..."
Edward broke down.
For six years, he had prayed to hear that voice again.
"I'm alive."
Every person in the mansion froze.
Emily covered her mouth as tears streamed down her face.
"It... it can't be..."
The detectives quickly traced the call.
"It came from a private rehabilitation facility in Montana."
Richard frowned.
"A place that specializes in patients with memory loss."
Edward looked at Daniel.
"What did you do to my son?"
Daniel shook his head violently.
"I never wanted him dead!"
"I only wanted him gone!"
The room erupted.
"What do you mean?" a detective demanded.
Daniel collapsed into a chair.
"It wasn't my idea..."
Everyone stared at him.
"There was someone above me."
Someone...
Above Daniel?
Emily felt a chill crawl down her spine.
Daniel had been the mastermind.
Or so she thought.
He laughed bitterly.
"I was just following orders."
Richard narrowed his eyes.
"Whose orders?"
Daniel hesitated.
His lips quivered.
Finally...
He whispered one name.
"Victoria."
Emily's face turned white.
Victoria Morgan.
Her own mother.
"No..."
Richard slowly nodded.
"We've suspected her for months."
Emily felt the world shatter beneath her feet.
"My mother... hired you?"
Daniel couldn't even look at her.
"She said Michael would ruin the family's reputation."
"She promised me your inheritance..."
"...if I married you."
Emily staggered backward.
Every happy memory suddenly felt fake.
Her wedding.
Her honeymoon.
Every anniversary.
Every kiss.
Every smile.
It had all begun with a business deal.
Then one of the detectives received an urgent message through his radio.
"Sir!"
"We have a problem."
"What happened?"
"The rehabilitation center in Montana..."
The officer's face lost all color.
"It just exploded."
Emily screamed.
"MICHAEL!"
The detective looked at everyone in the room before saying the words no one was prepared to hear.
"The building was burned to the ground..."
"...but one patient disappeared just minutes before the explosion."
At that exact moment...
The mansion's front door slowly opened.
A tall man stood in the pouring rain.
His clothes were torn.
His face was scarred.
His eyes met Emily's.
He smiled faintly.
"Emily..."
Her knees gave out.
May you like
Because standing in front of her...
Was the man she had buried six years ago.
