CHAPTER 3: THE FAKE TEARS BESIDE THE HOSPITAL BED
Ethan slowly turned his head.
Sitting in the corner of the hospital room was his Aunt Margaret.
Her black dress was perfect.
Her face was wet with tears.
And her hand was resting on Eleanor's blanket like she was the most heartbroken sister in the world.
But Eleanor's eyes filled with terror the moment she saw her.
"Her..." Eleanor whispered.
Ethan's stomach dropped.
Margaret stood quickly.
"Eleanor, sweetheart, you're confused. You almost died."
But Eleanor shook her head.
"You told the nurse... make sure I never wake up."
The room went silent.
Margaret's face changed for one second.
Just one.
The tears vanished.
Then she smiled.
"Poor Eleanor. The medicine is making her hallucinate."
But Ethan had already seen enough.
He stepped between his mother and Margaret.
"Get out."
Margaret's voice became cold.
"You have no idea what you're doing, Ethan."
At that exact moment, two police officers entered the room.
Behind them was the hospital investigator holding a folder.
They had found the missing footage.
It showed Margaret handing an envelope full of cash to the nurse.
It showed the doctor signing the death certificate without a proper examination.
And worst of all...
It showed Margaret standing outside Eleanor's room, whispering:
"Once she's buried, the land is mine."
Margaret tried to run.
But the officers grabbed her before she reached the door.
As they dragged her away, she screamed at Ethan:
"That fortune should have been mine!"
Eleanor began to cry.
Not from fear anymore.
From heartbreak.
Weeks later, she recovered enough to return home.
But Ethan made one final discovery.
Inside his mother's old jewelry box was a letter she had written before the funeral.
It said:
"If anything happens to me, don't trust Margaret."
Ethan held the letter with trembling hands.
Because his mother had known.
She had been preparing to expose the truth.
But the biggest shock came at Margaret's trial.
The nurse confessed everything.
Margaret hadn't acted alone.
There was one more person involved.
Someone Ethan trusted completely.
May you like
Someone who had stood beside him at the funeral...
And begged him not to open the coffin.
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