Chapter 3 - The Ghost in the MorgueEmily stared at the news report in absolute shock. A body had been pulled from the water just an hour ago. The police had already confirmed the identity as Emily Vance based on a customized diamond ring left on the corpse's hand.
“They bought a body from the black market human trafficking ring,” Emily realized, her voice dropping to a terrifying whisper. “They put my clothes and my ring on a dead girl to close the case fast without an autopsy.”
“The county coroner, Dr. Reeves, is in Daniel’s pocket,” Marcus explained, pacing around the safehouse room. “He signed off on the cause of death as accidental drowning within twenty minutes of the body hitting the table. No proper identification. No dental checks. They’re rushing the cremation for tomorrow morning.”
“Once that body is cremated, I legally cease to exist,” Emily said, her mind spinning fast. “If I try to claim I’m alive after the cremation, they’ll call me a fraud, an impostor trying to claim a dead heiress’s money. I’ll be locked in an asylum or quietly killed.”
“So what’s the plan?” Marcus asked, leaning over the table.
“We steal the body back,” Emily said, looking Marcus dead in the eye. “Before the flames touch it.”
That night at 2:00 AM, heavy rain lashed against the windows of the City Public Morgue. Inside, Dr. Reeves was finishing a glass of whiskey at his desk when the lights in the basement suddenly flickered and died. Emergency red lights kicked in, casting long, crimson shadows across the steel walls.
Footsteps echoed softly down the corridor.
“Who’s there? Security?” Dr. Reeves called out, reaching for his drawer.
The heavy steel door of the autopsy room slammed shut and locked automatically. From the shadows behind the stainless-steel morgue tables, a figure stepped out. She was wearing a rain-soaked dress, her pale skin dripping water onto the tile floor.
Dr. Reeves gasped, dropping his glass. It shattered into a hundred pieces on the floor. His eyes bulged out of his head as he backed away, slamming his hip against his desk.
“E-Emily?” he stammered, his face draining of all color. “No... no, you’re... you’re in drawer four! I signed the paper!”
“You signed my death warrant, Doctor,” Emily whispered, stepping closer, her voice echoing in the metallic room like a specter from the deep.
Before the doctor could scream, Marcus stepped out from behind the door, plunging a sedative needle directly into the doctor’s neck. Dr. Reeves crumpled to the floor, unconscious.
Emily walked up to drawer four, pulled it open, and unzipped the body bag. Looking down at the poor unknown girl who had been used as her body double, Emily felt a deep, profound sorrow—and an unstoppable fury.
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“We’re taking her,” Emily said quietly. “And we’re leaving something behind for Daniel.”
Chapter Hook: The next morning, Daniel and Michael arrived at the crematorium in crisp black suits, acting heartbroken for the gathered reporters. But when the morgue attendant opened the steel coffin for the final viewing before the fire... the body was gone. In its place was a wet, framed photograph of Daniel and Michael pushing Emily off the yacht, with words written in red paint across the glass: “DROWNING IS A SLOW PROCESS, BROTHERS.”
