CHAPTER 1 — THE SOUND FROM THE DEAD
The axe crashed into the polished white coffin with a force so violent that the entire funeral chapel erupted into terrified screams.
Wood splintered across the marble floor.
Flowers toppled.
Candles shattered.
Guests dressed in elegant black stumbled backward in panic while security guards rushed toward the woman responsible.
She wasn't a criminal.
She wasn't a grieving relative.
She was simply the mansion's maid.
Emma.
Still wearing her bright orange cleaning uniform.
Her hands trembled as she ripped the axe from the cracked coffin lid.
Tears streamed down her face.
"She's insane!" someone yelled.
"Stop her!"
But Emma screamed louder.
"Don't touch me!"
She dropped to her knees and clawed away pieces of broken wood with bleeding fingers.
Then...
She suddenly froze.
Her ear pressed against the coffin.
Everything became silent.
Even the crying stopped.
Then...
Tap.
A tiny knock echoed from inside.
Emma slowly looked around the room.
"Did you hear that?"
Nobody answered.
Another knock.
This one louder.
The husband, Richard, suddenly turned completely pale.
His expensive black suit couldn't hide the beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.
Emma's voice barely escaped her lips.
"She's still alive..."
For several seconds...
Nobody moved.
Then chaos exploded.
The funeral director ordered everyone away from the coffin.
Some guests insisted Emma had lost her mind.
Others demanded they open it immediately.
Richard suddenly stepped forward.
"No!"
His voice echoed through the chapel.
"She's dead!"
The room became silent again.
Everyone turned toward him.
It was a strange thing to say.
Not...
"Let's check."
Not...
"Call an ambulance."
Instead...
"She's dead."
Emma stared directly into his eyes.
"Then why are you afraid to open it?"
Richard hesitated.
Just for one second.
But Emma noticed.
And so did everyone else.
The funeral workers finally pried open the shattered lid.
Every guest held their breath.
Inside...
Lay Victoria.
The wealthy owner of the Ashcroft family fortune.
Her skin was pale.
Her hands folded peacefully.
She looked perfectly dead.
Several people sighed with relief.
Emma closed her eyes.
"No..."
She whispered.
Then she reached toward Victoria's hand.
It felt warm.
Very warm.
Emma grabbed the woman's wrist.
Nothing.
Then...
A faint pulse.
Almost impossible to detect.
Emma screamed.
"CALL AN AMBULANCE!"
For the first time...
Richard took one step backward instead of forward.
Nobody noticed...
Except Emma.
And in that single frightened step...
She realized something horrifying.
Richard hadn't been mourning.
May you like
He had been waiting.
END OF CHAPTER 1
