CHAPTER 3: THE SECRET BENEATH THE LID
CHAPTER 3: THE SECRET BENEATH THE LID
The sound of the coffin unlocking echoed through the hall.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Every person watched.
Nobody breathed.
Victoria stood frozen.
Her expensive black dress suddenly looked like a costume.
A disguise.
The funeral director carefully lifted the lid.
And everyone saw Daniel Whitmore.
He looked peaceful.
Almost asleep.
A few mourners began crying.
Ethan stepped closer.
His face broke.
For a moment, he wasn’t a man searching for answers.
He was just a son seeing his father one last time.
“Dad…”
His voice barely escaped.
Then he noticed something.
A small mark beneath Daniel’s collar.
A mark that shouldn’t have been there.
Ethan leaned closer.
The doctor who had signed the death certificate immediately stepped forward.
“Don’t touch him.”
Everyone looked at him.
Ethan turned.
“Why?”
The doctor hesitated.
That hesitation said everything.
“You already knew,” Ethan whispered.
The doctor looked away.
Victoria closed her eyes.
The truth was beginning to surface.
Ethan carefully moved the collar aside.
Hidden beneath the fabric was a tiny electronic device.
A tracking chip.
The room erupted.
“What is that?”
“Why would he have that?”
Ethan removed it carefully.
Then he noticed something else.
A folded piece of paper hidden beneath his father’s hand.
His fingers trembled as he opened it.
Only one sentence was written.
“Trust no one who cries the loudest.”
Ethan slowly looked around.
His eyes stopped on Victoria.
Because during the entire funeral…
She had cried perfectly.
At the perfect moments.
With perfect control.
But now…
There were no tears.
Only fear.
Victoria finally spoke.
“You don’t understand what happened.”
Ethan stared at her.
“Then explain.”
She remained silent.
And that silence was the answer.
But before anyone could react…
The lights suddenly went out.
The funeral hall disappeared into darkness.
A scream came from the crowd.
May you like
And when the emergency lights returned…
The evidence was gone.
