Chapter 5: The Woman Who Was Supposed To Die
The invitation slipped from Emily's fingers.
It landed on the cold morgue floor.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The words on the paper seemed impossible to understand.
Amina Rahman.
Second wedding.
This time, she will not survive.
Emily stared at the name.
The same woman whose funeral should have been happening.
The same woman whose body everyone believed was lying inside this morgue.
But now someone was promising she would die.
Again.
"He's playing with us."
Adam's voice was filled with anger.
He picked up the invitation and crushed it in his fist.
"He wants us scared."
Marcus Hale shook his head.
"No."
Everyone looked at him.
"He wants us confused."
The former medical examiner studied the invitation carefully.
"Fear makes people run. Confusion makes people make mistakes."
Emily looked at him.
"You mean this entire thing is a plan?"
Marcus nodded.
"Daniel Voss doesn't react to problems."
He looked at the dead cameras.
"He creates them."
A loud pounding came from the morgue door.
Everyone froze.
"Open the door!"
A man's voice shouted.
"Hospital security!"
Emily looked at Adam.
"Are they real?"
Nobody answered.
Because nobody knew anymore.
The hospital she had trusted for years suddenly felt like a maze filled with hidden doors.
Marcus moved toward the back exit.
"We leave now."
Emily looked at Sara.
"She can't walk."
"I know."
Adam immediately lifted Sara from the table.
Emily noticed something strange.
Despite everything happening...
Adam was gentle.
Careful.
Not like someone trying to hide a crime.
Like someone trying to save a person.
The pounding grew louder.
"We have ten seconds."
Marcus opened the emergency passage behind a storage cabinet.
Emily stopped.
"This exists?"
Marcus gave a tired smile.
"You'd be surprised what exists beneath old hospitals."
The group disappeared into the narrow tunnel.
The door behind them exploded open seconds later.
Heavy footsteps entered the morgue.
A man wearing a police uniform looked around.
He smiled.
Too calmly.
"Miss Carter escaped."
Another officer checked the examination table.
"The subject is gone too."
The first officer removed his police hat.
Underneath was a small communication device.
He pressed it.
"Phase one failed."
A voice answered.
Daniel.
"Did Emily see the invitation?"
"Yes."
A pause.
"Good."
The officer looked at the empty room.
"What now?"
Daniel's voice remained calm.
"Now she finds Amina."
"And then?"
A long silence.
"Then she understands why Amina wanted to disappear."
The underground tunnel smelled of rust and old concrete.
Emily followed Marcus through darkness.
Her mind was racing.
Nothing made sense.
But one thing kept bothering her.
Daniel knew her.
Not just her name.
Her habits.
Her work.
Her personality.
"You said Amina chose me."
Marcus looked back.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because you are the only person in the hospital who still believes every death has a truth."
Emily frowned.
"That's not an answer."
Marcus stopped walking.
"You want the real answer?"
"Yes."
He looked at her.
"Amina knew you eight years ago."
Emily froze.
"What?"
"You met her before."
Emily shook her head.
"No. I would remember."
Marcus continued walking.
"You were an intern."
Emily tried to remember.
Eight years.
A hospital full of patients.
Hundreds of faces.
Then suddenly...
A memory appeared.
A young girl.
Sixteen years old.
Crying in an emergency room.
A woman had been brought in after an accident.
The girl kept saying:
"Nobody believes me."
Emily had held her hand.
Told her everything would be okay.
That girl...
Emily stopped walking.
"No."
Marcus looked back.
"You remember."
"Amina?"
He nodded.
Emily felt dizzy.
"But she was just a teenager."
"Yes."
"What happened?"
Marcus's face became serious.
"Her mother died that night."
Emily's stomach tightened.
"Accident?"
Marcus didn't answer.
That was enough.
"No..."
Emily whispered.
"It wasn't an accident."
"No."
The tunnel became silent.
"Daniel Voss killed her."
Adam stopped.
"Then why marry Amina?"
Marcus looked at him.
"Because Daniel doesn't destroy people immediately."
He continued:
"He studies them."
Emily felt sick.
"He waited eight years?"
Marcus nodded.
"He waited until Amina inherited her family's company."
A horrifying realization formed.
"This was never about love."
"No."
Marcus looked at the group.
"It was about control."
After thirty minutes, they reached an abandoned subway station beneath the city.
The exit door opened into darkness.
Emily stepped outside.
Cold night air hit her face.
For the first time in hours, she felt like she could breathe.
Then her phone rang.
Everyone looked at it.
Unknown number.
Emily answered.
No one spoke.
Only silence.
Then a woman's voice.
Weak.
Terrified.
"Emily..."
Her blood froze.
She knew that voice.
"Amina?"
Adam immediately grabbed the phone.
"Amina! Where are you?"
But the voice continued.
"Don't trust my brother."
Everyone became still.
Emily looked at Adam.
The voice whispered:
"He's not trying to save me."
A pause.
"He's trying to finish what Daniel started."
Then the call ended.
Nobody spoke.
Adam looked shocked.
"That's impossible."
Emily stared at him.
"Is it?"
Before Adam could answer...
A message appeared on Emily's phone.
A photo.
Sent from the same number.
Emily opened it.
And her heart stopped.
The image showed Amina.
Alive.
Standing inside a wedding dress.
But behind her...
Was Adam.
Holding a knife.
Emily slowly looked up.
Adam's face had gone pale.
Because he knew something.
Something terrible.
May you like
The photo was real.
End of Chapter 5
