Chapter 7: The Woman Everyone Buried
Chapter 7: The Woman Everyone Buried
The surveillance room fell into absolute silence.
No one spoke.
No one even seemed to breathe.
The grainy security footage continued to play on the monitor, the timestamp glowing in the corner like an accusation.
Three days after Sophia Ashford's reported death.
Grant stared at the screen, his mind refusing to accept what his eyes clearly saw.
"No..."
His voice was barely a whisper.
"That's impossible."
Detective Carla Monroe stepped closer to the monitor.
"Pause it."
The technician froze the frame.
Sophia stood beneath the umbrella, her face partially turned toward Michael Carter. The image quality was poor, but the distinctive emerald pendant around her neck left little room for doubt.
Grant felt his knees weaken.
"I buried my wife."
Monroe looked at him carefully.
"Did you identify the body yourself?"
Grant hesitated.
"No."
"The casket was sealed."
The room turned toward him.
"My father-in-law insisted the injuries from the fall were too severe."
He swallowed hard.
"They told me I should remember her as she was."
Emma's heart sank.
No one had ever questioned it.
Not the funeral director.
Not the hospital.
Not even Grant.
He had been drowning in grief.
Someone had taken advantage of that grief.
Detective Monroe immediately turned to Harris.
"I need every record from the hospital."
"Autopsy."
"Death certificate."
"Funeral authorization."
"Cremation records."
"Everything."
Harris nodded.
"I'm on it."
If Sophia had truly been alive three days later...
Then who had been buried in her place?
Across the mansion, Officer Daniels returned to the study where Renata remained under guard.
She sat perfectly still, staring at the rain sliding down the window.
He placed a printed image from the surveillance footage on the table.
Without a word.
Renata looked down.
For the first time all day...
Her composure cracked.
Only slightly.
But enough.
Daniels noticed the tiny tremor in her hand.
"You weren't expecting that footage."
Renata slowly looked back up.
"You have no idea what you're uncovering."
"Then explain it."
She smiled sadly.
"If I do..."
"...none of you will survive it."
Daniels frowned.
"Is that a threat?"
"No."
"It is a warning."
Meanwhile...
Emma tucked Lily into bed inside the guest suite farthest from the investigation.
The child hadn't slept properly in years.
Every creak of the mansion made her flinch.
Emma sat beside her.
"You should rest."
Lily shook her head.
"I keep remembering things."
Emma remained quiet.
Sometimes memories returned naturally after trauma.
Pushing too hard could make them disappear again.
After several minutes, Lily whispered,
"I saw Mommy after the funeral."
Emma's eyes widened.
"What?"
"I thought I dreamed it."
"When?"
"The night I stopped talking."
Emma's heartbeat quickened.
"What happened?"
Lily stared at the ceiling.
"I woke up."
"There was someone outside my bedroom window."
Emma leaned closer.
"Who?"
"Mommy."
The room became still.
Lily continued.
"She smiled."
"She touched the glass."
"Then somebody pulled her away."
Emma felt chills run through her body.
"Did you see who?"
Lily closed her eyes tightly.
"No."
"But Mommy looked scared."
Downstairs...
Grant stood alone in Sophia's old bedroom.
It had remained untouched for two years.
Every dress.
Every perfume bottle.
Every photograph.
Exactly where she had left them.
He slowly opened her jewelry box.
Most pieces were still inside.
Except one.
The emerald pendant.
The same pendant visible in the security footage.
Grant stared at the empty velvet slot.
His breathing became uneven.
If the pendant had never been recovered...
Then the woman in the video wasn't just someone who looked like Sophia.
It was Sophia.
He reached for the framed wedding photograph on the dresser.
Sophia smiled back at him.
Alive.
Happy.
Hopeful.
A tear rolled down his cheek.
"If you're alive..."
"...where are you?"
Hours later...
Detective Monroe received an urgent call from the state crime laboratory.
She answered immediately.
"This is Monroe."
The forensic analyst spoke without hesitation.
"We have preliminary DNA results from the body in the rose garden."
Monroe grabbed a pen.
"Go ahead."
"The remains belong to a male."
She nodded.
"As expected."
The analyst continued.
"We also identified traces of another person's blood preserved on the blanket."
Monroe stopped writing.
"Another person's?"
"Yes."
"Female."
She frowned.
"Can you identify her?"
A pause.
Then came the answer that turned the entire investigation upside down.
"We matched it to DNA collected from Sophia Ashford's hairbrush."
Monroe's eyes widened.
Grant looked at her anxiously.
"What is it?"
She lowered the phone slowly.
Her face had gone pale.
"The man buried in your garden..."
"...died while bleeding beside Sophia."
Grant felt the room spin.
One question echoed through everyone's mind.
If Sophia's blood was at the burial site...
Had she been murdered there?
Or...
May you like
Had she buried the body herself before disappearing?
End of Chapter 7
