CHAPTER 2 — SHE WAS NEVER DEAD
Richard Carter couldn't breathe.
For a terrifying second, his mind refused to accept what his eyes were seeing.
Emily's right hand twitched.
Just once.
Then again.
Her fingertips, shredded to the bone, slowly curled against the bloodstained satin lining of the coffin.
"Emily..."
His voice broke into a whisper.
"Oh my God... Emily!"
The cemetery erupted into chaos.
People screamed and stumbled backward. Several mourners dropped their umbrellas and ran. The priest crossed himself repeatedly, convinced he had witnessed a miracle.
Sarah Bennett reacted first.
"Move!"
She pushed everyone away and climbed into the muddy grave beside Richard.
"She's still alive!"
Sarah pressed two trembling fingers against Emily's neck.
Nothing.
Then...
A faint flutter.
So weak it was almost impossible to detect.
"There!" Sarah shouted. "I have a pulse!"
Richard grabbed his daughter's icy hand.
"Emily! Daddy's here! Stay with me!"
Sarah tilted Emily's head, clearing her airway before beginning rescue breaths. Rainwater poured into the open coffin, mixing with the blood on Emily's fingers.
"Call an ambulance!" someone yelled.
"No!" Sarah snapped.
The crowd stared at her.
"They'll take her back to the same hospital."
Silence.
Richard slowly looked up.
"What did you say?"
Sarah's face was pale.
"If the people who did this realize she's alive..."
"They'll finish the job."
Those words chilled everyone more than the storm ever could.
Richard's voice hardened.
"Bring my car."
His head of security nodded immediately.
Within seconds, armed bodyguards surrounded the coffin, forcing everyone—including reporters and police officers—to stay back.
Richard had stopped trusting everyone.
Including the authorities.
As Emily was carefully lifted from the coffin, Sarah noticed something strange.
"There..."
She gently rolled up Emily's left sleeve.
Tiny bruises covered the inside of her arm.
Not one.
Not two.
At least twelve.
Richard frowned.
"What are those?"
Sarah swallowed.
"Injection marks."
"They've been giving her something repeatedly."
Richard stared in disbelief.
"But she was unconscious..."
Sarah looked at him.
"Exactly."
Someone had continued injecting Emily after she was declared dead.
A cold realization settled over Richard.
This wasn't a mistake.
It was planned.
...
Across the cemetery, Victoria stood perfectly still beneath the rain.
Everyone else was focused on Emily.
No one noticed Victoria slowly slipping one hand into her coat pocket.
She pulled out her phone.
One quick text.
She's alive.
She pressed Send.
Three seconds later...
The phone vibrated.
A reply.
Then don't let her leave the cemetery.
Victoria's breathing became uneven.
She looked toward Emily.
Toward Richard.
Then toward the road leading out of the cemetery.
Someone was already coming.
...
Sarah helped place Emily into the back seat of Richard's armored SUV.
"I know a private emergency clinic," she said.
"They don't report to St. Matthew."
Richard nodded.
"We're going."
As the doors slammed shut, a deep engine roared somewhere beyond the cemetery gates.
A black SUV accelerated through the rain.
Fast.
Far too fast.
"Sir!" one bodyguard shouted.
The vehicle wasn't slowing down.
It crashed through the cemetery entrance, sending iron gates flying apart.
People screamed.
The black SUV sped directly toward Richard's convoy.
"What the hell—"
BOOM!
It rammed the lead security vehicle head-on.
Metal twisted violently.
Airbags exploded.
The impact blocked the only exit from the cemetery.
Four masked men jumped out.
Each carried compact handguns fitted with suppressors.
"This is an assassination," Sarah whispered.
Richard's eyes widened.
"They're here for Emily."
The first gunman fired.
Thud!
A bodyguard collapsed.
The cemetery became a battlefield.
Bullets struck marble headstones, throwing stone fragments into the air.
People scattered in every direction.
Richard threw himself over Emily's unconscious body.
"Protect her!"
The remaining guards returned fire from behind the vehicles.
Sarah reached for the IV bag inside the emergency kit she'd brought from the hospital.
She froze.
The bag was empty.
Someone had replaced it.
Instead of saline...
A clear syringe lay inside.
No label.
No markings.
Just one handwritten note.
Finish it.
Sarah felt sick.
"They planned this..."
"They knew we'd save her."
Suddenly—
A gunshot shattered the rear window.
Glass exploded across the back seat.
One of the masked attackers sprinted straight toward Emily.
He ignored everyone else.
He wanted only one target.
Sarah grabbed the metal oxygen cylinder and swung it with all her strength.
CRACK!
The cylinder smashed into the attacker's shoulder.
He stumbled sideways.
Richard tackled him into the mud.
The masked man fought like someone with military training.
He drove an elbow into Richard's ribs before reaching for a knife hidden inside his sleeve.
The blade flashed.
Sarah screamed.
"Richard!"
Before the knife could fall—
A deafening gunshot echoed across the cemetery.
The attacker collapsed.
A single bullet hole appeared in the center of his forehead.
Everyone turned.
Victoria stood twenty feet away.
Her arm was extended.
Smoke drifted from the pistol in her shaking hand.
The cemetery fell silent.
Richard stared at her.
"You..."
Victoria lowered the weapon slowly.
Her face was expressionless.
"He was going to kill you."
Richard couldn't answer.
For one impossible moment...
The woman Sarah had accused of attempted murder...
Had just saved his life.
Sarah looked from the dead gunman...
to Victoria...
and realized something terrifying.
Either Victoria had changed sides...
Or someone even more dangerous had just entered the game.
Just then, the dead attacker's phone rang.
Sarah picked it up.
The screen displayed only two words.
Unknown Director.
The call disconnected before anyone could answer.
On the lock screen, however, a final message remained visible.
May you like
Mission failed. Activate Phase Two.
END OF CHAPTER 2
