Chapter 1 - The Shattered Wood
“YOU’RE ALL INSANE! SHE’S STILL ALIVE!”
Emma’s voice tore through the solemn, heavy air of the funeral hall, a raw scream of pure desperation that shattered the mournful silence. Her delicate face was pale, tears cutting clear, glistening tracks down her cheeks through her loose chestnut hair. Both of her small hands held the thick wooden handle of an oversized sledgehammer, raised high above her head beside the white wooden coffin.
Before any of the black-clad mourners could move, she brought the heavy steel head down with all the strength in her body.
LOUD CRACK!
The impact echoed like a gunshot off the cold marble floor. A long, splintered fracture split violently across the pristine wooden lid of the coffin. Ivory floral arrangements surrounding the raised platform toppled, white petals scattering over the glossy stone. Guests recoiled in absolute horror, women gasping and covering their mouths while men stumbled backward in disbelief.
“Emma, stop it!” a commanding, furious voice roared from the back aisle.
Ethan, her thirty-five-year-old brother, charged forward like a predator. Dressed in an immaculate tailored black funeral suit, his square jaw locked in fury and his striking blue eyes burning with rage. He reached Emma in two long strides, grabbing the wooden shaft of the sledgehammer and forcefully wrenching it from her trembling hands.
“YOU’RE THE ONE WHO’S INSANE!” Ethan barked, shoving the heavy handle toward Emma’s side to push her away from the casket.
Emma lost her footing on the smooth marble, crying out as she tumbled backward directly into the narrow fruit-offering table. The table collapsed beneath her weight with a loud crash, sending apples, oranges, and silver trays scattering across the floor.
Emma sat among the fallen fruit and splintered wood, her modest black mourning dress rumpled, sobbing helplessly as she looked up at her brother. Ethan stood towering over her, his broad chest heaving as he gripped the sledgehammer, his handsome face twisted in anger.
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Then, the world stopped.
Behind Ethan, from deep inside the cracked wooden coffin, came a heavy, metallic THUD.
