Chapter 2
William didn't move a muscle to let the security guards touch the breathless maid.
Instead, he raised a single hand, stopping the security team in their tracks with an authoritative glare that could freeze fire.
"Touch her, and you will never work in the state of Massachusetts again," William warned, his voice dropping into a chilling, dangerous frequency.
Clara reached out, her fingers digging into the polished wood of the white coffin where the shovel had split the mahogany veneer.
"Listen to the wood, sir," Clara urged softly, her breath fogging in the chilly cathedral air.
William knelt down on the marble steps, placing his ear directly against the hairline crack in the coffin lid.
Beneath the heavy scent of white lilies and fresh varnish, a microscopic, rhythmic tapping sounded from inside the wooden box.
It was a faint, desperate scratching sound—the sound of human fingernails scraping against silk lining.
William’s heart hammered violently against his ribs as a wave of sheer horror washed over his entire body.
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"My God," William gasped, his eyes widening in complete, overwhelming panic.
"My son is alive!"
