The man stopped breathing.

Everyone in the chapel looked at him.

The maid immediately moved between him and the coffin.

“You heard her.”

He shook his head.

“She’s confused.”

From inside came Emily’s weak voice.

“No.”

The maid tore away the remaining broken wood.

Emily lay inside, barely conscious, tears running into her hair.

The man stepped forward.

“Emily, sweetheart—”

She recoiled.

“Don’t touch me.”

His face went pale.

The mourners began whispering.

Emily reached one trembling hand toward the maid.

“You found it?”

The maid nodded.

Then pulled a small vial from her apron.

The man’s expression changed instantly.

Emily whispered,

“He put it in my tea.”

Silence.

Her husband backed away.

“That’s insane.”

The maid looked at him.

“I found six more bottles in your study.”

Emily struggled to sit up.

“He needed everyone to believe I died before tomorrow.”

One of the lawyers in the crowd frowned.

“Why tomorrow?”

Emily looked directly at her husband.

“Because tomorrow I was changing my will.”

His face emptied.

The room erupted in shocked murmurs.

Emily gripped the edge of the coffin.

Then she said the sentence that finished him.

“I wasn’t buried because I died.”

Her eyes filled with rage.

“I was buried because I finally found out who had been stealing from my children.”