Chapter 2 - The Police and the PanicTen minutes later, Detective Raymond Shaw of the Chicago Police Department walked into the waiting room. He was a veteran investigator with tired eyes and a heavy trench coat that smelled of rain and cheap coffee.

62 "I returned from the UAE longing to embrace my nine-month pregnant wife, but a coffin awaited me in the living room. “She died in childbirth,” my mother said coldly. Trembling, I lifted the coffin lid—and saw movement under my wife’s belly. “Call a doctor immediately!” I roared. Hours later, my wife woke up and exposed my mother’s plot to seize the inheritance. By dawn, my mother was handcuffed… The coffin was waiting in my living room before I had even set down my suitcase. My mother stood beside it in black silk, dry-eyed and calm, while my nine-month-pregnant wife lay inside beneath a white funeral cloth. “She died in childbirth,” Mother said. My knees nearly gave way. I had spent eighteen months supervising a construction project in Abu Dhabi, counting every day until I could return to Elena. We had spoken the previous evening. She had laughed, told me the baby kicked whenever she heard my voice, and begged me to hurry home. The nursery light had still been glowing when my taxi entered the driveway, and her favorite yellow scarf hung beside the door. Everything looked ready for a homecoming except the coffin. “There was no childbirth,” I whispered. “She was still pregnant last night.” Mother’s expression hardened. “The baby died too. The doctor said it was sudden.” “What doctor?” She looked toward my younger brother, Marcus, who stood near the fireplace holding whiskey. He had always treated my marriage like an insult, especially after my grandfather left Elena and me controlling interest in the family property company. “Don’t start interrogating everyone,” Marcus sneered. “You were gone. We handled it.” I approached the coffin. Elena’s face was pale, but not lifeless. A faint bruise marked her temple, partly hidden by her hair. Then the cloth over her belly shifted. Once. Twice. A powerful kick rose beneath the fabric. “Call a doctor immediately!” I roared. Mother grabbed my arm. “Daniel, grief is confusing you.” I shoved her hand away and pressed two fingers against Elena’s neck. A pulse fluttered beneath her skin. Marcus moved toward the door. “She’s dead. Leave her alone.” That was when I stopped trembling. Before working in the UAE, I had served six years as an army medic. I knew sedation, shock, shallow breathing, and the warmth of living skin. I also knew my family had no idea that, while abroad, I had completed forensic compliance training and hired investigators after noticing suspicious company transfers. I called emergency services, then activated the recorder on my watch. Mother’s voice sharpened. “You will embarrass this family.” “No,” I said, lifting Elena from the coffin. “I’m about to save it.” Paramedics arrived within minutes. They confirmed Elena was alive, heavily sedated, and in fetal distress. As they rushed her away, a police officer blocked Marcus from leaving. Mother stared at me with cold hatred. For the first time, I saw fear beneath her confidence, and I understood that the coffin had been prepared for more than Elena. “You should have stayed overseas,” she whispered. I met her eyes. “You should have made sure I never came home.”...To be continued in C0mments 👇"

6 chapters