Chapter 3 — The Coffin Was Empty
Blue and red lights reflected through the ballroom windows.
Guests rushed toward the glass.
Three police SUVs.
Two federal vehicles.
An ambulance.
No one was leaving.
The elderly investigator introduced himself.
"My name is Richard Hale."
"For eleven months..."
"We've been searching for the people who erased Claire Lawson."
The groom looked ready to collapse.
"You mean..."
"...someone tried to kill her?"
Richard shook his head.
"Worse."
"They succeeded."
Confused murmurs spread across the room.
Claire slowly rolled up the sleeve of her hospital gown.
A long surgical scar stretched across her shoulder and down her ribs.
"I died for nearly four minutes."
"The doctors brought me back."
Silence.
"I remember every second."
The bride abruptly interrupted.
"She's lying."
Richard calmly nodded toward the ballroom entrance.
"Bring him in."
Two officers escorted a thin middle-aged man wearing prison transport clothing.
The second the bride saw him...
Her knees buckled.
It was Dr. Martin Ellis.
The coroner who had officially identified Claire's remains.
His wrists were handcuffed.
His eyes never left the floor.
Richard opened another folder.
"Doctor."
"Tell them."
The doctor swallowed.
"My report..."
"...was falsified."
Gasps exploded across the ballroom.
"I accepted four hundred thousand dollars."
"I certified the wrong body."
The groom staggered backward.
His wedding ring slipped from his trembling fingers.
He stared at his bride.
"You knew."
She didn't answer.
"You knew she was alive."
Still nothing.
Then...
Very quietly...
The doctor whispered one final sentence.
"I wasn't the one who planned it."
Every eye slowly turned toward the bride.
But she wasn't looking at anyone anymore.
She was staring at the emergency exit.
Calculating.
Waiting.
May you like
Then...
She ran.
