I Smashed My Mistress's Coffin with an Axe to Reveal the Family's Darkest Secret

The Living Dead

With the help of several shocked mourners, Mia pried open the rest of the heavy lid. Inside, Emma lay gasping for air, her eyes wide with terror. She was alive, but extremely weak. As Eleanor reached out to touch her granddaughter, Emma shrieked and recoiled, pressing herself against the satin lining of the coffin.

"Get away from me!" Emma sobbed, her voice hoarse and raw. "Don't let them touch me!"

Mia rushed to Emma's side, wrapping her arms around the trembling girl. Emma clung to the maid's grey uniform as if it were her only lifeline.

"What is the meaning of this?" Eleanor demanded, though her voice lacked its usual authority. "Emma, darling, you're alive! It's a miracle!"

"It's no miracle," Emma whispered, pointing a trembling finger directly at Arthur. "He poisoned me. He gave me the tea that paralyzed my heart. He wanted me buried alive so he could claim my inheritance!"

The chapel erupted into shouts and murmurs. Arthur’s eyes darted wildly toward the exit. He stepped back, raising his hands in mock defense.

"She's hysterical! The lack of oxygen has damaged her brain!" Arthur stammered, looking at the crowd. "I would never harm my own niece!"

But Mia wasn't listening to his lies. She noticed something else—a small, empty glass vial slipping from Arthur's pocket onto the stone floor. It was the same rare paralytic agent she had seen in his private study weeks ago. Arthur realized Mia had spotted it. In a desperate bid to escape, he lunged forward, grabbing Eleanor by the arm.

"If she lives, we both lose everything!" Arthur hissed in his mother's ear, loud enough for Mia and Emma to hear. "We have to leave, now!"

It was a confession. Eleanor didn't fight him; instead, she turned to flee with him, revealing her complicity in the horrific plot.