Chapter 2
Daniel had not wanted the cremation.
That was the first thing everyone in the chapel knew, though no one said it aloud.
Clara once told him she wanted burial.
A quiet cemetery.
Trees.
A place where their child could someday bring flowers.
But after her sudden collapse, Helena insisted.
“Cremation is cleaner.”
Marcus agreed.
“Faster. Less spectacle.”
Dr. Crane signed papers with a hand that never quite stopped trembling.
Daniel had been too shattered to fight every decision.
His wife was gone.
His unborn child was gone.
Or that was what they told him.
The private chapel in Greenwich felt wrong from the beginning.
Too controlled.
Too empty.
Too hurried.
The flowers were already arranged before Daniel arrived.
The attendants were already waiting.
Helena wore grief like jewelry.
Marcus stood too close to the coffin.
Dr. Crane avoided Daniel’s eyes.
Daniel told himself grief made people strange.
Then he saw Clara’s belly move.
And every strange thing became evidence.
The speed.
The paperwork.
The locked side doors.
The way Helena kept saying, “Let her rest.”
No.
Daniel’s wife was not resting.
May you like
She was breathing.
Read the full story 👉 The rushed cremation had felt wrong before Clara moved, but Daniel had been too devastated to name what his instincts already knew.
