One Missed Call Killed Our Baby

Chapter 3

I was just steps from the cemetery gate when my phone rang. It was the manager.

"Miss Emily, someone's digging up your son's grave!"

His words hit me like a wrecking ball. I froze, the air sucked right out of my lungs. My heart thundered in my chest.

What? No, no way. Who the hell would do something that cruel?

Fueled by panic and rage, I spun around and bolted toward Matthew's grave, everything else forgotten.

Matthew had always been such a bright, joyful soul. He loved daisies, just because he knew they were my favorite. Said one day he'd cover our whole backyard in them, just to keep me smiling.

He never got the chance.

So I did it for him. I planted daisies on his grave, no headstone, just a field of them. It was his promise, and my way of keeping it alive.

When I reached the site, I stopped cold.

Claire.

Standing there, calm as you please. She'd just lowered an urn into the ground. Two men, her bodyguards, were already filling the grave back in.

My heart shattered all over again.

The daisies I had lovingly planted? Ripped out. Scattered like garbage. Matthew's urn? Thrown aside like it didn't matter.

"What the hell are you doing?!" I screamed, lunging forward and shoving the guards away.

"Who gave you the right to dig up his grave?!"

Claire flinched, then tucked herself into Andrew's arms like some scared little girl.

"It looked abandoned!" she whined. "There was no tombstone. I thought Milo could rest here. I even spoke to the manager and offered compensation, a lot of money. It's not like anyone would care. And now you're yelling? You're scaring me!"

I felt sick. I wanted to rip her extensions out and throw her into the hole instead.

But I didn't have time for screaming matches. I was frantic. Desperate. This was Matthew's place. No one else's.

Without thinking, I grabbed a shovel from one of the guards and started digging like a maniac. Dirt flew everywhere. My hands were trembling, but I didn't care.

"Emily, stop!" Andrew shouted, grabbing the shovel from me.

"You're a damn monster, Andrew!" I cried, dropping to my knees. I clawed at the dirt with my bare hands, like a mother fighting to bring her child back from the dead.

"Stop her!" Claire screeched. "Don't let her touch Milo!"

The guards moved fast, yanking me back like I was some rabid animal. Turns out, Claire's not the only one around here with a rotten soul, she brought backup.

"Let me go!" I screamed, thrashing against their grip. "This is Matthew's grave! He's just a kid!"

But they didn't care. None of them did.

And then Andrew walked over, eyes cold and empty.

"Claire's grieving Milo," he said calmly. "And you, you're digging up his grave like some lunatic? You've crossed a line, Emily. Apologize to Claire. Right now."

I stared at him, stunned.

This wasn't grief. This was betrayal. This was erasing my son.

And he wanted me to apologize?