Chapter 1 - The Woman Inside the Coffin
Luca Moretti was about to marry Vanessa Bellini when a black coffin was carried into his wedding.
And when someone knocked from inside it, his bride screamed.
“WHO BROUGHT THAT HERE?”
The wedding guests turned toward the entrance.
Four men in black suits carried the coffin through the grand ballroom of the Moretti mansion.
The musicians stopped playing.
Vanessa stood beneath the crystal chandeliers in her white wedding gown, gripping Luca's hand.
“Luca, stop them!”
He didn't move.
His eyes were fixed on the coffin.
It was the same black coffin his family had used two years earlier.
The coffin in which they had buried his first wife.
Elena Moretti.
The woman he had loved before Vanessa.
The woman whose death had nearly destroyed him.
Luca slowly released Vanessa's hand.
“Put it down.”
The men obeyed.
The coffin landed in the middle of the ballroom.
A few guests immediately moved away.
Vanessa stepped backward.
“This is a sick joke.”
Luca approached the coffin.
Then a sound came from inside.
Knock.
Everyone froze.
Vanessa grabbed his arm.
“Don't open it!”
Luca looked at her.
“Why?”
She shook her head.
“Because whoever is inside wants to ruin our wedding.”
Another knock sounded.
This time, louder.
Knock. Knock.
A woman near the front screamed.
Luca turned toward his security chief.
“Open it.”
Vanessa immediately stepped in front of him.
“No!”
Luca's expression hardened.
“Move.”
She stared at him.
Then slowly stepped aside.
Two guards approached the coffin.
One removed the metal latch.
The other lifted the lid.
The guests gasped.
There was no body.
No skeleton.
No blood.
Inside lay an old wedding dress.
A pair of small children's shoes.
And a black telephone.
Luca stared at the dress.
He recognized it.
It was Elena's wedding gown.
The same dress she had worn when he married her.
The same dress he had seen inside her coffin two years earlier.
He slowly reached for the telephone.
It began ringing.
Vanessa covered her mouth.
“Luca, don't answer that.”
He looked at her.
Then picked it up.
“Hello?”
A woman's voice whispered.
“Luca.”
His face went pale.
He knew that voice.
He had heard it in his dreams.
He had listened to it in old recordings.
He had spent two years trying to forget it.
“Elena?”
The guests began whispering.
Vanessa grabbed the phone.
“That's not Elena!”
Luca pulled it away.
“Where are you?”
The woman on the other end breathed heavily.
Then she whispered:
“Look behind the coffin.”
The call ended.
Luca slowly turned.
A woman stood at the ballroom entrance.
She wore a black mourning dress.
Her face was hidden beneath a veil.
Every security guard in the room immediately reached for his weapon.
Vanessa stared at the woman.
Then she began shaking.
“No…”
Luca stepped toward the entrance.
“Who are you?”
The woman didn't answer.
She walked toward the coffin.
Then she stopped beside it.
She placed one hand on the lid.
And slowly removed her veil.
The guests gasped.
Luca stopped moving.
The woman's face was pale.
Her hair was shorter.
A small scar crossed her left cheek.
But her eyes—
Those eyes belonged to Elena.
Luca's first wife.
The woman he had buried.
The woman he had mourned.
The woman standing in front of him.
He whispered:
“Elena?”
She looked at him.
Then at Vanessa.
And finally, she spoke.
“Did you tell him what happened to the other coffin?”
Vanessa began crying.
Luca turned toward her.
“What other coffin?”
Elena reached into her dress.
She pulled out a small silver key.
Then she placed it in Luca's hand.
“The one your mother was buried in.”
Luca froze.
“My mother?”
Elena nodded.
Vanessa suddenly screamed.
“STOP!”
The entire ballroom went silent.
Luca looked at his bride.
Then at the key.
“Why would my mother be buried in another coffin?”
Vanessa shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Elena slowly stepped closer.
“You do.”
Vanessa backed away.
Luca's voice became colder.
“Explain.”
Vanessa looked at the guests.
Then at the coffin.
Finally, she whispered:
“Your mother wasn't dead.”
Luca stared at her.
“What?”
Vanessa began trembling.
“She was alive when they buried her.”
Luca's hand tightened around the key.
Elena suddenly reached into the coffin.
She pulled out the old wedding dress.
Then she turned it over.
A small envelope had been sewn into the lining.
Luca opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
His mother stood beside Antonio Moretti.
His father.
But the photograph had been taken three days after Antonio's funeral.
Luca stared at the date.
Then he looked toward the ballroom entrance.
A second woman stood there.
An elderly woman wearing a black coat.
His mother.
Elena slowly turned toward her.
And whispered:
“Tell him why you let me die.”
Luca looked at the woman.
His mother began crying.
Then she raised her hand.
And pointed at Vanessa.
“Because she was the one who put me in the coffin.”
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To be continued...
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