Chapter 6: The Last Person He Saw
The funeral chapel felt smaller now.
The walls seemed closer.
The sunlight through the windows looked colder.
Nia held the phone in one hand and stared at Evelyn.
Everyone else followed her gaze.
The question had changed everything.
Not who knew.
Not who was hiding something.
But who was the last person with Marcus before he died.
Evelyn looked around the room.
Searching for a way out.
There wasn’t one.
“Nia…”
Her voice was quiet.
Almost tired.
“How much did he tell you?””
Nia’s eyes narrowed.
“Nothing.””
She held up the phone.
“He was trying to.””
Evelyn looked at Marcus.
Her son.
Her only child.
The anger disappeared from her face.
For a moment, she looked like a grieving mother again.
“I went to see him that night.””
The room held its breath.
“When?””
Evelyn swallowed.
“The night before the accident.””
Nia felt a sharp pain in her chest.
“Why?””
Evelyn didn’t answer immediately.
Then:
“To ask him to stop.””
“Stop what?””
Evelyn looked at the phone.
“You need to understand something about Marcus.””
Nia almost interrupted.
But Evelyn continued.
“He was stubborn. He always believed he could fix everything himself.””
A sad smile appeared.
“He got that from his father.””
Nobody spoke.
“Marcus found something he wasn’t supposed to find.””
Nia stepped closer.
“What?””
Evelyn shook her head.
“I don’t know everything.””
“Stop saying that.””
Nia’s voice cracked.
“Everyone keeps saying they don’t know everything.””
She pointed toward Marcus.
“But he knew enough to leave me a message from beyond his grave.””
The room went silent.
Evelyn wiped a tear.
“Marcus discovered someone had been using his name.””
Nia frowned.
“Using his name for what?””
Evelyn looked afraid again.
“I don’t know.””
“You’re lying.””
Evelyn looked at her.
“I’m not.””
“Then why did Marcus tell me not to trust anyone beside his coffin?””
That question destroyed Evelyn’s remaining strength.
She looked down.
“Because he knew someone would come looking for that phone.””
A chill moved through the room.
Daniel looked around.
“Wait.””
Everyone turned.
“You’re saying someone might have planned this funeral around finding the phone?””
Nobody answered.
Because nobody needed to.
Nia looked at Terrence.
Then Evelyn.
Then the coffin.
Marcus had known.
He had prepared for this.
The phone wasn’t an accident.
It was a message.
A final move.
She looked at the screen again.
The unknown number was still there.
Waiting.
“Nia,” Terrence said quietly.
She looked at him.
“There’s something you need to know.””
She almost laughed.
“Another secret?””
Terrence accepted the anger.
“Yes.””
He reached into his jacket.
Immediately, several people moved back.
Nia froze.
But he didn’t pull out a weapon.
He pulled out an envelope.
Brown.
Old.
Sealed.
“I found this in Marcus’s apartment.””
Nia stared.
“Why didn’t you give it to me?””
Terrence looked ashamed.
“Because I was afraid.””
“Of what?””
He looked at Evelyn.
Then said:
“That Marcus was right.””
Nia took the envelope.
Her name was written on the front.
In Marcus’s handwriting.
Her fingers trembled.
Everyone watched as she opened it.
Inside was a single piece of paper.
Only one sentence.
Nia read it silently.
Then her face changed.
Terrence noticed.
“What did he write?””
She looked up slowly.
Her voice barely worked.
“He said…”
She looked at Evelyn.
Then at the coffin.
Then at the people surrounding her.
“He said the person who caused his death would be the first person to pretend to mourn him.””
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
And then the chapel doors locked.
Automatically.
A loud click echoed through the room.
Everyone turned.
The funeral director rushed toward the door.
“It’s locked.””
Nia looked down at the phone.
A final notification appeared.
Not a message.
A video file.
Recorded at 9:14 A.M.
The exact time Marcus called her.
The file name was simple.
*THE TRUTH.*
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And when Nia pressed play…
The screen went black.
