The heat of the flames shimmered through the glass, casting orange reflections on Etha Carter’s tear-streaked face.
He stood motionless, staring at the coffin that held his wife — and their unborn child — as the machinery rumbled to life.
Then, suddenly, her belly moved.
At first, he thought it was an illusion born of grief. But the movement came again — slow, deliberate, from inside her still body.
Etha’s heart seized.
“STOP!” he screamed, his voice breaking. “Stop the cremation!”
The chapel fell into stunned silence. What followed would tear open the darkest truth of his family — one that had been festering quietly for years.
