Christ was only 27 when his life was tr@gically cut short. The devastating acc!dent left his mother, Britney, drowning in a sea of grief so deep that darkness seemed to swallow her whole. The loss shattered her world and took a heavy toll on her health.

After a year spent in a clinic, slowly piecing herself back together, Britney made a journey hundreds of miles away to visit the final resting place of her beloved son. Carrying a grief too immense for words, she stepped off the metro in the city where Chris had lived, where he had d!ed, and where his body lay beneath the earth.

As she made her way toward the station exit, a familiar figure appeared in the crowd: Hally, her widowed daughter-in-law. Britney had planned to meet Hally after visiting the cemetery, but her heart leapt at the chance to surprise her.

“Hally! Hally? Wait!” Britney called softly, tapping the young woman’s shoulder.

The woman turned sharply, eyes cold and dismissive. “I’m not Hally. You’ve got the wrong person, lady,” she said arrogantly, brushing Britney’s hand away and slipping into the crowd.

Something about her was wrong. Britney’s eyes couldn’t be deceiving. Same eyes, same hair color, same voice. It was Hally.

But just like that, the woman disappeared into the crowd. Shaken and confused, Britney hailed a cab and headed to the cemetery. The encounter haunted her every moment of the ride. Why had Hally acted so strangely? Why deny her?

“Ma’am, we’re here,” the cab driver said, pulling up at the cemetery gate, jolting Britney from her thoughts.

The air was heavy and silent as Britney searched for her son’s grave. When she finally found it, tears welled in her eyes, her trembling hands tracing the cold stone of Chris’s tomb.

Then her gaze drifted to the next grave.

Her breath caught.

The name etched on the headstone sent a sh0ck through her:

In Loving Memory of Hally S.
January 8, 1995 – December 3, 2020
Forever cherished, forever missed.
Rest in peace.

“Oh my God…” Britney whispered. “Hally d!ed last week? And no one told me?”

The question that immediately followed chilled her: If Hally was de@d, then who was the woman at the subway station?

Snapping out of her spiraling thoughts, Britney heard the soft rustle of leaves nearby. The cemetery groundskeeper was tidying up.

She approached him and asked about Hally’s funeral.

He lit a cigarette, exhaling slowly. “It was last week. Strange thing… no mourners, just the funeral staff. They buried her, set up a simple stone, and left. No proper service.”

“Did anyone visit her grave afterward?” Britney asked, her voice trembling.

“Not that I’ve seen. I’m here all day and live on site. No one’s come by.”

Britney thanked him and left, her mind swirling with confusion.

Determined to uncover the truth, Britney sought out Jess—Chris’s best friend and business partner.

When Jess opened the door, he looked startled but invited her in. His unease was palpable.

Luggage sat in the living room.

“Leaving town soon?” Britney asked.

“Yeah,” Jess replied, face shadowed with exhaustion. “It’s been a brutal year since Chris d!ed. The business went bankrupt, so I’m moving far away from the mess.”

“Bankrupt? How did that happen?” Britney’s brow furrowed.

“And Hally… what happened to her? I saw her grave next to Chris’s but no one told me she d!ed. What’s going on?”

Jess’s voice dropped. “Mrs. Sutton… I didn’t want to worry you while you were sick. When you were in the hospital, I feared telling you about the company’s collapse and what Hally did.”

“What did she do?”

Jess swallowed hard. “After Chris d!ed, Hally inherited the company. She didn’t want to run it, so I stepped in.”

“The company was sinking fast. Hally proposed taking loans and finding investors to save it.”

“But you said she declined to manage it?”

“Yes, but we all agreed to try her plan. Then last week, she took the loan money—five million dollars—and disappeared. The police started searching for her.”

“Hally stole from us?” Britney gasped.

Jess nodded grimly. “We never expected betrayal like that. The cops found a burned car crashed off a cliff—a car registered to Hally. She d!ed instantly.”

“God… Hally destroyed everything.”

Jess added, “Her funeral was dignified. Many attended and mourned despite what she did.”

Britney’s mind reeled. The groundskeeper said no one showed up. Jess seemed anxious and was planning to leave town.

“When’s your flight?” she asked.

“Tomorrow morning, 6 a.m.”

“Can I stay here tonight? I’m nervous about a hotel alone.”

Jess agreed.

That night, Britney couldn’t sleep. After Jess’s lights went out, she crept into the living room and searched his luggage.

Her hands trembled when she found two fake passports. One had Hally’s photo but a different name—Sarah.

The other had Jess’s picture with another name—John.

Two plane tickets to London were booked under those aliases.

Her heart sank. Jess and Hally were hiding something big.

Britney returned the luggage and bought sleeping pills.

The next morning, she offered Jess breakfast and slipped the pills into his drink. After twenty minutes, Jess dozed off on the couch.

Then Jess’s phone rang. “Sarah” flashed on the screen.

Britney ignored it.

A text came: “How could you oversleep? We’re flying today. I’m coming to your house.”

About half an hour later, a taxi arrived. Britney called the police.

The door opened. Hally—very much alive—walked in.

She shouted at Jess, waking him.

Suddenly, Britney stepped forward. “Looking for someone, Hally?”

She struck Hally with a vase.

Hally collapsed.

Police sirens blared as Britney explained everything and showed them the fake passports and tickets.

Jess and Hally were arrested.

Jess denied involvement, but Hally confessed.

“We bribed a morgue worker, stole a homeless woman’s body, put it in the car with my gold necklace, and burned it. Then crashed the car to fake an accident.”

“What about the stolen money?” the detective asked.

“It’s in new bank accounts. We thought we’d get away, but…” Hally broke down, sobbing.