Chapter 38: Dead

Maverick's shovel struck the earth with a dull thud, each sound reverberating in the cold, silent night. His smirk was dark and satisfied as he glanced at Evelyn, lying still beneath the shallow grave he was hastily digging. The drugs he had administered were designed to fail her lungs slowly, suffocating her from the inside out. Soon, her breathing would cease, and with it, the life force that kept her body functioning.

"Tell your mom we miss her," he muttered, his voice a sinister whisper carried away by the evening breeze. His cold and echoing cackle cut through the deserted garden's oppressive quiet. He had picked this secluded spot deliberately, planning to plant a tree over Evelyn's grave to make it nearly impossible for anyone to discover her final resting place.