Ethan: Mom? Mom!
Guest: Oh dear Lord in Heaven!
Woman in Black: Is she... is she moving?
Marcus: Stay back! It's just muscle spasms! The doctor said muscle spasms happen!
Ethan: Muscle spasms don't wear duct tape over their mouth!
Inside the velvet-lined coffin, lying beneath layers of white silk, was the trembling form of Eleanor Vance. Her eyes were wide, bloodshot, and filled with absolute terror as she stared up at the ceiling lights.
Ethan: Mom! You're alive! You're alive!
Eleanor: Mmmph! Mmmph!
Marcus: Don't touch her! She has an infectious disease! That's why the casket was closed!
Ethan: You tied her hands! You bound her wrists with zip ties!
Guest: What is the meaning of this, Marcus? She's breathing!
Marcus: It's a trick! The kid staged this!
Ethan: How could I stage zip ties and tape under a locked casket lid?
Marcus: Shut up! Everyone out! The service is over!
Ethan reached down into the narrow box, his hands shaking as he carefully pulled the heavy silver tape away from his mother's lips. Eleanor gasped violently for air, her lungs burning as cold room air rushed into her mouth.
Eleanor: Ethan... my baby... Ethan...
Ethan: I'm here, Mom! I'm right here!
Marcus: Eleanor, stay down! You're delirious!
Eleanor: He... he put liquid sedatives in my tea... he forged the trust fund papers...
Marcus: She's hallucinating! The medication is making her talk nonsense!
Eleanor: The estate... he wanted the whole estate before the divorce went through...
Marcus: That's enough! Both of you, shut your mouth!
Marcus stepped forward, cocking the slide of the pistol with a sharp metal click that made every remaining guest freeze in place.
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