Officer Miller: Stand up, Clara. You have five minutes before the transfer van leaves.
Clara: Please, officer! You don't understand! They're burying her today!
Officer Miller: You're serving a sentence for theft, Clara. Keep your head down and get in the van.
Clara: I didn't steal anything! Julian framed me because I found the medical bottles in his study! He's poisoning Evelyn!
Clara rattled the iron chains wrapped around her wrists. Her hands were bruised, her eyes bloodshot from crying all night in the county jail cell.
Officer Miller: The wealthy estate owner died of heart failure yesterday morning. It was on the news. There's nothing to save.
Clara: She didn't die! The poison he used... it slows the heart down so much that doctors can't feel a pulse! I saw him reading the file on his desk!
Officer Miller: That's enough talking. Move.
Clara took a deep breath and looked toward the utility shed near the transport courtyard. A heavy work axe was resting against the wooden wall, left behind by the prison maintenance crew.
Clara: I can't let him kill her...
Officer Miller: Hey! Get back here!
Clara sprinted toward the shed, her heavy prison boots hitting the wet gravel. She grabbed the long wooden handle of the axe with both hands, kicking the lock off the side gate before the guard could draw his taser.
Officer Miller: Drop the weapon! Stop!
Clara: I'm saving her life!
She shoved the heavy iron gate into the guard's path, running down the narrow alleyway toward Grace Chapel just three blocks away. She could hear the sirens beginning to wail behind her, but she didn't care about her freedom anymore. She only cared about the woman who had treated her like family for five years.
Clara: Hold on, Evelyn... please hold on!
Her lungs burned as she turned the corner toward the church. The grand glass doors were closed, and black ribbons hung from the stone pillars. The funeral service had already started.
Clara: God, give me strength.
She raised the heavy axe with her wrists still bound in metal cuffs, kicking open the sanctuary doors with a loud bang that rattled the stained-glass windows.
Clara: Stop the burial right now! She is still alive inside!
The entire congregation turned around in shock. Julian stood right by the casket, holding a crisp white handkerchief to his eyes, but his gaze turned ice-cold the moment he saw Clara standing in the aisle with the axe.
Julian: What is the meaning of this intruder?! Call the guards!
Clara: He put her in that box while she was still breathing! He forged her life insurance papers!
Julian: Silence, you filthy maid!
Julian rushed down the carpeted stairs, tackling Clara before she could strike the casket's lock. The axe tumbled across the floor, ringing loudly against the marble as Clara hit the ground hard.
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