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Chapter 6
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They Buried a Lie Chapter 10
I carried Daniel's real ashes to a beautiful hilltop cemetery outside the city.The grave had already been dug.I bent down and gently placed the urn in the center of the plot.I stood before the headstone. I didn't cry. I just reached out and brushed a speck of dust from his photo. "This time, you can really rest in peace."That same day, court officers and law-enforcement vehicles lined the entrance to Evergreen Memorial's headquarters.A notice on the doors read: Property Seized by Court Order."The assets will be frozen and auctioned. Proceeds will go first to the 3,214 victim families," a court officer told reporters.I drove along the beltway toward downtown while the midday news played on the radio."Following the funeral-industry abuses exposed this week, state and local regulators have launched a coordinated enforcement initiative and issued new rules for funeral service providers."A bank notification appeared on my phone.Cole had been ordered to pay substantial damages for
They Buried a Lie Chapter 9
Three days later, the police, the state attorney general's consumer protection division, and the state environmental agency held a joint press conference.The large screen at the press conference displayed the fraudulent financial records extracted from the server."Evergreen Memorial has been ordered to shut down. Its licenses have been suspended or revoked, and its owner and senior managers are in police custody."In the livestream, comments scrolled at the rate of hundreds per second."She was the one who had it right all along. We were all fooled!""Punish these criminals! Apologize to the woman who stood up and fought!"I sat in my new apartment, watching the broadcast. My phone rang, and Richard Cole's name lit up the screen.I answered."Lucy, hey!" Cole's voice oozed flattery. "We realized some time ago that you were falsely accused. Hayes misled all of us.""Come back to work tomorrow. We'll bump you up a level and give you a thirty-percent raise. What do you say?"I looked at
They Buried a Lie Chapter 8
Cross stared at Carter's recorder and spoke rapidly."Evergreen had a whole system. Whenever the holiday schedule was full or families pushed for a fast turnaround, Hayes sent us to a scrapyard for processed industrial slag. We ground it up, mixed in lime, and packed it into urns. One fake batch cost less than fifty dollars. Families paid at least twenty thousand. The real bodies stayed frozen until Evergreen was ready to send them out for cremation in bulk."Carter typed as he listened. "Where are the financial records?""It's all in the accounting system." Cross swallowed. "Hayes keeps a dedicated server in the basement IT room. Every transaction, every forged document, every time they sold the same fake ashes twice, it's all there. Only Hayes and the owner know the password."Meanwhile, more than a hundred families who had seen the news gathered outside Evergreen Memorial's headquarters.They clutched black urns and held up old receipts."Refund us! Test ours too! You heartless mons
They Buried a Lie Chapter 7
The interview room was so quiet the only sound was the hum of the computer's cooling fan.I took a clear document sleeve from my bag and pushed it in front of Carter. "This is the original cremation date certificate, issued on March second. It clearly states January fifteenth."I turned to Hayes. "Buried on Christmas, cremated in January. Tell me, Mr. Hayes, who exactly did you bury that day?"Beads of sweat broke out across Hayes's forehead.Carter slapped the doctored authorization down in front of Hayes."You filed a false police report with a forged document and accused someone else of fraud." Carter pointed at Hayes. "You tried to mislead the police with fabricated evidence. That is obstruction."Hayes swallowed hard, his voice faltering. "This... there must have been a staff error. Yes, the scheduling department got the dates mixed up."Hayes began deflecting blame. "The documents were handled by people under me. As a member of management, I don't review individual files. I had n
They Buried a Lie Chapter 6
Hayes, holding the document, dialed 911 on the spot."Hello, I'm in Section 18 of the cemetery. A woman is making false accusations against our funeral home, presenting a fake lab report, inciting panic, and trying to extort us. Yes, she's still here. Please send officers immediately."After hanging up, Hayes had security cordon off the gravesite. "Nobody leaves until the police get here and sort this out."Mercer pulled out his phone and fired off several messages. Within half an hour, my backup phone started buzzing nonstop.A new hashtag was trending online: Greedy Widow Swaps Ashes to Extort Evergreen Memorial.The top post under the hashtag was the video of me falling outside Evergreen Memorial.The footage had been edited to show only the part where I reached for the guard, and the shot of me sitting on the ground refusing to get up.The comment section already had over a thousand replies."This woman is ruthless. She'll do anything for money, even swap her own husband's ashes. I
They Buried a Lie Chapter 5
I looked up, my gaze sweeping across the three people in the conference room.Cole pushed the pen forward another inch. The tip clinked against the solid wood table."Lucy, I've run out of patience."He glanced at his watch. "You have one minute to sign, or legal will start drafting the termination notice right now."Hayes leaned back and took a slow sip of coffee. "Ms. Bennett, don't expect anyone to save you. Sign, take the five thousand, and buy yourself a nice dinner. Otherwise, by tomorrow, you won't even have a place to live."Mercer opened his briefcase and produced a formal draft complaint. "This is our complaint for defamation and economic damages. The moment we file it, we'll ask the court to freeze your assets."I looked at the "Voluntary Waiver of Claims" on the table.I reached out and picked up the two sheets of paper.Hayes's mouth curved into a smile. He set down his coffee. "That's more like it. Everyone has to face reality eventually."I gripped the top of the documen
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