Chapter 1 - The Gates of Oakridge
"Close the gate! That woman is not allowed at my wife's funeral."
It still feels strange to admit that those cruel words came out of my own mouth.
That cold December morning, the Oakridge Memorial Cemetery in Cedar Rapids was wrapped in a thick fog. I, Conrad Pendelton, a forty-nine-year-old businessman and head of Pendelton Enterprises, couldn’t think about business contracts or corporate strategies. Before me lay the plain wooden casket of Vivienne, my cherished wife of twenty-two years.
The previous evening, Dr. Lucas Albright, from a local private clinic, had informed me that she did not survive a sudden systemic collapse.
My twenty-three-year-old daughter, Gemma, walked beside me while holding her mother's portrait against her chest. My mother, Florence, prayed silently directly behind us. Meanwhile, Brenda, the wife of my younger brother Mason and our company head of purchasing, had arranged everything with a speed I had been grateful for at the time: the wake, floral arrangements, transport, legal paperwork, and burial details.
When our small procession arrived at the iron gates, loud shouting disrupted the quiet atmosphere.
An elderly woman in her seventies, wearing a worn gray shawl and clutching a small fabric bag against her chest, was arguing with a security guard.
"Please let me see Vivienne, because I am her birth mother," she pleaded desperately.
I approached her angrily.
"My wife's parents died years ago, so you must leave immediately," I said coldly.
The woman looked at me with eyes overflowing with genuine tears.
"They raised her after adopting her, but I gave birth to her, and my name is Maeve Higgins," she explained breathlessly. "Vivienne actually managed to locate me two years ago."
I felt the ground shift beneath my feet, but my mother immediately intervened.
"Conrad, this is certainly not the right time to listen to strange stories," Florence stated firmly. "Your poor wife deserves to rest in peace today."
Brenda stepped closer and whispered in my ear.
"There are business partners and reporters recording us right now," Brenda warned softly. "If this poor woman is just looking for money, we can figure that out later, so let us not make a public scene here."
Maeve opened the bag.
"I have personal letters, old photographs, and a certified DNA test right here," Maeve insisted frantically. "I do not want a single penny from you, as I only want to say goodbye to my daughter."
I could have listened to her.
I didn't.
I ordered the gate to be closed.
As I walked toward the grave, I heard Maeve's voice echoing loudly from behind the tall fence.
"Vivienne, sweetheart, your real mother is right here!" she cried out.
The gravediggers placed two heavy nylon straps underneath the heavy casket. Gemma cried silently while my mother tightly gripped her silver rosary. Brenda stood quietly by her side.
The coffin began to descend.
It had lowered just over three feet into the pit when one of the worn straps suddenly snapped.
"Hold it!" someone shouted in a sudden panic.
The heavy box fell onto its side. One corner of the lid flew open from the impact.
I jumped into the grave without thinking. With the help of several men, we managed to pull it back up. I lifted the lid and saw Vivienne's pale face.
Then her hand moved.
Gemma screamed.
"Dad! Mom is breathing!" she gasped aloud.
I put my fingers beneath her nose.
There was air. Weak, irregular air. But there was air.
I yelled for someone to call an ambulance.
Everyone around me reacted with horror or hope.
Everyone except three people.
My sister Paige dropped to her knees, as white as a wall.
My mother dropped her silver rosary and stepped backward.
And Brenda, the woman who had organized the burial, slowly began walking toward the exit.
Gemma grabbed my arm.
"Dad… why is Aunt Brenda leaving?" she asked in confusion.
I looked at my sister-in-law, then at my wife, still breathing inside the coffin.
And for the first time, I asked myself the question that would destroy my family:
May you like
If Vivienne had never died, who needed me to believe that she had?
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