Brenda is perplexed when her late son’s wife denies knowing her and astounded when she visits her son’s cemetery and notices her daughter-in-law’s tombstone nearby. Brenda seeks answers from her son’s best friend, but his suspicious conduct forces her to solve the case alone.

Christopher was just 27 years old when he di:ed in a horrific accident, leaving his mother, Brenda, to face an insurmountable sadness. Her world was cast in darkness after his death, and her health suffered.

Brenda had gone hundreds of miles to see her son’s burial after spending a year in a clinic.
Brenda was about to leave the station when she noticed a familiar face in the crowd: Harper, her widowed daughter-in-law. Brenda had intended to meet Harper after visiting the cemetery, so she dashed after the young woman to surprise her.

“Harper! Harper? Wait a second!” She patted the woman’s shoulder from behind.

“I’m not Harper. You’ve got me wrong, lady!” The young woman arrogantly brushed away Brenda’s hand and rushed away.

“Ma’am…we’ve arrived,” the cabbie said as he pulled over at the cemetery gate, jolting Brenda out of her thoughts.

The silence was unsettling as Brenda examined the row of tombs for Christopher’s final resting place. She burst into tears as she brushed her shaking fingertips on Christopher’s tombstone.

The epitaph on the monument terrified her.

In Loving Memory of Harper. S.

January 8, 1995 – December 3, 2020

Forever cherished, Forever missed.

Rest in peace.

“Oh my God…Harper passed away last week and nobody told me?” Brenda gasped, unable to believe her eyes.

A haunting question immediately loomed in her mind: “If Harper is dead, then who was the girl at the subway?”

Brenda startled out of her reverie as she heard someone rake dry leaves.

The man lighted a cigarette and exhaled, sending a plume of smoke into the air. “It occurred last week. It seemed bizarre… There were no mourners, only funeral service employees. They brought the casket, buried it, constructed a small headstone, and then went. It wasn’t even an appropriate funeral.”

“Did anybody visit her grave after that?” Brenda frowned.
“Not that I know of, Ma’am,” he replied. “I work here all day and live on the grounds. I keep watch over the cemetery all the time and haven’t seen anybody visit that woman’s grave.”

“Alright…thanks,” Brenda said and turned around. Nothing made sense to her.

Brenda, eager to solve the mystery surrounding her daughter-in-law’s death, decided to meet Jake, her late son’s best friend and business partner.

Jake was surprised to discover his closest friend’s mother there on his porch, beaming at him. He invited Brenda inside, but she sensed his unease.

Brenda entered and noticed luggage in the living room, so she immediately inquired about Jake’s travel plans.

“I’m leaving this state, Mrs. Sutton. Been a rough year since Chris passed,” Jake said, a strange disappointment and worry etched on his face. “The company is bankrupt so I decided to move somewhere far away from all the mess I’ve been dealing with.”

“How can the company be bankrupt, Jake?” Brenda raised an eyebrow.

“What’s going on? I saw Harper’s tomb beside my son’s grave. Nobody even told me she passed away! Tell me…what happened to my daughter-in-law? How did she di:e?”

“Mrs. Sutton, I… I didn’t want to disturb you. After Chris’s passing, you were so disturbed and heartbroken. When I learned you’d be spending a year in the hospital, I was afraid your condition might worsen if you found out about the company’s financial crisis and what Harper did,” Jake said, haunting Brenda further.

“What did Harper do, Jake?” Brenda asked. “I want to know everything.”

“Well, Harper inherited the company after Chris’s d3ath, but she declined to manage it because she didn’t know anything about the business. So, by mutual agreement, I stepped in to manage the company because I was already Chris’s business partner.”

“Honestly, the business hit rock bottom after your son’s d3ath. We were on the verge of declaring bankruptcy when Harper suggested finding investors and taking out loans to revive the company,” Jake explained.

“But…you said Harper declined any say in the business,” Brenda said, her suspicions raised.

“Yes, but we were all desperate to save the company. We agreed to Harper’s idea. But just a week ago, Harper withdrew the five million dollar loan money and fled. The police started looking for her.”

“Oh, my God! Harper stole the loan money?” Brenda gasped in disbelief. It was too hard to accept that her late son’s wife had destroyed his hard work after his d3ath.

“We never expected her to backstab us like this, but she paid the price for her betrayal,” Jake added. “The cops discovered a burned car that had crashed into a cliff near the woods. It was Harper’s car. She met with a tragic accident and died immediately.”