The Doppelgänger’s Funeral: How a Small-Town Land Appraiser Uncovered His Own Staged Death and Business Partner’s $4.2 Million Scheme
👉 Previous Decision: You chose to pretend to be calm, step into the hallway, and call county records to verify identities.
I slipped past the chapel doorway and into the service corridor, pulling my phone from my pocket. My hands trembled as I dialed the automated county clerk’s line.
A calm, synthesized voice listed options.
“To verify a death certificate, press one,” it instructed.
I pressed the button, my thumb feeling numb against the screen.
The voice then asked for a name and date of death.
“Julian Kildare,” I whispered, then gave a date from five years ago.
A pause. The voice responded with a surprising tone of finality.
“Death certificate for Julian Kildare, filed three days ago, by Derrick Croft.”
The name hit me like a physical blow. Derrick. My business partner. Not five years ago, but three days prior. The county system confirmed it.
My own identity was being systematically erased. He was declaring Julian Kildare dead *now* to cover something up, and the body in the casket was me. A terrifying realization of the depth of the betrayal settled in my chest.
Suddenly, a voice echoed from the foyer below, cutting through the silence of the funeral home.
“Hello? Anyone here?” Derrick’s voice. Full of false concern, climbing closer.
My breath hitched. He was coming for me.
➡️ Read CHAPTER 5 to continue the story.
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