He Scheduled My Funeral. I Hosted It
Serena Vale · Completed · 185.5k Words
Introduction
Then one night, while sitting beside the husband who kisses her goodnight, she sees a livestream event scheduled for tomorrow: her own memorial service.
The cover uses her mourning portrait. Grant, her husband, is posed as the devastated widower. Serena, her half sister, stands beside him like a woman already rehearsing the role of replacement wife.
At first Evelyn wants it to be a mistake. Then the invoices appear. The funeral campaign is paid for. The backend record existed. Someone with internal clearance created it, deleted it, and expected Evelyn to die before the broadcast.
Julian Cross, a former livestream safety investigator disgraced by an old death case, is the first person who treats Evelyn's fear as evidence. Together they follow the countdown through funeral contracts, planted comments, medical manipulation, board pressure, platform corruption, and a hidden operator using public grief as a business model.
But Evelyn is not waiting to be rescued. She knows how to build an event. She knows where witnesses should stand, when a microphone should stay open, and how a lie collapses when the room sees the right proof at the right time.
Grant scheduled the funeral.
Evelyn hosts it better.
Chapter 1
Grant became a widower while I was still sitting at my desk.
The funeral came before the death.
The first time I saw my own funeral, I was approving a bride's flower arch.
It was 12:43 a.m., the hour when rich women stopped pretending they were calm and started sending voice notes about ivory versus warm white. I sat alone in the glass-walled office of Vale & Vow, one heel hooked under my chair.
On my screen, a bride named Amelia had written:
Can we livestream the vow renewal rehearsal too? My grandmother wants to watch from Boston.
Birthdays. Proposals. Weddings. Memorials. Even grief had to stream in high resolution. My job was to make emotion look effortless.
I opened LumaLive's scheduling dashboard and clicked into Amelia's event folder.
The screen refreshed.
For half a second, everything looked normal.
Then a black card slid into the top of my queue.
Not Amelia's vow renewal.
Not any client project.
A memorial service.
My cursor froze above the trackpad.
The title read:
EVELYN VALE MEMORIAL SERVICE
Live Tomorrow, 8:00 PM
I stared at it long enough for the words to blur.
Then I blinked, hard.
The card stayed.
My office was silent except for the rain ticking against the windows. Below the title, LumaLive had arranged the details in its usual clean format.
Scheduled by: Private Host
Visibility: Public after premiere
Category: Memorial / Celebration of Life
Estimated guests: 48,000
My mouth went dry.
Forty-eight thousand people.
For my funeral.
A laugh left me before I could stop it. The sound hit the glass and came back wrong.
"No," I whispered.
I clicked the card.
The dashboard loaded a preview page.
For a moment, there was only a gray placeholder and the spinning white circle LumaLive used when a video cover was still rendering.
Then the image appeared.
A coffin stood at the center of a chapel I recognized.
I had designed that room three months ago for a Whitmore Foundation donor memorial. White orchids. Frosted candles. A narrow center aisle.
My hands went cold.
The coffin was closed.
On top of it sat a framed photograph of me.
Not a public photograph. Not one from my website.
It was from Grant's phone.
I remembered the moment. Last summer, on our terrace, my husband had called my name just as I turned back with a glass of wine in my hand.
Now that private smile sat beside white roses and a silver urn.
I leaned closer until my breath fogged the screen.
Under the preview image was a countdown.
19:16:42
Nineteen hours.
Sixteen minutes.
Forty-two seconds.
Tomorrow at eight, according to LumaLive, I would be dead enough to gather an audience.
My first thought was stupid.
Grant.
My body still reached for my husband before my brain could catch up.
I grabbed my phone from beside the laptop. There were three unread messages from him.
Grant: Still at the office?
Grant: Don't forget to eat.
Grant: I left soup in the fridge. Come home before the storm gets worse.
My throat tightened.
Grant did that. Thoughtful Grant. Perfect Grant. The man who kissed my forehead at charity dinners, then did it again when nobody was looking.
My husband loved me.
He could not possibly have a livestream scheduled for my funeral.
I touched the preview card again.
The page expanded.
Below the cover image, there was a short description already written.
Join us as we honor the life, grace, and quiet strength of Evelyn Vale Whitmore. Beloved wife. Devoted daughter. Friend to all who needed beauty in their hardest hour.
My married name sat there like a hand around my throat.
Evelyn Vale Whitmore.
I never used it professionally.
Grant liked when donors did.
He said it made us look united.
My hand trembled. I pressed it flat against the desk.
The screen had made a mistake.
It had to be.
Platforms made ugly mistakes. Duplicate titles. Wrong thumbnails. Drafts published too early.
I told myself that while I scrolled.
Then I saw the host notes.
Opening music: piano, low volume.
Camera 1: coffin wide shot.
Camera 2: husband reaction.
Camera 3: Serena entrance.
I stopped breathing.
Serena.
My half sister's name did not belong anywhere near my funeral.
Not in a host note.
Not in a camera cue.
Not in the same file as the coffin with my photograph on it.
Serena Vale had built an entire brand around grief. She taught women how to choose memorial dresses, write loss captions, and cry without looking "collapsed."
Grant called me unkind when I said that.
"Serena helps people, Evie," he had told me. "Not everyone is as controlled as you."
Controlled.
The word came back to me now as I stared at her name on my funeral schedule.
I clicked the cover image again.
This time, the preview shifted.
It was only a flicker. A second, maybe less.
The coffin disappeared.
The chapel remained.
Two figures stood in the first row.
Grant wore a black suit.
Grant knew how to look devastated in a way that made other people want to comfort him.
His head was bowed. One hand covered his mouth. The other rested on a woman's shoulder.
Serena's shoulder.
She wore cream, not black.
Soft. Expensive. Almost bridal.
Her face was turned into Grant's chest, her fingers gripping his lapel like she had the right to fall apart there.
The frame was composed beautifully.
Too beautifully.
Husband and mourner.
Widower and the woman who understood him.
My stomach folded in on itself.
I knew camera language. People believed what the frame told them to believe.
And this frame told one simple story.
Grant had lost his wife.
Serena was the person left standing beside him.
I reached for the mouse again, but the preview vanished.
The screen snapped back to Amelia's vow renewal folder, bright and harmless, full of roses and guest lists and Boston grandmothers.
For a moment, I sat there, listening to the rain.
Then my phone lit up.
Grant was calling.
His photo filled the screen: my husband smiling at me in sunlight, his wedding ring catching gold.
I did not answer.
The call rang out.
One second later, a message appeared.
Grant: Evie? Pick up. I need to hear your voice.
My eyes moved from his message to the place on my laptop where my funeral had been.
The tile was gone.
But I had seen enough.
Tomorrow at eight, someone wanted the world to mourn me.
And on the cover of my death, my husband was holding another woman.
He had not lost me. He had started mourning on schedule.
Last Chapters
#200 Life Scheduled
Last Updated: 6/25/2026#199 Own Name
Last Updated: 6/25/2026#198 No Private Version
Last Updated: 6/25/2026#197 Severance
Last Updated: 6/25/2026#196 Testimony Event
Last Updated: 6/25/2026#195 Public First
Last Updated: 6/25/2026#194 Full Color
Last Updated: 6/25/2026#193 Silence Does The Work
Last Updated: 6/25/2026#192 BlueRoom Named
Last Updated: 6/25/2026#191 Board Code On Air
Last Updated: 6/25/2026
You Might Like 😍
Where The Ice Gives Way
Blake Atlas scents his mate the moment Charlotte arrives. The bond hits hard and unmistakable, but Charlotte doesn’t recognise it. She doesn’t know why her chest keeps pulling toward the one boy she absolutely cannot afford to want. Blake is Charlie’s new hockey captain. Charlie’s chance at making something good. Charlie makes it clear; his sister is off-limits and Blake tries to do the right thing, but secrets don’t stay buried forever. Rogues prowl the edges of town. The ice cracks. The bond tightens. Then Charlotte’s rare white wolf awakens, the very thing that makes her powerful, also makes her a target.
Shanti needs Shakti. (Peace needs strength.)
Where the Ice Gives Way is a slow-burn YA paranormal romance filled with fated mates, protective alpha energy, fierce sibling loyalty, found family pack bonds, hurt/comfort, and quiet, aching tension. It’s a story about first belonging, learning to be cared for, and what happens when the girl who has always held everyone else up finally falls, and someone catches her.
Rejected By My Family, Desired By The Mafia
While the real heiress struggled to survive, the nanny’s daughter, Talia, was raised in luxury as the beloved jewel of the Laurent family, pampered by Camille’s parents, adored by her three brothers, and even promised to the prestigious Matteo Devereux through a childhood engagement arranged by their grandparents.
Then the truth came out.
Six months ago, Camille was finally brought back to the Laurent family. To protect the family reputation and prove their devotion to their bloodline, the Laurent patriarch transferred 35% of his personal shares into Camille’s name overnight, instantly making her one of the wealthiest heiresses in the country.
It brought anxiety to all the Laurent family. But what they don’t know…is that Camille never needed them.
Behind her elegant smile lies a woman filled with secrets powerful enough to shake the whole family. She's a miraculous healer capable of curing the incurable poisons.
Yet despite everything, her family still chooses Talia.
Every accusation against Talia is forgiven. Every scheme against Camille is brushed aside. Even Matteo, the man who was supposed to be Camille’s fiancé—cannot let go of the woman he always believed belonged by his side.
But while the Laurent family underestimates Camille, another man begins to see exactly who she is.
Dante Moretti.
The ruthless heir of an old-money dynasty. A billionaire CEO worshipped by the public…and the merciless king of a criminal empire hidden beneath the city’s glittering surface. When Dante is poisoned by a rival syndicate with a deadly toxin no doctor can cure, he offers a fortune for anyone who can save him.
Only Camille can. Their deal is simple: she becomes his personal physician, and he gives her anything she wants.
Mission: Steal the Male Lead
But the more Morwenna changes the story, the stranger the world becomes. The heroine seems to know the future, unseen spectators begin commenting on her life, and the gods watching from above grow obsessed with the drama unfolding before them. Trapped in a story where fate has already decided the ending, Morwenna must choose whether to follow the script or rewrite it entirely. But if the world itself was never meant to belong to its characters, can she steal the male lead before fate steals her freedom first?
The rejected white luna
The Mafia King's Unknown Doctor Wife
Taste of Fate: The Vampire King's Human Mate
He reached for the back of my head and pulled me up just enough to reach my neck. When his fangs slid into me, the pain was instant, electric. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. My hands found his shoulders, clawing for something to hold. My legs kicked. Tears streamed down my cheeks.
He moaned against my throat as he drank, and the sound was devastating.
Everybody is Guilty Here
Middlesbrough's underworld is a dangerous game, and Matthew Smith finds himself right in the middle of it. A once-feared gang leader, he is now forced to be a pawn in a deadly cat-and-mouse game. Matthew's only shot at freedom is helping the police bring down Mr. K, the elusive mafia boss of the city. The only problem is that the detective he is forced to work with is the same man who arrested him years ago.
Masahiro Payne is everything Matthew hates: cold, calculating, and relentless. But their only hope for survival is by pretending to be a happy couple, blending in amidst dangerous crime, deceit, and power struggles. The closer they find themselves to taking down Mr. K's empire, the more they are attracted to one another, an affair too potent to turn from.
As their undercover mission spirals into a web of lies and hidden desires, they face a growing threat from all sides. But the greatest risk is the one they can't control-their own feelings. With every touch, every stolen kiss, the line between their fake relationship and real emotions blurs.
In a world of betrayal, trust is a luxury, and falling for each other may be the deadliest mistake of all. Can they survive the deadly mafia games or will their passion be their demise?
Luna On The Run- I stole The Alpha's Sons
But Axton is more than just a rival, he's her fated mate. And he's been searching for her not for love, but for revenge and a chance to destroy her father's pack. The next morning, Elena rejects him, walking away before he can trap her in his ruthless schemes.
But Axton does not take rejection lightly, and his retaliation is brutal: a leaked video, a ruined reputation, and a family that turns their backs on her drive her to flee the city in disgrace.
But when Elena disappears, she takes something Alpha Axton never planned to lose - his sons. Now, he'll stop at nothing to get them back. He wants his heirs, he wants his mate, and Elena will learn that no one runs from the Alpha.
CHASING GHOSTS
The CEO Above My Desk
“I know she does.”
“And what if she doesn’t want this kind of protection?”
“She will,” I say, my voice lowering slightly. “Because she needs a man who can give her the world.”
“And if the world burns?”
My hand tightens subtly at Violet’s waist.
“Then I’ll build her a new one,” I reply. “Even if I have to burn the old one down myself.”
I don’t work for Rowan Ashcroft.
I work beneath him.
From my desk, I decide who gets access to the most ruthless CEO in the city, and who never makes it past the lobby. I manage his time, his silence, his enemies. I keep his world running while my own quietly collapses under unpaid bills, a mother locked in rehab, and a brother who vanished without a goodbye.
Rowan Ashcroft is power wrapped in a tailored suit.
Cold. Untouchable. Merciless.
He doesn’t flirt. He doesn’t smile. He doesn’t see people, only usefulness.
And for a long time, I was just useful.
Until he started watching.
A shift in his attention is subtle at first. A pause too long. A look that lingers. Orders that pull me closer instead of pushing me away. The man who stands above my desk begins to control more than my schedule, and I realize too late that being noticed by Rowan Ashcroft is far more dangerous than being ignored.
Because men like him don’t crave affection.
They crave possession.
This was supposed to be a job.
Not a test of my limits.
Not a slow, deliberate descent into his authority.
But if Rowan Ashcroft decides I belong under his desk, then so be it.
Survival has a price, and the bills don’t care how I pay them.
GO ON YOUR KNEES, ALPHA.
He was wrong.
Six years ago, Pete Leadsilver had everything an Alpha could want. Power, a respected pack and a future already written for him.
Then he met me.
What began as a game became a mistake I would spend years trying to survive. When I told him I was carrying his child, Pete chose not to believe me. He rejected me, humiliated me, and allowed the people around him to make sure I understood that there was no place for me in his world.
So I disappeared.
I took the secret of my pregnancy with me and built a life far away from the Alpha who had broken me.
Six years later, Pete finds me again. Only this time, he isn't the man with all the power. His pack is dying, his people are running out of time, and I may be the only person capable of saving them.
But I'm no longer the woman Pete remembers. And beside me is a little boy who carries far too much of Pete's face to be a coincidence.
Our reunion should have been about a cure, but instead, it becomes the beginning of a war neither of us saw coming.
Because Pete's greatest danger isn't outside his pack.
It's inside his own family.
Old resentment turns into manipulation. Loyalty becomes betrayal. And the people Pete trusts begin hiding secrets that threaten to destroy everything he's built.
Then someone comes for the people I love.
Suddenly, this is no longer about whether Pete can earn my forgiveness.
It's about whether he can keep me alive.
Whether he can protect the son he never knew existed.
Whether he can uncover the truth before the people closest to him destroy everything he has finally learned to value.
Along the way, we'll lose people we thought would always stand beside us, I'll be forced to confront wounds I've spent six years trying to bury, and the family we're slowly building will be tested in ways neither of us could have imagined.
Because sometimes love isn't the hardest thing to find. Sometimes it's the hardest thing to survive.
Pete once believed power meant never needing anyone and I once believed surviving him meant leaving him behind.
We were both wrong.
Because some bonds refuse to die, some betrayals cut deeper than rejection and some people don't come back into your life to give you a second chance.
They come back to show you exactly what you almost lost.
Pete Leadsilver lost me once.
This time, he'll have to fight to keep the family he never knew he needed.
Ex-Wife, Current Wife
For three years, she lived in the shadow of a loveless marriage. She was the woman everyone loved to hate, the one who supposedly "stole" him from his first love. She endured his cold indifference, raised their son—who struggles with a speech impediment—in silence, and traded her own brilliant career for the thankless role of a trophy wife.
But when his long-lost love returns, she is unceremoniously pushed aside to make room for the "real" family.
Enough was enough.
After he publicly humiliates her and chooses the mistress’s daughter over his own son during a birthday party, something inside her finally snaps. She doesn't just want out of the marriage; she wants her life back. With a secret talent for design and a newfound resolve, she walks away from the gilded cage of his estate.
But as she rises from the ashes of her failed marriage to reclaim her status as a top-tier designer, he realizes the woman he treated as a disposable pawn was the only one who truly held his world together.
Now, the woman who once begged for his attention is no longer looking back. Will he be able to earn her forgiveness, or is he finally too late?
