Chapter 12
The cold edge in Richard Langston’s voice made Adrian Graham’s fingers go numb.
He remembered how, every time he visited before, his father–in–law would bring out his treasured liquor, patting him on the shoulder with a wide grin and saying, “Our Liana’s a lucky girl.”
It wasn’t supposed to be like this–like he was a stranger.
“I’m sorry, Richard… Liana, she-”
Click…
The busy tone droned in his ear before he even realized he’d been hung up on.
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He quickly dialed again. This time, it was Vivian Whitmore who answered.
“What does Captain Graham want with us now?” she sneered. “Want to show off the same way you did when you pointed that rifle at my husband back then?”
Adrian’s voice caught in his throat.
That had been during the third month of Liana’s “widowhood“, when the Langston. family had come en masse to bring her home.
He’d blocked the courtyard gate with his rifle, kneeling on the stone tiles until his knees bled.
“Richard, Liana was my brother’s in life, and in death, she remains his! He’s gone, and I- his elder brother–will protect her as long as I
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live!”
It had taken a personal intervention from the executive officer to de–escalate things.
Before leaving, Vivian had hurled her final words at him through tears. “Adrian Graham, one day, karma will get you.”
A sparrow flapped past the window.
Adrian wiped his face.
Once Zoe Young gave birth, he would go. to the Langston family himself to beg forgiveness.
After the call ended, Vivian Whitmore clutched the receiver, her hand trembling.
“And he still has the nerve to ask about Liana?” she hissed, turning to Richard
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Langston, who was steeping tea. “If she hadn’t sent us that message, we’d still be in the dark!”
Richard crushed a tea stem between his fingers.
They had learned the truth about Adrian Graham’s faked death and sham marriage before Liana even boarded the train.
“Let’s not rush,” he murmured, wiping droplets from the teapot lid. “We’ll wait until Liana’s settled in the frontier. Then we settle this–properly.”
At the Graham family courtyard, the birthday celebration was in full swing.
Birthday banners hung from the trees, guests filled the yard.
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97
191
- 29.
Thanks to Adrian’s dual status as “war hero’s brother” and “captain,” even high–ranking officers from the command unit had brought gifts to celebrate Eleanor Grace’s birthday.
Eleanor Grace, wearing a crisp new blouse, sat at the head of the hall, surrounded in the main hall like the moon amid stars.
Her eyes swept across her children and grandchildren.
To her left sat “Landon Graham” and Zoe Young, who was daintily cradling her pregnant belly.
To her right was her youngest daughter and son–in–law, just returned from New York, gleaming general’s stars on their uniforms.
Only the seat at the lower right remained empty.
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That was where Liana Langston–her second daughter–in–law–was supposed to sit.
“She can’t make it, Mom,” Adrian had said the night before. “Too busy at the hospital, not worth the trip back and forth.”
Eleanor sighed and looked again at Zoe’s belly. The future of the Graham family rested entirely on this child now.
Outside, the brand–new color TV’s speakers blared The Dukes of Hazzard, while a local baseball game droned on from the radio.
Zoe proudly presented a cream cake she’d bought with Adrian’s grocery allowance.
“Eleanor, cut the cake!” Her voice was cloyingly sweet.
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Eleanor had just picked up the gilded knife
when-
BOOM!
The front gate slammed open with a deafening crash, knocking birthday banners from the trees.
Richard Langston stormed in with a dozen of his kin, their shoes grinding peanut shells into the stone floor.
“Adrian Graham!” he bellowed, loud enough to make the TV screen fill with static. “Get your ass out here!”
Gasps erupted from the courtyard.
The wine glass in Adrian’s hand shattered on the ground.
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There was no Liana behind the Langston family. Only a neighborhood matchmaker called Lily, who stood there wearing dark clothes.
Eleanor Grace forced a smile and stepped forward. “Vivian, what’s the meaning of this
–?”
“You ask me?” Vivian slapped her hand away. “You Grahams really raised a fine son!”
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