Chapter 14
The crowd fell silent in an instant.
“And what gives you the right to object? A–dri–an Gra–ham.”
Vivian Whitmore spat out his name like venom–laced nails, driving them deep into Adrian’s spine.
“My daughter mourned as a widow for half a year–she’s suffered more than there is grass. on your ancestors‘ graves!”
She grabbed a plate from the table and hurled it at him. “If anyone has a right to object, it’s her husband Adrian Graham–not you, her “husband’s brother“! Who the hell do you think you are?!”
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“I am Adrian Graham!”
Thunder exploded overhead.
The courtyard went dead silent.
Zoe Young stumbled forward, holding her belly.
She grabbed his arm, her nails digging into his palm.
“Landon, have you lost your mind?!”
Gasps spread among the guests.
“Adrian Graham? Didn’t he die?”
“What the hell? Did the dead come back?”
“Is this some ghost possession or what…”
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Vivian Whitmore let out a bone–chilling laugh. “And where’s your proof? The whole battalion watched Adrian Graham get buried!”
She turned to the executive officer. “Sir, what’s the punishment for impersonating a martyr?”
The heavy rain lashed at Adrian Graham’s deathly pale face.
Of course, he had proof-
His officer ID hidden deep in the drawer.
Landon Graham’s coffin buried in the grave.
And the half–burned wedding photo of him. and Liana Langston.
But the moment any of that came to light,
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→
the military tribunal would come for him.
“I…” He opened his mouth.
Blood rose in his throat.
“My husband is Landon Graham! He is not Adrian Graham.” Zoe Young suddenly flung herself into his arms, her belly pressing into his waist. “He’s just grieving too hard, it’s made him delusional!”
She looked up at him, eyes glistening with panic.
Adrian’s fists clenched so tight they turned white. Rain dripped from his jaw to the ground.
“I am Adrian Graham,” he rasped, voice rough like sandpaper. “The one who died… was my brother, Landon.”
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He had finally said it.
He’d planned to wait until Zoe gave birth, then tell the truth. Beg Liana for forgiveness.
But the Langstons had moved too quickly. He’d had no time to lay the groundwork.
He couldn’t lose Liana-
Even if it meant tearing this half–year charade to shreds with his own hands.
“And as for you…” he looked at the woman collapsed on the ground, “consider the baby a parting gift from my brother. His last legacy.”
CRACK!
A lightning bolt split the rain–soaked sky,
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illuminating Zoe Young’s pale face.
Her carefully pinned hair came undone.
“What… what did you just say?” she whispered.
She clawed at the mahogany table, blood mixing with rain as it dripped from her fingers.
“Last night… when you were on me, whispering ‘Zoe‘ in my ear… why didn’t you say you were Adrian Graham then?!”
Gasps echoed around the courtyard.
Adrian closed his eyes.
All those nights of passion had been part of the performance–to make the “Landon” identity more believable.
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And afterward, he’d spend hours in the bathroom vomiting bile and regret.
“Zoe, I-”
“LIAR!” she shrieked.
She lunged for the fruit knife on the table and pointed it not at him–but at her own throat.
“The baby in here–it’s Landon Graham’s! You’re Landon! Say it! SAY IT! Tell them! You’re my husband!”
The knife gleamed.
But Adrian only lowered his head, in silence.
Zoe’s vision swam.
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Adrian’s face flickered in and out of view, the overlooked details suddenly linking up into a bone–chilling truth.
Then everything clicked.
How he always mumbled “Liana” to her in the dead of night, then suddenly snap out of it.
How he hoarded photos of Liana dancing in Swan Lake.
How he stumbled drunk into the wrong bedroom every time.
“So it’s true… You’ve been lying to me all along…”
She let out a heart–wrenching scream, echoing the same grief Liana had once sobbed into the earth during his funeral.
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THUMP!
Zoe Young collapsed to the ground. Blood poured from beneath her, staining her snow–white dress crimson.
“Oh God–she’s losing the baby!”
“Get her to the hospital–now!”
Chaos erupted.
No one noticed as the Langston family slipped away quietly in the storm.
WWEE
