Faking His Death Chapter 06

Faking His Death Chapter 06

It was the commander.

He strode in, took one look at the chaos, and his face hardened.

“By regulation, the survivor benefits go to Ethan Callahan’s wife and child,” he said flatly. “No one else is allowed to seize them.”

A dozen MPs followed in behind him, and everyone in the room fell silent.

The moment Ethan saw the commander, he plastered on a smile and hurried over, oily and eager.

“Sir, why are you here in person?” he said. “You don’t know what kind of woman Lena is. She fooled you.”

“She put on a show with my brother’s funeral, but behind the scenes she’s been trying to seduce me,” he continued, voice rising. “Because I look like my brother, she thinks she can marry me. It’s disgusting.”

The moment my mother-in-law realized who he was, she dropped to the ground and started wailing.

“Sir, you tell me if this is fair,” she cried. “My oldest never mistreated her. Fine, she couldn’t give us a son, but now she’s trying to snatch the survivor benefits too. Our whole family has been bled dry by her!”

Brooke glanced at the commander timidly, covered her face, and started sniffling.

“Sir, she’s not just trying to take my husband,” she whimpered. “She tried to hurt my baby. How is a mother supposed to accept that?”

The room erupted again, voices piling on top of each other.

The commander only flicked a glance over them and said coldly, “Lena Hart is Ethan Callahan’s widow. She is entitled to those benefits.”

“And she submitted a request to report for duty on base and support her child,” he added. “If she’s leaving home to work on base, why would she be clinging to Owen?”

Ethan froze for a beat, guilt flickering through his eyes.

Then he forced out, “She… she’s putting on an act. She’s trying to threaten me into ‘taking care of both households’—into marrying her too.”

The commander’s voice snapped like a whip. “Absurd.”

“That kind of archaic, backward thinking has no place here,” he said, expression dark. “What century do you think you’re living in?”

I seized the opening and let my tears fall.

“Sir, I never wanted to remarry,” I choked out. “I just wanted a job so my daughter could grow up well.”

“But they’ve been using their power to bully me,” I went on, shaking with rage. “They’ve smeared my name, tried to steal what I brought into the marriage, and now they’re even trying to snatch the last money Ethan left for us. They’re not human.”

The commander’s jaw tightened.

“I came today to check on the family,” he said, “and to pick you up and take you to your work assignment.”

Then his gaze cut to Ethan.

“Owen,” he said sharply, “you’ve been dragging your sister-in-law’s name through the mud. How can you face your brother?”

Ethan had no way to explain himself. He clenched his teeth and forced out, “Yes, sir.”

My mother-in-law couldn’t stand seeing her son suffer. She didn’t even want the money anymore.

She shoved me in disgust. “Get out of my house. Don’t you dare ruin my son’s life. You’re bad luck.”

I gathered my passbook and everything else back into my bag, then took Nora’s hand and walked to the commander.

Ethan watched me with a cold, flat stare.

“Lena,” he said, voice low and dangerous, “think it through. Once you leave, don’t expect to ever come back.”

I didn’t answer.

I turned away and got into the car.

The vehicle pulled off, and soon Nora and I were crossing the gates onto the base.

The commander placed me in an accounting position, and it was work I could pick up quickly.

“Settle in here,” he told me. “If you run into trouble, go to your supervisor.”

Only when I sat in the clean little dorm-style room did my heart finally unclench.

Nora and I lived on base for more than two weeks, and we adapted faster than I expected.

Once my supervisors learned I’d been widowed, they were so enthusiastic they even tried setting me up on dates.

I refused, but I did run into someone I knew from years ago—Ryan Mercer, a classmate from the night classes I took before I married.

Ryan had only recently transferred here too, and seeing him brought back those days before I got married, when I was still studying.

It only made me hate how blind I’d been to marry Ethan and waste so many years.

I thought I’d cut the past loose for good.

Then Nora came down with a fever, and I ran into Ethan again.

I’d just gotten medicine into her, and Ryan was carrying her for me as we walked out of the hospital when a dark voice sounded behind us.

“Lena,” Ethan said, “who the hell is that man?”

He stood there with Brooke, his face dark with anger as he stared at me and Ryan.