Chapter 7 - The King’s First Question
King Edmund stopped several feet from Avery.
His voice shook despite his effort to control it.
“What happened after the yacht?”
Avery remained on one knee.
“I was evacuated with a fractured shoulder and a deep laceration. I returned to duty after rehabilitation.”
The King stared at her.
“You told me to keep moving.”
Avery’s breath caught.
The burning cabin returned in fragments.
Silver hair blackened by smoke.
A signet ring on a bloodied hand.
A refined voice insisting she save the younger security officer first.
“You were the passenger,” she whispered.
Edmund lowered his head.
“And you were the officer who refused to leave me.”
Prince Julian stepped away from Madison.
“You said Harbor Seven died.”
Madison’s eyes darted toward the guests.
“She did. This woman is impersonating her.”
Avery’s jaw tightened.
King Edmund examined the ribbons on her uniform.
He recognized the Navy Cross.
Then he saw a tiny burn mark near one gold button—the same pattern described in the sealed rescue report.
Madison lifted her chin desperately.
“Anyone could copy a uniform.”
Avery reached into her inner pocket and removed her military identification.
A guard accepted it, checked the security features, and handed it to the King.
Edmund read her name aloud.
“Lieutenant Avery Bennett.”
Julian’s face hardened.
The King looked toward Madison.
“You told us your sister’s name was Evelyn.”
Madison had not merely pronounced a name incorrectly.
May you like
She had invented a different dead woman.
👉 Then Julian asked why Madison had a photograph of Avery’s classified medal ceremony hidden inside her bridal suite.
