Divorced CEO's Forgotten Wife Strikes Back (Riley and Bryce) novel Chapter 348

Chapter 348 The Insult

“The Lincoln family has limited time in Washington. I doubt there’s room in the schedule. Ms. Anderson… perhaps choose something else,” Zane said, his voice taut.

“You won’t visit your own parents‘ graves?” Riley stared at him, stunned. “Do you have any idea how devastated our parents were when you vanished on the border? Even in the last phone call I received from them, they were still thinking of you. Do you not owe them the peace of knowing you’re alive?”

Zane’s body trembled. His heart hurt.

It hurt so sharply that he could feel it in his bloodstream.

He fixed his gaze on Riley, speaking each word as if forcing them out through clenched teeth. “I told you. I’m Zane

Lincoln.”

Riley’s eyes dimmed. She couldn’t tell whether she felt disappointment or grief.

This Samuel didn’t remember a thing.

But the Samuel she knew would never have said something like

this.

They were more than just his parents. They were his roe$5:42

Because of them he enlisted Because of them he took mission

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< Chapter 348 The Insult

If the real Samuel learned they’d died, would he break down crying? Would he rush to their graves without a moment of thought?

“Riley, do you know how ridiculous you look right now?” Cynthia taunted. “What are your parents anyway? Are they even worth Zane visiting their graves? How pathetic must they be to need him to-”

A sharp slap cracked across Cynthia’s face.

She clutched her cheek, eyes blazing. “How dare you—”

“You made me.” Riley’s voice was cold enough to freeze bone.

Her parents were sacred to her. They were the boundary no one was allowed to cross.

They had served their nation. They were the best parents

anyone

could have. No one was allowed to insult them.

“My parents are not yours to speak about,” Riley said, her gaze icy and unyielding.

Cynthia’s spine tingled. Instinct told her to stop, but pride refused to let her back down. She was a Lincoln, at least publicly.

Who the hell does she think she is?

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This time, Riley didn’t slap her; she kicked her.

Cynthia flew backward, crashing into the exterior wall of the Torres Group building before collapsing onto the ground with. an ugly thud.

Security guards stationed at the entrance immediately noticed. and hurried toward them.

“Riley Anderson, you filthy bitch… You think you can get away with this? I’ll never let you off!” Cynthia screamed, clutching her side.

Riley’s expression was glacial as she walked toward her step by step. “Listen. If you insult my parents once, I’ll hit you once. If you insult them twice, I’ll hit you twice.”

“You bitch. Your parents-”

Riley raised her hand again.

But this time, a hand intercepted her strike.

It was Zane’s.

“You’e stopping me?” Riley’s pupils contracted sharply as disbelief flooded her eyes.

If this were the Samuel she knew, if someone insulted their 3/5 parents, he would have beaten the person far worse.

15:43

W

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< Chapter 348 The Insult

“It was wrong of Cynthia. She spoke out of line. But Ms. Anderson, you don’t need to beat someone who can’t fight back,” Zane said.

“Samuel, Riley is the one you should be protecting. She is your family,” Lara snapped.

Zane only looked at Riley. “Don’t hit her anymore.”

“I already said it. Every time she insults my parents, I’ll hit her once. She still owes one more,” Riley said firmly.

“I won’t let you touch her again,” Zane replied.

“And what if I insist?” Riley asked.

“She is part of the Lincoln family. You can’t lay your hands on her,” Zane said, stepping in front of Cynthia.

At least until Cynthia donated her stem cells to Lina, nothing could happen to her.

Riley’s fist shifted abruptly, and she punched him instead. A heavy blow landed in his abdomen.

“They were our parents. The ones who gave birth to you. You know who you are. How can you stand there protecting someone who insults them? Think about what they sacrificed. Tell me how they could be at peace with what you’re doing, 5:43 Riley said fiercely.

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Even if he had his reasons, even if he had lost his memories, even if she could understand all of that, she couldn’t accept him defending someone who demeaned their parents.

Zane staggered but took the punch without retaliating.

The pain radiating from his abdomen was sharp and immediate, yet what unsettled him far more was the haze in her eyes and the words she forced out through it.

“You hit Zane! You’re finished now! The Lincoln family will destroy you!” Cynthia shouted, scrambling up in a miserable heap yet full of triumph.

She might be from a branch family, but Zane was different. At least publicly, he was Benedict’s only son.

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