After a Decade, Twins

After my peacekeeping tour ended, I made a special trip back home to spend Christmas with my wife.
But the moment I reached the main gate of the military base, I was stopped by a sentry.
He raised his rifle, his voice a sharp bark. Today is Commander Vincent Payne's christening party for his newborn twins! All unauthorized personnel are to leave immediately!
I stared at him, my mind reeling. "I am Vincent Payne," I said, the words catching in my throat. "When did I have a second and third child? How could I not know?"
"You must be mistaken."
The sentry let out a cold laugh. The click of the bolt sliding home was unmistakable. "Impersonating a military officer? That's a serious offense. We can detain you on the spot!"
A laugh, raw with disbelief and fury, escaped me. I pulled out my officers credentials and snarled, "Do I need to impersonate myself?!"
The sentry's face was grim. He suddenly shifted his rifle, aiming it not at me, but at the large projection screen inside the banquet hall.
Forcing down my rage, I followed his gaze.
On the screen, my wife, Evelyn, stood beside a strange man. Each of them was holding a baby, smiling as they acknowledged the crowd. Standing beside them was a little girl, about ten years old.
A happy family of five.
My world went white.
I looked down at the name on my military ID: "Vincent Payne." I was stunned into silence.
If he was Vincent Payne then who the hell was I?!

1
The rage in my chest was a wildfire, threatening to burn me to ash.
I had no time to argue. I lunged forward, determined to force my way in.
Seeing my movement, the sentrys face hardened. "Halt!" he roared, taking a quick step back and raising his rifle to the sky. "One more step and I'll shoot!"
A tremor ran through me, and I froze in my tracks. The fury intensified, now laced with a chilling, surreal absurdity. I was a commander, and I was being held at gunpoint at the gate to my own home.
I had to get through that door.
"Insubordination," I said, my voice dangerously low. "I have the right to confiscate your weapon."
Before the words had even left my mouth, my wrist snapped forward. In the next second, his rifle was in my hands. I lowered the barrel, my tone like ice. "I don't want to do this. Let me in."
The color drained from the sentry's face. He stared at me, too shocked to react.
Just then, a cold shock hit my lower back. The hard, unmistakable press of a pistol dug into my spine.
An instant later, a searing pain shot through the back of my knee. I let out a choked grunt, nearly collapsing.
I whipped my head around to see a face that was angelic yet twisted with malice. It was the little girl from the screen.
She was holding a small, silver handgun, the muzzle jammed against me. Her eyes held a viciousness that was terrifying in a child so young.
"Where did this lowlife come from, making a scene?" she spat, her sweet features contorted with disgust. "Can't you see it's my baby brother and sister's party? Get the hell out of here!"
Her features were so similar to Evelyn's. A jolt went through me. "Little girl," I heard my own voice, dry and trembling. "Your mother... is her name Evelyn?"
The girl shot me a look like I was the stupidest person on earth. She rolled her eyes. "Duh, asshole. My mom is Evelyn Xia, CEO of the Xia Corporation."
It was like a sledgehammer to the chest. The world started to hum.
Fighting down the shock and rage, I pressed on. "And your father is..."
"You're so annoying!" she shrieked, shoving me hard. "My dad is Vincent Payne, and my name is Maya Payne! Now will you piss off? Talking to an idiot like you is exhausting!"
An icy chill shot up from my feet, freezing me from the inside out.
My wife had cheated on me. She'd had children with another man.
But why would this girl, Maya, say that Vincent Payne was her father? I knew I didn't have any children.
This was insane. Utterly insane.
I laughed, a bitter, broken sound. "That's impossible," I said, my voice low and heavy. "I am Vincent Payne, and I don't have a daughter."
"Pfft!" Maya spat in my direction. "A loser like you dares to pretend to be my dad?"
A cruel glint entered her eyes, and she jabbed the gun harder into my back. "Today, I'm going to teach you a lesson. You'll learn who you don't mess with."
My eyes were fixed on the gun. I knew that weapon better than anyone.
It was the gun Id had specially commissioned for Evelyns thirtieth birthday. I had taught her, step by step, how to disassemble it, how to load it, how to aim. I'd told her it was her last line of defense, a way to protect herself when I wasn't there.
And now, it was in the hands of a foul-mouthed child, and it was pointed at me.
A tidal wave of fury crashed over me.
No more words.
I spun around, my hand a blur of motion, and snatched the pistol from Maya's grip. "You are not worthy of this gun!"
As I spoke, I expertly ejected the magazine, bullets scattering across the pavement. The entire sequence was over in a flash. Maya barely had time to register that her hand was empty.
"Ah!"
She froze for a second, then erupted into a piercing scream. She threw herself onto the ground, kicking her legs and wailing. "Help! Murder! Daddy, save me! Someone stole my gun, he's going to kill me!"
Between sobs, she hurled the most vicious curses she could think of at me.
Her cries had barely echoed before a dark figure burst out of the banquet hall.

2
I didn't have time to react. A powerful kick sent me stumbling back, my chest exploding with pain.
I looked up and saw himthe man who was impersonating me. Not only was he a fraud, but he had the audacity to show his face so brazenly.
My eyes burned with rage. Before I could speak, he swept Maya into his arms and roared, "You dare touch Vincent Payne's daughter? You've got a death wish!"
Looking at this man, who looked nothing like me but wore my name like a stolen coat, I trembled with fury. "Cut the crap! I am Vincent Payne! Who the hell are you, and why are you pretending to be me?!"
At that, Maya pointed a vicious finger at me. "You piece of trash, still spouting nonsense!" she screeched to the man. "Daddy, not only is he pretending to be you, he stole my gun and was asking about Mom!"
"The nerve!" the man snarled. "Touching my daughter, lusting after my wife you're begging to die! Seize him! Break his legs and throw him to the dogs!"
At his command, several guards swarmed me like predators. I clenched my fists, but before I could move, a dozen black muzzles were aimed at my vital points.
"Let me go!" I struggled, but I was slammed onto the cold, hard ground, my cheek scraping against the pavement.
The guests who had followed the imposter out were now pointing and whispering.
"Is this guy crazy? Commander Payne is right there, and he's still trying to impersonate him."
"Right? Does he not know where he is? Causing trouble at a military base!"
"Major Evans! Captain Thorne!" I roared, my voice raw, at the familiar faces in the crowd. "We were fighting side-by-side in the borderlands just last month! Have you all lost your goddamn minds?!"
But the men I had once called brothers turned away in disgust, looking at me like I was a rabid dog.
I scanned their faces, a dizzying wave of confusion washing over me. Why were they all acting like they didn't know me? What was happening?
I refused to accept it.
With a surge of adrenaline, I broke free, flinging my military ID at the imposter's face. "Bullshit! Look closely, you bastards! I'm Vincent Payne! You're all insane! He's the fake!"
The imposter merely glanced at the ID with contempt. "Forging military credentials is a prison offense," he sneered. "If you're going to be a con artist, at least pick a better location. And of all people to impersonate, you had to pick me."
He slowly looked me up and down, then ground my ID into the pavement with the toe of his boot. "On this base, everyone knows the face of Vincent Payne."
His eyes were cold, like a snake waiting to strike. There was no fear, no panic of being exposed.
A rush of blood pounded in my head. My identity had been stolen. After ten years of being child-free, I suddenly had three kids. And my wife Evelyn! Where was she? What role was she playing in this grotesque charade?
Countless questions and a bottomless rage churned inside me, threatening to swallow me whole.
"I want to see Evelyn!" I screamed with every ounce of strength I had. "Get her out here!"
The imposter chuckled. He walked over and looked down at me. "Heh. You really won't give up until you're staring at your own coffin. You want to see Evelyn? Fine. I'll let you."
He leaned in, his voice a venomous whisper in my ear. "But I suggest you prepare yourself. Don't come crying to me when you see the truth."
With a wave of his hand, he motioned for the guards to release me. I never expected him to be so confident. The blood drained from my face.

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