Chapter 2
The garage went silent.
Raymond’s keys slipped from his fingers and hit the concrete.
My mother’s mouth opened.
My father stood in the doorway with his newspaper hanging limp in one hand.
Victoria stared at the soldier.
“Colonel?” she whispered.
I straightened slowly.
The cold floor no longer mattered.
Neither did their shocked faces.
Captain Reeves kept his salute sharp.
“Ma’am, transport is secure. Command requests immediate movement.”
My father stepped forward.
“Now wait just a minute. She is grieving. She is not going anywhere.”
Reeves turned his head slightly.
“Sir, step back.”
Harrison Bennett was not used to being ignored.
Especially in a house he liked pretending was his.
“This is a family matter.”
I picked up my box.
“No, Dad. This is military.”
Victoria looked at me like she had never seen me before.
“You told us you did office work.”
“I told you what I was allowed to tell you.”
Raymond’s eyes narrowed.
“Is this about Marcus’s death benefits?”
I looked at him.
That was too fast.
Too specific.
Reeves heard it too.
His expression did not change, but his hand moved closer to his radio.
My mother stepped into the garage.
“Amelia, don’t be dramatic. We’re your family.”
I laughed once.
It came out colder than the morning air.
“You sent your pregnant daughter to sleep next to a lawn mower because your son-in-law wanted my bedroom.”
Her face flushed.
“You agreed.”
“I survived the conversation.”
Victoria grabbed Raymond’s arm.
“Tell them this is ridiculous.”
Raymond said nothing.
He was looking past me.
At the second vehicle.
At the two military police officers stepping out.
At the woman in a dark coat behind them.
My commanding officer.
May you like
Brigadier General Elise Grant.
And the moment Raymond saw her, he went pale.
