General Vale studied me.
His eyes moved once toward my shaved head.
He did not ask for gossip.
He asked the correct question.
“Colonel, is there an immediate personal-security concern?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then we handle it properly.”
Procedure.
Evidence.
Command.
Those words gave the ground beneath my feet a name again.
At the security office, Daniel sat behind glass wearing the navy sweater he had left on our bedroom chair.
His hair was uncombed.
His face moved through three expressions when he saw me.
Relief.
Anger.
Fear.
“Adrienne, tell them this is a misunderstanding.”
I placed a document against the glass.
My attorney, Lenora Shaw, had sent it while I was driving to the base.
It contained a property-transfer form bearing my forged signature.
“You signed my name.”
Daniel looked away.
“Mom said you were leaving us.”
“Us?”
“Me. Her. Our home.”
“The home I financed.”
“That isn’t fair.”
