Chapter 7 - The Dossier Opens
"You have to fix this," Eleanor pleaded, her tone shifting violently from rage to desperate entitlement. She smoothed down her dress with trembling hands, trying to reconstruct her shattered dignity. "You have Hayes's ear. He pinned that... that thing on you. Tell him it was a misunderstanding. Tell him Daniel made a clerical error. You know how hard your brother has worked for this promotion! If he doesn't get this command, his career is over. He could go to jail!"
"He will go to jail," I said plainly.
"How can you say that?!" she cried, tears of pure self-pity finally leaking through her mascara. "He is your brother! Your own flesh and blood! What did we ever do to make you so hateful?"
I laughed softly. The sound had no humor in it.
"What did you do?" I asked, taking a step toward her. Eleanor instinctively stepped back. "When I deployed to Helmand Province, you told the neighbors I had moved to Atlanta to work as a receptionist because you were embarrassed that your daughter was an enlisted-track soldier. When I was blown out of an armored vehicle outside Al-Qaim, you didn't even visit the base hospital. You sent a card signed by your secretary."
"We were busy!" she stammered. "Daniel was graduating from his staff college!"
"Daniel was cheating his way through administrative staff college, using father's old contacts to buy exam papers," I countered, the cold truth landing like artillery shells between us. "And when he took command of the Southern Depot, he thought he was above the law because you spent thirty years telling him he was a god."
The terrace door opened again.
This time, it wasn't family. Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Marcus Vance stepped out, accompanied by General Hayes. Undersecretary Vance was a civilian with graying hair and the demeanor of a corporate predator. He held a thick manila folder stamped *TOP SECRET // NOFORN*.
Eleanor’s eyes lit up with desperate hope. She recognized Vance from the defense gala programs.
"Mr. Vance!" Eleanor said, rushing toward him, putting on the performative smile of a society matron. "Thank goodness you’re here. There has been a terrible, catastrophic mistake regarding my son, Daniel Carter. General Hayes seems to have been misled by—"
"Mrs. Carter," Undersecretary Vance interrupted, his voice smooth, cold, and utterly uninterested in her charms. "The only mistake made regarding your son was that we didn't arrest him six months ago."
May you like
Eleanor froze, the smile dying on her lips.
"Lieutenant Colonel Carter," Vance said, turning his back on my mother and addressing me with genuine respect. "The forensic accountants have finished reviewing the accounts in the Cayman Islands. Major Carter’s personal signature authorized the routing of three million dollars directly into an account under his wife’s maiden name. The warrants have been signed."
