Chapter 9 - Knock at the Door
|
It was 7:42 p.m. on a rainy Tuesday evening.
The rain pattered steadily against my kitchen window, filling the house with a peaceful, ambient rhythm. Liam was sitting on the living room rug, happily humming to himself as he built a castle out of wooden blocks.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang.
I frowned, glancing at the clock. I wasn't expecting any deliveries.
I walked to the front door and looked through the side window. Standing on my porch, drenched in the falling rain, was General Vance. He was wearing civilian clothes—a dark raincoat with no stars on the collar—and his military sedan was idling at the curb.
"Liam, stay in the living room, sweetie," I instructed softly.
I unlocked the door and opened it. "General? Is everything alright?"
General Vance didn't offer his usual warm smile. His expression was grim, his eyes burdened by heavy news.
"Colonel," he said quietly, wiping rain from his brow. "May I come in? We have a serious problem."
"Of course, sir." I stepped aside, closing the door behind him as he stepped into the foyer.
Without taking off his coat, General Vance reached inside his jacket and pulled out a manila folder marked with a bright red warning label: INSPECTOR GENERAL - CONFIDENTIAL.
He handed it to me. "This was filed with the Pentagon at five o'clock today."
I opened the folder. The top page carried an official header from the Office of the Inspector General.
Subject: Formal Ethics Investigation regarding Colonel Emily Carter.
May you like
Allegation: Failure to submit mandatory conflict of interest recusal forms regarding the $500M Carter Defense contract.
My blood went completely cold. "Sir... this is impossible. I submitted my formal recusal disclosure before I ever touched the file!"
