My mother-in-law shaved my head while I slept on the very night the United States Army promoted me into one of the most important commands of my career.

For seven years, I had known every expression he used to control a room. The disappointed sigh. The wounded silence. The small smile when he thought he had won. But now there was nothing polished left.

When he saw me through the glass, he rose halfway.

“Emily.”

One of the CID agents, a woman named Special Agent Price, stood beside me with a tablet in hand.

“You don’t have to speak to him,” she said.

“I know.”

Ryan pressed one palm against the table. “Please. Just let me explain.”

I opened the folder and placed one page against the glass.

His forged version of my signature stared back at him.

His eyes dropped to it, then slid away.

His mouth trembled. “Mom said—”

He stopped.

I leaned closer. “Say it.”

He swallowed.

 

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