Chapter 3 - The Photograph That Shouldn't ExistI read the message three times.
Then I handed my phone to General Whitaker.
His face turned gray.
“Where did you get this?”
“Someone just sent it.”
He enlarged the photograph.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
“Thomas?”
He looked toward the airport windows.
“Don't show Carter.”
I stared at him.
“You recognize the location?”
“No.”
But his hesitation told me he was lying.
Eight years earlier, General Whitaker had been the commanding officer responsible for the final phase of Operation Silent Lantern.
He'd signed the after-action report.
He'd also personally recommended me for a decoration after our team's evacuation of the wounded.
For years, I'd believed he was protecting the truth as carefully as I was.
Now I wasn't certain.
“Why shouldn't his son see this?” I asked.
“Because we don't know whether it's authentic.”
“Then we'll verify it.”
“Rebecca, think about what you're doing.”
“I've been thinking about Daniel Carter for eight years.”
Whitaker stepped closer.
“There's more at stake than you realize.”
My phone vibrated again.
DO NOT TRUST THE MAN STANDING NEXT TO YOU.
I lifted my eyes toward the general.
He noticed immediately.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
I'd spent twenty-four years learning how to keep my expression steady.
That training suddenly mattered more than ever.
Across the terminal, Evan Carter was watching us.
His face was troubled.
I wondered how much he'd seen.
A boarding announcement interrupted us.
Whitaker checked his watch.
“My aircraft leaves in forty minutes.”
“Then you'd better make your flight.”
He frowned.
“Rebecca—”
“I'll contact you through official channels.”
He studied me.
Finally, he nodded.
“Be careful.”
As he walked away, I turned back toward Carter.
He stood before I reached him.
“Is something wrong?”
“No.”
He gave me a skeptical look.
“My dad used to say people answer too quickly when they're hiding something.”
Despite everything, I almost smiled.
“He sounds like he was a difficult man to fool.”
“He was.”
Carter lowered his eyes.
“That's what I was trying to do earlier. I thought if I challenged somebody wearing a uniform, I'd somehow prove I knew what being a real Marine meant.”
He looked embarrassed.
“My dad always seemed fearless. I guess I wanted people to see me that way.”
“You don't become your father by imitating his reputation, Evan.”
He looked surprised that I'd used his first name.
I continued.
“You become the person you're supposed to be by making your own decisions.”
He nodded slowly.
Then his phone rang.
He glanced at the screen.
“Mom?”
He answered.
“Hey.”
I watched his expression change.
“What do you mean?”
He listened.
“Mom, slow down.”
Suddenly, his face drained of color.
“Someone came to the house?”
A pause.
“Did they hurt you?”
I stepped closer.
“Evan?”
He held up one hand.
Then he whispered into the phone.
“What did the man want?”
His mother answered.
Carter looked directly at me.
“He asked whether I was traveling today.”
Another pause.
Then Carter's hand began trembling.
“He told you to give me a message?”
The airport noise seemed to fade.
“What message?”
He listened.
Then he lowered his phone.
“He said my father never died.”
May you like
I couldn't breathe.
“And he said if I wanted proof, I should ask the woman wearing the gold oak leaves.”
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