Everyone remained still.
You don’t get removed that way over something minor.
Later that afternoon, confirmation came through proper channels.
Security clearance suspended.
Effective immediately.
Investigation pending.
Fast.
But fraud connected to financial activity during a deployment moved quickly for a reason.
Day six was silent.
Then at two in the morning, my phone rang.
Blocked number.
I answered without speaking.
Chloe exploded.
“What did you do?”
No greeting.
Pure panic.
“He’s being investigated,” she screamed. “They pulled him out of formation, Harper. They’re talking about court martial. Do you understand that?”
I let her continue.
“We have no money,” she said. “The cards don’t work. The insurance is messed up. Everything is falling apart, and this is your fault.”
My fault.
Of course.
“You need to fix this,” she said. “Right now. Call whoever you called. Stop whatever you started.”
I stared at the ceiling.
