Chapter 5 - The Coward's Shadow
The applause echoed off the crystal chandeliers as I stepped back from the podium, the heavy weight of the Silver Star resting against my chest.
Down in the audience, the crowd was beginning to part, whispering among themselves, casting respectful, curious glances my way. But my eyes were locked on the exit doors at the rear of the ballroom.
Daniel was gone.
He hadn't stayed for the applause. He hadn't stayed to watch his sister receive one of the nation's highest honors. He had slipped out into the dimly lit corridor like a thief in the night.
“Lieutenant Colonel Carter,” the general murmured as I descended the stage steps. “Take a moment with your family. Then report to the command alcove. We need to finalize the operational debrief regarding the remaining classified annexes.”
“Understood, General,” I replied crisply.
As I walked back down the aisle, the sea of faces parted. Senior officers nodded in silent acknowledgment. Civilian dignitaries offered polite, awed smiles.
Then I reached my family.
My mother lowered her hands, her eyes red-rimmed and hollow. The woman who had spent my entire life trimming my achievements down to fit into Daniel’s shadow looked smaller somehow—shrunk by the crushing realization of her own blindness.
“Emily...” my mother choked out, her voice barely audible over the receding murmur of the crowd. “I... I didn't know. You never told us.”
“You never asked, Mom,” I said, my voice completely devoid of anger. Just cold, absolute clarity.
My father stepped forward, his face pale, his hands trembling slightly. “An intelligence colonel... a Silver Star... Emily, how is that even possible? Your brother said—he told us you were stationed at a desk in Virginia.”
May you like
I looked past my father toward the empty doorway where Daniel had fled.
“Maybe you should ask Daniel what else he hasn't told you,” I said quietly.
