MY FAMILY THOUGHT I WAS THE LEAST IMPORTANT PERSON IN THAT BALLROOM—UNTIL I WALKED BACK THROUGH THOSE DOORS IN A TWO-STAR GENERAL’S UNIFORM. THE LOOK ON MY FATHER’S FACE TOLD ME HE FINALLY UNDERSTOOD EXACTLY WHO HE HAD BEEN MOCKING

I didn't stop until I was standing three paces away from the dais, right at the edge of my family's exclusive circle.

The ballroom had grown so quiet that you could hear the faint strains of the string quartet drifting from across the room. Every eye was locked on the young female general standing in the middle of a room dedicated to honoring a retired lieutenant colonel.

My father stared at me, his face turning an alarming shade of mottled red.

“Elena?” he rasped, his voice cracking slightly in front of his peers. “What... what in God’s name are you wearing? Are you playing dress-up? Get out of here, you’re embarrassing the family—”

“Victor,” a sharp, commanding voice interrupted.

General Sterling—the legendary three-star general my father had spent months trying to impress—pushed his way through the cluster of guests, his eyes fixed entirely on my shoulders.

My father’s expression morphed instantly into desperate obsequiousness. “Ah, General Sterling! Please forgive my daughter, she has no sense of propriety, she’s just an administrative clerk—”

General Sterling didn't even look at my father. He stopped directly in front of me, brought his right hand up in a crisp, flawless salute, and held it until I returned it.

“Major General Ross,” General Sterling said, his voice ringing clearly across the silent ballroom. “I didn't realize you were attending tonight’s private reception.”