Chapter 28 - The Ghost at the Lectern
I walked down the red-carpeted center aisle in my service dress whites.
Every medal was in place. The ribbons on my chest were pinned to military standard. My shoes were mirror-polished, clicking against the parquet floor with absolute, measured cadence. My hair was pulled tight into a regulation bun beneath my white cover.
I didn't carry a weapon. I didn't need one.
Behind me, walking four paces back, were six uniformed agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and two federal prosecutors from the Northern District of California.
Sarah's champagne glass slipped from her fingers. It shattered against the hardwood floor with a sharp, crystalline ring that echoed across the vaulted ceiling. Champagne pooled around her designer shoes, but she didn't look down. Her face was drained of every drop of color, her jaw hanging slack in sheer, paralyzed horror.
Charles stopped speaking mid-sentence. His fingers locked onto the edges of the lectern until his knuckles turned as white as chalk. His eyes bulged, darting from my face to the federal agents flanking the exits, looking for an escape route that did not exist.
"Commander Hayes," Admiral Sterling stammered, stepping away from the podium, his face mottled red with panic. "What... what is the meaning of this? You are officially listed as—"
"I am officially listed on active duty, Admiral," I said, my voice ringing clear and steady through the ballroom, without needing the microphone. "And you are officially relieved of command."
Two NCIS special agents stepped past me, flanking Sterling before he could take another step. One of them produced a set of steel handcuffs, keeping them low but unmistakable.
"Robert Sterling," the lead agent said, "you are being placed under arrest pursuant to Article 104 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice for aiding the enemy, defense procurement fraud, and treason against the United States."
A collective gasp swept through the room of two hundred defense executives. Several board members began frantically checking their phones.
I stepped onto the elevated riser and walked directly up to the lectern.
Charles tried to back away, but his ivory cane caught on the sound cables, and he stumbled against the Titan Defense banner, barely catching his balance.
"Evelyn..." Charles gasped, his voice trembling, stripped of all its cultivated baritone authority. "Evie... sweetheart... this is a misunderstanding. The family was trying to protect you. We thought you were lost—"
"You thought I was dead because you submitted the falsified casualty manifest yourself, Charles," I said, looking down into the eyes of the man who gave me life and then tried to sell it for twelve cents on the dollar.
I laid the red folder from the Tahoe raid onto the lectern, right on top of his speech notes.
May you like
"The $4 million villa in Tahoe wasn't yours to give," I said, leaning in so only he could hear the ice in my words. "The corporate stock wasn't yours to trade. And my life was never yours to spend."
***
