Chapter 4 - The Tables Turn
My father looked from Alexander’s three-star insignia to my hand resting in his, his face turning the color of a bruised plum. "General Hale... you're married to... to Emily? There must be some mistake. Emily never mentioned—"
"Emily didn't need to mention it, Mr. Carter, because she protects her professional life from people who fail to value it," Alexander said, his tone razor-sharp. The casual warmth he reserved for me was entirely gone, replaced by the formidable presence of a commanding general who oversaw tens of thousands of troops.
Eleanor rushed forward, her hands fluttering in frantic desperation. "General, please, you don't understand! Emily has a habit of exaggerating! She’s always been so dramatic about her little medical job, making mountains out of molehills—"
"Little medical job, Mrs. Carter?" Alexander turned his piercing gaze toward my mother, who instinctively took half a step backward. "Your daughter is a decorated trauma physician, a Major in the United States Army Medical Corps, who spent the last three years operating in combat zones while saving the lives of young men and women. She doesn't exaggerate. She performs under fire."
Aunt Marlene appeared from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel, drawn by the commotion. "Wait, a general? Are you a real general, or is this some kind of national guard—"
Alexander didn't even look at her. He simply pulled a folded leather portfolio from his breast pocket and handed it to my father.
"Mr. Carter, before I came here, Major Carter transmitted a full photographic record of the upstairs guest room to my legal and military police liaisons," Alexander stated calmly.
My father’s hands shook as he took the portfolio. "Photographs of what?"
"Of the systematic destruction of government property—specifically, an issued United States Army service uniform, valued at over six hundred dollars, along with personal effects," Alexander said evenly. "Destruction of a military uniform is a federal offense under U.S. Code Title 18, Section 702. Furthermore, the malicious destruction of private property exceeds felony thresholds in the Commonwealth of Virginia."
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The color drained entirely from Eleanor's face. She grabbed my father’s arm, her voice turning shrill. "Arthur! He's joking, right? It's just some old clothes! She's making a mockery of Lucas's wedding over a silly costume!"
"It is not a costume, Eleanor," I spoke up for the first time, my voice ringing clear and steady through the silent house. "It is the uniform of my service. And you made your stance crystal clear this afternoon when you decided to cut it to ribbons."
