Chapter 10 - A New Horizon
A year after the funeral, the Maryland air was crisp and bright.
I stood in my living room, surrounded by moving boxes. I had sold the Annapolis house. It held too many ghosts, too many echoes of a man who had never truly existed. With the life insurance money and the profit from the house sale, I was completely financially independent.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. It was the Pentagon.
“Captain Thorne,” the Admiral’s voice crackled over the line, using my newly minted rank. “Your transfer to the Pacific Fleet JAG headquarters is approved. We need someone with your strategic mind out in Hawaii.”
“Thank you, sir. I’ll be on the flight tomorrow,” I replied, smiling.
Before I locked the front door for the last time, I thought about the chaos of the past year. Lucas’s betrayal, Beatrice’s cruelty, Jessica’s entitlement. They had expected me to crumble. They had expected me to scream, cry, and surrender my dignity.
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They forgot that the military teaches you how to survive an ambush: you don't panic. You find cover, you assess the enemy’s weakness, and you return fire with overwhelming, devastating accuracy.
I walked out to my car, tossing the keys to the real estate agent. I drove toward the base, the sun setting brilliantly over the Atlantic Ocean, leaving the past exactly where it belonged—buried in the dirt.
