Chapter 1 - The Salute
The clinking of silverware stopped instantly.
The low murmur of polite conversation vanished into a suffocating silence.
Alan lowered his crystal bourbon glass, his smug expression freezing in place.
My mother blinked, her mouth slightly open as she stared at the head table.
Every eye in the private dining room shifted from Ryan to me.
I stood at the far end of the table, still holding my worn duffel bag.
Ryan did not just stand; he snapped to a flawless, rigid position of attention.
His shoulders were pulled back, his chin tucked, and his eyes locked dead ahead with a level of reverence I had never seen from him in family photos.
“Commander Hayes,” Ryan said, his voice echoing loudly against the mahogany walls.
“It is an absolute honor to have you here, Ma’am.”
My mother let out a nervous, high-pitched laugh.
“Ryan, sweetheart, there is no need for jokes,” she said, waving her hand dismissively.
“Nora is just doing her little logistics job, and she is already making a scene.”
Ryan did not look at her.
He kept his eyes fixed on me, his posture unyielding.
“Mrs. Brooks, with all due respect, Commander Hayes is the sole reason my unit made it out of the Kunar Province alive two years ago,” he stated firmly.
A collective gasp rippled through the room.
My sister Lily dropped her linen napkin, her eyes wide with shock.
“She is a recipient of the Navy Cross, and I will not sit down until she is seated at the head table,” Ryan continued.
My mother’s face flushed a deep, humiliating shade of crimson.
She opened her mouth to argue, but the heavy oak doors of the dining room suddenly swung open.
A tall, imposing man in a pristine dress white uniform walked in, the four stars on his collar gleaming under the chandelier.
It was Fleet Admiral Thomas Vance, the highest-ranking officer on the East Coast.
He bypassed the head table entirely, walked straight down the length of the room, and stopped right in front of me.
May you like
He offered a crisp salute and smiled grimly.
“Commander, we have a massive security breach, and you are the only one who can fix it.”
