Chapter 7 - The Fallout
The flashing message on Ryan’s pager was a death sentence for his career.
In the Navy, a suspended security clearance meant you were immediately grounded, relieved of duty, and treated like a suspect.
Because he was marrying into Alan’s family, the Department of Defense algorithms had automatically flagged him as a flight risk.
Lily looked at the pager, her eyes wide with renewed panic.
“What does this mean for the wedding tomorrow?” she asked, her voice trembling.
“It means I cannot legally leave the state, and I might be facing a court-martial just by association,” Ryan said numbly.
He looked absolutely shattered, realizing his life’s work was evaporating in seconds.
I paced the length of the stone patio, my mind racing through military protocols and loopholes.
There was only one way to override an automated Department of Defense clearance freeze in the middle of the night.
It required the authorization of a Fleet Admiral with direct Pentagon oversight.
I stopped pacing and looked up at the dark sky, feeling a sickening knot form in my stomach.
Admiral Vance could not do it; it was out of his jurisdiction.
There was only one man who had the power to fix this instantly, and I had not spoken to him in fifteen years.
“Ryan, I need you to go inside and keep Lily calm,” I ordered softly.
“What are you going to do?” he asked, seeing the grim determination on my face.
“I am going to make a phone call that I swore to myself I would never make,” I replied.
I walked to the furthest corner of the garden, dialed a classified twelve-digit number, and waited.
The phone rang exactly once before it was picked up.
“I have been waiting for this call for a very long time, Nora,” a gruff, commanding voice answered.
May you like
“Hello, Admiral Hayes,” I said to my biological father.
“I need a favor, but I know it is going to cost me.”
