Chapter 1 - The First Thread
Dana Reyes did not blink when I mentioned my Navy rank.
She simply pulled a photograph from her thick manila folder.
She placed it face-up on my glass coffee table.
I looked down at the image of my five-year-old son.
Eli was asleep in his bed, a dark purple bruise clearly visible on his jawline.
My breath caught in my throat.
I had never seen that bruise before.
But that was not what made my blood run cold.
The bedsheets in the photograph were not from my house.
They were the distinct, star-patterned sheets from the secure daycare facility on the Naval base.
"Do you recognize this injury, Commander Bennett?" Dana asked.
"I do not," I answered honestly.
"The reporting party stated you often strike him when he cries," she said, her voice devoid of emotion.
I looked at Eli, who was still crashing his plastic dinosaurs together in the corner.
He was happy, healthy, and completely unaware that his life was being dissected.
"Ms. Reyes, whoever took this photo had to have clearance to enter a federal military installation," I stated firmly.
Dana frowned, confused by my sudden shift in tone.
"What are you implying?" she asked.
"I am implying that this is not a simple family dispute," I said.
A loud knock at my front door interrupted us.
I stood up and walked to the entryway.
I opened the door to find two armed military police officers standing on my porch.
Behind them, wearing a smug smile, stood my sister Monica.
"Commander Bennett, you are being relieved of duty pending an investigation," the taller officer said.
Monica stepped forward, her eyes gleaming with malice.
"I told you I was going to protect him, Rachel," she whispered.
I realized then that she was not just trying to take my son.
May you like
She was trying to destroy my entire life.
And she was holding a piece of paper that looked exactly like a military arrest warrant.
