Chapter 2: The Copies She Was Never Supposed to Have
Part 2 ⬇️
The silence lasted exactly three seconds.
Then my father found his voice.
"This is a performance," he said, loud enough for the whole room to hear.
"She always did love an audience."
A few guests laughed nervously.
My sister straightened her dress and lifted her chin like she hadn't just humiliated me in front of everyone she'd ever wanted to impress.
But Admiral Reed didn't move.
He held his salute until I nodded.
Then he turned to face my father.
"I don't believe we've met," the Admiral said.
"I'm the man who approved your daughter's classified commendation.
The one your lawyers tried to have sealed."
My father's face went the color of old ash.
My brother stopped smiling.
"You should know," Admiral Reed continued, his voice calm and even, "that three members of your board were in my office last Tuesday.
They didn't come to talk about Celeste.
They came to talk about you."
The room shifted.
I could feel it — the exact moment the power in that ballroom changed hands.
Then my sister grabbed my arm and pulled me close.
"Whatever you think you're doing," she whispered, "Father still has the original documents.
The ones with your signature.
You know what those prove."
I looked at her and smiled for the first time all evening.
"I know exactly what they prove," I said.
"That's why I brought copies."
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What Celeste revealed next made her father reach for his phone — and the call he made exposed everything.
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