Chapter 10 - The Missing Page
By the next morning, my ceremony was everywhere online. One video called me a fraud. Another called Charlene a monster. Both left out most of the truth. The comments made me feel like a stranger in my own life.
I put the phone face down. General Haskett called me into his office with a legal adviser present.
"The original statement is missing," he said. "The archive copy still exists. We also have the intake ledger and hospital witness signatures. No one has erased history."
"Why steal something that has copies?"
"To intimidate you. Or because someone didn't know about the copies."
He was careful. There was an investigation; Mercer was not convicted of anything. Neither my anger nor my medal could replace evidence.
The adviser explained the next steps. Leah's attorney could petition for records. Investigators would examine chain of custody and the gate operator's logs. I would remain available as a witness and avoid contacting Mercer directly.
"I can follow orders," I said.
Haskett's expression softened. "This isn't about obedience, Erin. It's about keeping you safe."
I almost laughed. He had seen me half-drowned with Brody in my arms. Safety had never seemed like an option I could choose.
When I left, a woman waited near the office door with a paper grocery sack. She introduced herself as Nora Velez, retired county dispatcher. Her husband had seen the ceremony video and told her she could stop carrying the past alone.
"I sent the flood warning," she said. "At 9:17 p.m. Gate Three was scheduled to release excess water. I told Colonel Mercer's desk to shut that road. Someone acknowledged me. At 9:24, I called again. The same man said the convoy was clear."
"Was it?"
"No. I could hear a soldier shouting behind him."
She handed over a duplicate dispatch log, one she had kept after county management replaced her computer system. I didn't touch it. I called the agent and had Nora give it to her directly.
Nora's eyes were wet. "They wrote me up for 'false dispatch.' I lost my job over that night."
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Then she said the name that turned my blood cold.
"The man who told me to stand down wasn't Mercer. It was your father."
