”
No one spoke. Because they finally understood something terrible. They had never held the power here.
They had only been living under the silent generosity of a dead man they had stopped respecting the moment his coffin disappeared.
Suddenly, the baby kicked inside my stomach. Hard. Alive. I instinctively placed a hand against my belly.
And for the first time, Colonel Hayes gave the faintest smile.
“The transport is ready whenever you are, ma’am.”
Behind him, the former men from Daniel’s unit stood silently beside the black SUVs. Still. Watchful. Protective. Like ghosts who had returned to collect the family of a fallen brother.
Then Ryan made one final mistake.
“You can’t just throw us out before Thanksgiving!”
The colonel finally turned his eyes toward him. And for the first time, his stare became ice cold.
“Sir… a pregnant woman slept in an unheated garage while you occupied her home.”
The silence that followed was absolute.
Then Hayes added something that destroyed the last of their dignity.
