Rachel looked at me, her expression grim. “You know what this means for you, Evelyn? Bypassing your command, using military resources to decrypt civilian files. Crane will have your commission before the week is out.”

“Let him have it,” I said. “My uniform doesn’t matter if my daughter is dead.”

Rachel stood up, sliding the USB drive into her blazer pocket and picking up the diary.

“I’m going to the federal magistrate in Winston-Salem,” she said. “We have enough here for emergency warrants under the VAWA statutes and federal obstruction laws.”

“How long?” I asked.

“Six hours to get the signatures and mobilize the field office,” she said. “I need you to stay out of sight until we serve them.”

“I can’t do that,” I said. “I’m going back to Charlotte. I need to be at that hospital when your agents arrive.”

Rachel opened her mouth to argue, but she saw the look in my eyes and stopped.

“Don’t get yourself killed, Colonel,” she said. “If Margaret Prescott realizes what we have, she won’t just run. She’ll burn everything down to protect her family.”