My hands were shaking so hard I could barely put the key in the ignition.

I grabbed my personal phone from the cup holder.

There were three missed calls.

Two were from an unknown number.

The third was from Daniel.

He had sent a text message five minutes ago.

I tapped the screen to open it.

“Hope you have a good day at work. Let me know when you’re coming home so we can talk about Emma’s custody agreement.”

The sheer malice of the message made me sick.

He had timed it perfectly.

He knew exactly what was happening to me at the base at that very moment.

I started the engine and threw the car into reverse, gravel spraying under the tires.

I needed to get home.

I needed to check my briefcase.

I needed to see if my laptop was still there, or if he had taken it to wipe the evidence of his own login.

As I drove past the main gate, the guard didn’t salute.

He just waved me through with a grim expression.

The drive to the suburbs took twenty minutes.