Now, they wanted to use it.

The phone on the sideboard buzzed again, sliding an inch across the silver tray.

The red indicator light flashed in the quiet room.

I stood up and walked toward the sideboard.

I picked up the heavy encrypted receiver.

The screen showed a secure notification from my chief of staff at the Pentagon.

I pressed the button to silence the vibration, but I did not put the device down.

Its weight in my palm was a solid reminder of the world I actually lived in.

Behind me, the dining room remained thick with a sudden, suffocating silence.

I turned back to face the table.

Caroline’s face was flushed a deep, blotchy red.

She gripped the edge of her seat so hard her knuckles turned the color of the white tablecloth.

“You did this on purpose,” Caroline said, her voice shaking with a sudden spike of venom.

She stood up, her chair scraping loudly against the hardwood floor.

“You sat there for years letting us think you were just some low-level paper pusher,” she said.