He placed the manila folder down with a soft, heavy thud.

“This is a grave matter,” the General said, looking at each of us in turn.

“Captain Richard Vance was my only son.”

His voice cracked slightly on the word ‘son’, but he quickly recovered his composure.

“If the contents of this file are accurate, then my son left a child behind.”

“And if they are accurate, certain individuals in this room have committed serious violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.”

He looked directly at Andrew.

Andrew swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing above his tight collar.

“General Vance, with all due respect, Colonel Parker is fabricating this to deflect from her own shortcomings,” Andrew said.

His voice was thin, lacking its usual parade-deck authority.

“She has resented my position here from the moment she was assigned to Fort Garrison.”

“She wants to ruin my career, and she is using your late son’s memory to do it.”

I kept my hands flat on the table, my fingers steady.

“The DNA samples were processed by an accredited federal laboratory, General,” I said calmly.