“He had an insider in the military bureaucracy who bypassed the verification process.”

Jake leaned over the table, his hands flat on the surface.

“Who signed the casualty report?” Jake asked, his voice barely a whisper.

Reyes pointed to the black ink signature at the bottom of the page.

“It was Captain Vance,” Reyes said, looking directly into Jake’s eyes.

“Your former commanding officer.”

“He was the one who verified the false dental records and signed off on the death certificate.”

Jake’s face went completely pale, his eyes widening in shock.

“No,” Jake whispered, shaking his head.

“That’s impossible.”

“Vance was with me in the field.”

“He is the one who helped me set up the trust in the first place.”

“He knew exactly how much money was in that account,” Reyes said, sliding another paper forward.

“And we have the wire transfers showing three hundred thousand dollars moving from your trust to an offshore account in Vance’s name.”

The paper showed the exact dates, matching the week Jake was reported missing.

I stared at the name on the document, the reality of the betrayal sinking in.