Patricia gasped, her hand flying to her collar.

I looked at Logan, who stood near the hallway mirror.

His face was pale, but his fingers were moving rapidly across the screen of his own phone.

“There is more, Jake,” Hayes continued, her voice grim.

“Your parents filed a certified death certificate with the military benefits office three weeks ago.”

The room went dead silent, save for the hum of the refrigerator in the kitchen.

“They claimed you were killed in action during the covert operation in Niger,” she said.

“They were trying to trigger the payout on your two-million-dollar Service members’ Group Life Insurance policy.”

I gripped Owen tighter against my chest, feeling his tiny, rapid heartbeat against my ribs.

Walter stepped forward, his heavy leather boots creaking on the hardwood floor.

“That is a lie,” Walter barked, his voice booming.

“We were notified by the department. We acted on official information.”

“You forged the notification letter, Walter,” Jake said, his voice dangerously low.

“And you used Logan to route the fraudulent death certificate through the state registry.”