“Reputation is all we have, Grace,” she said.

She walked past us without another word and climbed the stairs to her bedroom.

I looked at Ethan.

“Are you going to be okay here?” I asked.

“I’m packing my things tonight,” Ethan said.

“You can stay at my apartment in the city,” I said.

“Thanks,” he said. “I think I will.”

I left him there, standing by the window.

Three days later, the congressional hearings began.

I sat in the gallery of the Senate hearing room.

The air was warm and smelled of old paper and air conditioning.

Aaron Vale sat at the witness table.

He looked smaller in his dark suit, his shoulders slightly hunched.

He spoke clearly into the microphone.

“The Colonel ordered me to alter the test results,” Aaron said.

The room was completely quiet.

“Did you know the equipment was faulty?” the committee chairman asked.

“Yes, sir,” Aaron said. “We all did.”

“And what was Colonel Whitaker’s response when you raised concerns?”

“He told me that a delay would cost the company the contract,” Aaron said.