I pressed the red button to end the call and set the phone back on the tray.

My hands were shaking slightly, so I crossed my arms to hide it.

“He wants the house and a settlement,” I told Naomi.

“He’s using my deployments and the trust fund to paint me as unfit.”

Naomi nodded, her pen hovering over her legal pad.

“It’s a classic intimidation tactic,” she said.

“But we have to take the emergency filing seriously.”

“A judge in Fairfax County signed off on a temporary hearing for tomorrow at nine.”

General Vale stood up, straightening his olive-drab uniform jacket.

“Can he actually use her deployments against her?” Vale asked.

“Tessa was serving her country under federal orders.”

“In a normal custody dispute, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act protects her,” Naomi explained.

“But Grant is arguing that her secret financial assets suggest she is planning to flee the country with the baby.”

“He’s claiming the classified nature of her work makes it impossible to verify her whereabouts.”

I looked over at the small plastic bassinet near my bed.