“Your blood pressure is stable, Colonel,” she said, tapping her tablet screen.

“You’re cleared to leave first thing in the morning.”

“Thank you,” I said.

I looked down at Evelyn.

She slept through the night, her tiny breaths steady and quiet in the bassinet beside my bed.

Rain streaked the windows when dawn broke over Alexandria.

The sky was a dull, heavy gray that made the bedroom look cold.

Lieutenant General Marcus Vale arrived at seven o’clock.

He wore his dress blues, his chest decorated with ribbons.

He didn’t need to wear them, but he knew the psychological weight of authority.

“The car is downstairs, Tessa,” Marcus said, his voice deep and steady.

“My security detail will remain with Evelyn while you are in court.”

“Thank you, Marcus,” I said, adjusting the strap of my diaper bag.

Naomi had arranged for a private nurse to watch Evelyn in a secure holding room at the courthouse.

I carried my daughter down the long hospital hallway.

The squeak of my black leather flats echoed on the polished linoleum.

We walked out into the chilly autumn air.