“I asked you a question, Rachel,” he said.

The silence in the foyer was heavy, broken only by the quiet hum of the refrigerator in the kitchen.

Major Harris took a half-step forward, his hand hovering near his side, but I raised my hand slightly to stop him.

“You don’t get to ignore me anymore,” Daniel said.

His voice was thin, but there was a sharp, desperate edge to it now.

“I have spent fifteen years watching you play the quiet, dutiful wife while you ran off to your secret meetings,” he said.

“I built my business in this town while you were playing soldier.”

“And now you think you can just march into my house and destroy my daughter’s life because your pride was hurt?”

“This isn’t about pride, Daniel,” I said.

My voice was flat, devoid of the anger he was trying to provoke.

“Ava committed a federal offense when she lied to the investigators,” I said.

“She made a false allegation against a senior officer.”

“That is a matter of law, not a family dispute.”