I pressed the red button on the screen and cut him off.

I set the phone down on the desk.

The green light on my secure government line began to flash.

I ignored it for a moment, letting my eyes adjust to the dim light of the office.

I stood up and walked to the window, looking out over the wet asphalt of the parking lot.

A pair of military police officers were walking their patrol, their ponchos glistening in the rain.

They saluted as a staff car drove past.

I had spent fifteen years pretending to be a low-level administrator to keep the peace in my own home.

I had let Daniel believe he was the provider, the strong one, the leader of the family.

I had done it because I wanted a quiet life when I came home from the Pentagon or from deployments.

I had wanted a normal family.

But normal families do not build their lives on theft and deception.

I walked back to my desk and picked up my personal tablet.

An email notification had arrived five minutes ago from the principal’s office at Lakewood High School.