“General,” he said, his voice crisp. “We have a problem.”

I looked up from my desk.

“What is it, Vance?” I asked.

He placed the blue folder on the polished oak surface.

“Your husband is at the main gate, General,” Vance said.

I did not move.

“He is demanding to speak with the base commander,” Vance continued.

“Does he know I am the base commander?” I asked.

“He does now,” Vance said. “The gate guards checked his ID and saw his name flagged in our system.”

I looked at the rain striking the windowpane.

“He brought a lawyer with him,” Vance added.

I reached out and opened the folder.

Inside was a draft of a motion Daniel’s attorney had filed an hour ago in Jefferson County.

It was an emergency petition for temporary spousal support and exclusive use of our home in Lakewood.

Daniel was trying to lock me out of the house I had paid for with twenty-five years of military service.

My personal phone buzzed again on the desk.

The screen lit up with the same unknown number Ava had used to text me.