Chapter 5 - THE AFTERMATH OF HONOR
The news of Richard Vale’s arrest broke faster than the tide.
The wedding of the season had become the scandal of the century.
By the next morning,
Vale Industries was in a tailspin,
its stock plummeting to near zero.
Camille fled to their house in the Hamptons,
refusing to answer my calls or the press.
I sat in the small apartment Daniel and I shared,
looking at the front page of the newspapers.
The lead photo wasn't of my father in handcuffs.
It was of the Admiral walking me down the aisle.
The headline read:
THE ADMIRAL’S BRIDE: JUSTICE IN DRESS WHITES.
Daniel brought me a cup of coffee,
sitting on the edge of the bed.
“How are you holding up?”
he asked.
“I feel...
empty,”
I admitted.
“I spent so long fighting to survive the explosion,
then fighting to find the truth.”
“Now that it’s over,
I don't know who I am without the battle.”
He took my hand and kissed the scar on my neck.
“You’re Evelyn Mercer,”
he said.
“And you’re a hero who did the right thing when it was the hardest thing to do.”
The phone rang—it was the Admiral’s office.
She wanted to see me at the Pentagon.
When I arrived,
the halls felt different.
People didn't just move aside for my rank;
they moved aside out of genuine reverence.
I was ushered into Admiral Cross’s office.
She was looking at a map of the world,
her back to me.
“The investigation is expanding,”
she said without turning around.
“We’ve found three other ships with the same faulty valves.”
“You saved hundreds of lives,
Evelyn.”
“I just did my job,
Ma'am,”
I said,
standing at attention.
She turned and looked at me,
a rare smile touching her lips.
“The Navy is awarding you the Silver Star for your actions during the explosion.”
“And for your work on this investigation,
you’re being promoted to Lieutenant Commander.”
I felt a lump form in my throat.
“Thank you,
Admiral.”
“Don’t thank me,”
she said,
walking over to her desk.
“You earned every bit of it.”
“And Evelyn?”
I paused at the door.
“Your father asked for you to visit him in jail.”
“What did you tell him?”
“I didn't tell him anything,”
she said.
“That’s your decision.”
I looked at the scars on my hand,
then back at her.
May you like
“I have nothing to say to a man who thinks I’m a warning label.”
“I’m too busy being the cure.”
