And now, when your brother needs a small boost to secure his future, you act like a stranger off the street.”

“I earned my commission and my rank on my own merit,” I said.

“You’re being completely selfish,” Eleanor said, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the brass on my uniform.

“You’ve always been ungrateful to this family, and you’re using that uniform as an excuse to feel superior.”

She turned on her heel, walked back to her sedan without waiting for an answer, and shut the door hard enough to rattle the window.

By ten o’clock that night, the administrative building was silent except for the night guard’s boots clicking down the far corridor.