“Are you really going to let your wife throw away your family over a four-star general?”

Ethan stood on the bottom stair, looking down at his mother from two feet away.

He ran his thumb along the key ring in his pocket, then pulled his hand out and let it hang empty at his side.

He cleared his throat once, slowly, and looked straight into Linda’s face.

“I almost threw my family away because I was afraid to disagree with you,” Ethan said.

Linda stared at him, her lips parting without a sound.