The ache of the betrayal was still there, hollow in my chest, but the cold resolve of a combat commander surged up to replace it. They’d locked me in the freezing rain to die.

They’d tried to steal my newborn’s future.

I looked at General Keene, already pulling out his encrypted phone, then at Mara.

“They think they’ve won,” I said, my voice dropping to a whisper that commanded the room. “Let them.”

“What are your orders, Colonel?” Keene asked, a lethal glint in his eye.

“Unfreeze the accounts, Mara,” I said, sitting up straighter despite the burn of my incision. “Call the bank. Tell them I verbally approve the transaction.