Robert’s eyes rolled back in terror. He gripped his chest. “You have no right—”

“I have every right,” Sterling barked. “You defrauded the United States military. You stole from the men and women bleeding in the dirt, and you used it to buy Vera Wang.”

He turned his back on Robert, dismissing him entirely as a threat, and looked at his son.

“William. The choice is yours.”

William stood. His hands were stained with my blood. He walked slowly toward Chloe.

She reached out, sobbing, mascara streaking her makeup. “William, baby, please! I didn’t know! If I’d known she was a General, I never would have touched her!