Chapter 9 - The War He Started Against Me|
By Monday morning, my photograph appeared on the front page of a national business website.
The headline was designed to attract attention, and it succeeded.
DECORATED ARMY COLONEL LINKED TO BILLION-DOLLAR FAMILY CONTRACT DISPUTE.
Beneath it was a photograph of Arthur and me standing outside the White House.
Someone had captured the exact moment he'd grabbed my arm.
The article described our estrangement, my military career, and the investigation involving Mercer Defense Tech.
Some facts were accurate.
Others were carefully arranged to suggest a scandal that hadn't occurred.
An anonymous source claimed I had used personal connections to influence government officials against my father's company.
By lunchtime, social media commentators were arguing about me as though they'd known me for years.
Some called me a patriot.
Others accused me of seeking revenge.
A few invented stories about childhood inheritances, secret business partnerships, and political favors.
I read none of them after the first hour.
Instead, I reported to my office and began my scheduled work.
My responsibility that week involved coordinating a readiness assessment across several Army units.
It had nothing to do with Sentinel Link or my father's company.
There were training schedules to review, personnel issues to resolve, and operational concerns that couldn't wait for the internet to finish arguing about my family.
At ten-thirty, General Vance called.
"Kate, have you seen the coverage?"
"Yes, sir."
"Are you all right?"
"I've been through worse."
"I know."
He paused.
"An appropriate ethics office is reviewing the allegation of improper influence, and your recusal documentation has been preserved."
"Understood."
"Don't mistake an allegation for a finding."
"I won't, sir."
"And don't let this distract you from your mission."
I smiled faintly.
"No danger of that."
After the call, Martinez entered my office carrying two cups of coffee.
She placed one on my desk without asking.
"Thought you might need this."
"Thank you."
She sat down.
"My mother called this morning."
I looked up.
"Is she all right?"
"Fine."
Martinez shook her head.
"She's furious with your father."
I almost laughed.
"She's never met him."
"Apparently she doesn't consider that necessary."
For a brief moment, the tension lifted.
Then Martinez became serious.
"Ma'am, you should know people are asking whether you're going to resign."
I looked at her.
"Resign?"
"Because of the publicity."
I set down my coffee.
"Elena, I've served through deployments, emergencies, and situations where people depended on us to make decisions with incomplete information."
I gestured toward the stack of reports on my desk.
"I'm not abandoning my responsibilities because my father hired an aggressive public-relations firm."
She smiled.
"That's what I thought you'd say."
That evening, the story became even uglier.
A television commentator repeated a claim that I had been seeking revenge since being removed from Arthur's inheritance.
Another suggested that my military recognition might somehow have been arranged to embarrass him.
I turned off the television.
Then I received a message from Isabella Ortiz.
It contained a photograph of a handwritten note.
Colonel Kate, my dad taught me that courage means doing the right thing even when people are yelling at you.
Mom says you taught him that sometimes too.
Don't let anybody make you forget who you are.
I stared at the screen.
Then I called her mother.
Rebecca answered immediately.
"Kate, are you okay?"
"Yes."
"Isabella has been worried."
"Tell her I'm grateful."
Rebecca hesitated.
"You know, Sam used to talk about your father."
I was surprised.
"He did?"
"Only a little."
She smiled sadly through the phone.
"He said you were one of the strongest people he'd ever met, but that you still carried the opinions of one man like a weight in your backpack."
I laughed softly.
"That sounds like Sam."
"He thought one day you'd finally put it down."
After we spoke, I stood by the window and watched the evening traffic.
For years, I had believed proving myself would eventually make Arthur understand.
But the promotion, the medal, and the presidential ceremony had changed nothing about his behavior.
He didn't want evidence that I had succeeded.
He wanted evidence that I still needed him.
My phone rang again.
This time, Trevor's name appeared.
I almost ignored it.
Then I answered.
"Hello, Trevor."
His voice sounded exhausted.
"Kate, I need to tell you something."
I closed my eyes.
"If this involves the investigation, please speak with your attorney and the investigators."
"It doesn't involve the testing records."
He paused.
"It involves Dad."
I waited.
"He authorized the public-relations campaign against you."
I felt no surprise.
Trevor continued.
"But that's not the worst part."
I heard him swallow.
"He told the board that if he could make you look corrupt, the government would have to ignore anything connected to your family."
My grip tightened around the phone.
"Trevor, I can't advise you about company strategy."
"I know."
His voice broke.
"I just wanted you to understand something."
"What?"
"He's willing to destroy your career to save his company."
There was a long silence.
May you like
Then he whispered something even more devastating.
"And I think he's willing to destroy mine too."
