On the front, I could see the seal before anyone else could.
Department of the Air Force.
My hand tightened around the stem of my glass.
Clare opened the envelope and unfolded the paper.
Then she looked directly at me.
“To Major General Evelyn Ulette,” she said.
The ballroom went completely silent.
My father’s wine glass stopped halfway to his mouth.
Richard’s smirk disappeared.
Margaret blinked twice, as if she believed she had misheard.
Clare continued.
“My sister.”
Her voice broke slightly.
Then she smiled.
“The woman my family has spent fifteen years describing as a disappointment.”
I set my glass down.
Slowly.
Around me, chairs began turning.
Two hundred and fifty faces looked toward table twenty-two.
I hated being the center of attention.
Always had.
Clare knew that.
Which meant this wasn’t about spectacle.
She had brought me here for something else.
She lifted the paper.
