Chapter 4 - Targeted
Then detectives opened a password-protected folder labeled Military Families. Inside were background reports on parents stationed nearby, including deployment schedules, addresses, and security-clearance information the school had no lawful reason to possess.
My name appeared at the top. Beside it was a note written by Halloway:
Father may interfere. Use daughter for leverage if necessary.
The detective looked at me grimly. “This wasn’t discipline,” she said. “They were targeting you.”
Then she opened the final file. It contained photographs of Lily taken outside our home.
My pulse went cold. The calm, tactical control I had maintained for two decades in combat suddenly hardened into pure, deadly focus.
"These photos were taken three days ago," the detective continued, zooming in. "Look at the background reflection in the window."
Reflected in our living room glass was a black sedan with government exempt plates.
"They weren't just blackmailing local parents, General," a senior FBI agent stepped into the room, holding a red-classified folder. "Principal Halloway wasn't acting alone. He was selling military family intelligence to an offshore private security contractor. Your daughter wasn't locked in that room to 'teach her a lesson.' She was being evaluated to see how far you could be pushed before you broke."
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The room seemed to shrink. Mrs. Gable and Halloway were small-time tyrants, but they were working for monsters far bigger than a suburban school district.
Halloway had picked the wrong father.
