“At Thanksgiving six years ago,” Samantha continued, “I told you leaving one career path didn’t mean I had stopped serving.”
Daniel remembered.
She could see it.
His eyes lowered.
“And I made that joke about your government PowerPoints.”
“Yes.”
“Right.”
Margaret sighed.
“Daniel…”
“No. She’s right.”
He looked at Samantha.
“I didn’t listen.”
Samantha studied her younger brother.
For years, she had seen Daniel as an extension of their father’s certainty.
But sitting across from him now, she saw something else.
A man who had spent most of his life trying to become exactly what everyone expected him to be.
Maybe he had mocked her choices partly because he could not imagine making his own.
Daniel tapped one finger against the table.
“Was General Carter involved in your work?”
“Sometimes.”
“And that thing today?”
“The extraction?”
He nodded.
Samantha paused.
“I spent the last eleven days supporting the coordination team.”
“From here?”
“Mostly Washington.”
“Were they Americans?”
She met his eyes.
“That part isn’t releasable.”
Daniel nodded immediately.
He understood that language now.
Robert finally spoke.
“So you have been doing this for twelve years.”
“Yes.”
“And you couldn’t tell us.”
“Correct.”
Robert’s voice became quieter.
“All this time.”
Samantha watched him carefully.
“You keep saying that as though the secrecy is what hurt you.”
“What else would?”
“The fact that you needed my career to be impressive before you could reconsider how you treated me.”
Robert looked up sharply.
Margaret went still.
Samantha did not raise her voice.
“I could have spent twelve years processing payroll at a federal office,” she continued. “Daniel still shouldn’t have called me a failure, and you still shouldn’t have allowed it.”
Daniel looked toward his father.
Robert’s face reddened slightly.
Samantha continued.
“What I do doesn’t retroactively make me worthy of respect.”
Robert sat motionless.
The waiter arrived with their meals.
The interruption was almost merciful.
For several minutes they spoke about Daniel’s training instead.
