He let them fall.
“I had no idea,” he said.
“That I was receiving a medal?”
“That you were doing work at this level.”
There were a hundred answers I could have given him. I chose the simplest.
“You could have asked.”
His eyes moved toward Ruiz and her parents. He lowered his voice.
“Could we speak privately?”
I excused myself. Ruiz touched my elbow as I passed.
“I’ll be here,” she said.
Victor led us to a quieter stretch near a window. Lorraine stayed several paces away. Blake did not. He checked his phone again, then looked toward the doors where the Secretary had disappeared.
Victor turned to me. “I owe you an apology for this morning.”
“Yes.”
“I spoke without understanding why you were here.”
“You understood I was your daughter.”
His expression shifted. The answer had landed harder than I intended, though I did not regret saying it.
“I did,” he admitted.
For one brief second, I thought he might continue. He might mention the twenty-six years, the cards, or the way he had introduced Blake as his only child.
Instead, Blake stepped in.
“Dad, we need to ask her about the convoy.”
Victor’s jaw tightened. “Give us a moment.”
“She’s going into a meeting with the Secretary. We don’t have a moment.”
Lorraine came closer. “Blake.”
He ignored her.
“Maya, this is serious,” he said. “There’s a report floating around that makes our assemblies look responsible. It’s wrong.”
“I can’t discuss an investigation.”
“You can tell them the records are incomplete.”
“I’ve told them what I know. I’m out of the investigation.”
Blake gave a short laugh. “You built the system that flagged the shipment.”
“Yes.”
“Then unflag it.”
I stared at him. The ease with which he said it startled me.
“That system records events,” I said. “It doesn’t erase them.”
Victor stepped between us. “Blake, stop talking.”
Blake’s face reddened. “You said she would help once she knew.”
There it was. Victor had wanted his daughter back for less than five minutes, and Blake already knew what he wanted her to do.
I looked at my father.
He did not deny it.
“I wanted to speak with you,” he said. “I was going to explain the situation.”
“You wanted me to explain it to the Secretary.”
