vignette
“HE SH.OT ME AT MY OWN MEDAL CEREMONY—THEN STILL CLAIMED I WAS ‘UNSTABLE.’” / Chapter 5 / 10

Chapter 5 - Ward 4B

By the fourth day, the hospital room became a war room.

General Halloway arrived without an entourage, wearing working utility camouflage, a plain manila folder tucked beneath his arm. Diaz snapped to attention, but the General waved him down with a blunt chop of his hand.

"Sit down, Sergeant. Vance, how’s the hip?"

"Holding together, sir. Physical therapy starts tomorrow."

Halloway pulled up a chair and opened the folder on his lap. "The press is having a field day with Pendelton’s lawyer. Some civilian outlets love the narrative: 'Decorated Airman Goes Mad, Hero Stepfather Defends Himself.' It’s garbage, but the civilian prosecutor is feeling the heat from political groups crying about military accountability."

"I have the phone records, General," I said, my voice steadying. "I blocked Arthur’s number four years ago. I haven't spoken to him since my mother’s funeral."

"We know that," Halloway replied. "OSI raided Pendelton's residence in Sumter yesterday morning. What they found wasn't a worried father. It was a stalker."

He slid several photographs out of the folder and laid them on my blanket.

My breath caught in my throat.

They were printouts of my service records, stolen from civilian registry databases. Floor plans of my off-base apartment in Hanahan. High-resolution photographs of me getting groceries, running on the beach, having coffee with Diaz. Arthur had been following me for eight months.

"He also forged several emails using a proxy server," Halloway continued, his jaw working. "Sent them to himself, pretending to be you, loaded with threats and incoherent military jargon. He spent nearly forty thousand dollars fabricating a paper trail to paint you as a psychotic veteran who needed to be put down."

"Why?" Diaz asked, staring at the photos in disgust. "Why go that far?"

"Because Julian got away," Halloway said simply, looking directly at me. "Men like Pendelton don't care about truth. They care about control. When Julian walked onto that parade ground to take the Silver Star, he became something Arthur couldn't diminish. So Arthur decided if he couldn't own him, he'd erase him."

Halloway tapped the desk. "The preliminary hearing is next Tuesday. You don't have to be there, Vance. Your testimony can be taken by deposition."

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"No, sir," I said, pushing myself up despite the tearing ache in my side. "I’ll be there. On my own two feet."

***

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Chapter 6 - The Unraveling Web
Chapter 7 - The Arraignment
Chapter 8 - The Price of Standing
Chapter 9 - The Verdict of Truth
Chapter 10 - The Unbroken Line

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