Sterling had strategically seated me at his right hand. My family was clustered together on the opposite side of the mahogany expanse, flanked by ruthless Pentagon procurement officers and aerospace investors.
My mother kept nervously smoothing her napkin across her lap, searching for the broken, grieving widow she could easily intimidate. That girl was dead.
As the second course was served, a prominent Defense official leaned across the table toward my parents. “It’s truly a marvel. To engineer the Aegis Protocol while pregnant and grieving. You must have provided an incredible support system for her.”
My mother’s voice vibrated with a pathetic, desperate pitch. “Oh, absolutely. We… we gave her all the space she needed. We believed in her unconditionally.”
The lie was so audacious it tasted metallic in my mouth. I slowly lowered my silver fork.
“Is that a fact, Mom?” I asked. The entire table instantly went dead silent.
