Chapter 3: The Badge in the Water
Chapter 3: The Badge in the Water
The diver climbed onto the dock.
Water poured from his suit as he knelt and placed both items onto a steel crate.
The wedding ring.
And the sealed Navy badge.
The admiral didnât look at the ring.
Only the badge.
His jaw tightened.
âWhere did you find that?â
The diver hesitated.
âInside the submerged case beneath the hull, sir. Same location as the encrypted ledger.â
The wifeâs eyes narrowed.
âLedger?â
The admiral finally turned slightly toward her.
âYou were never meant to know about it.â
Miller stepped back.
âWhat ledger?â
The wind grew sharper.
The admiral nodded once to the diver.
Open it.
Inside the waterproof case was a thin black folder.
Marked with naval intelligence insignia.
And Millerâs name.
Not as an officer.
But as a flagged subject.
The wifeâs voice dropped.
âYouâve been selling restricted access codes for months.â
Miller snapped.
âThatâs not true.â
But his phone buzzed.
Once.
Then again.
Then again.
Incoming alerts flooded his screen.
Bank accounts frozen.
Clearance revoked.
Assets flagged.
Every system he had ever used⊠shutting down in real time.
He looked up at her.
âYou did this.â
May you like
She shook her head.
âYou did it the moment you decided I was disposable.â
