Brennan, Sawyer, Callum, and Lyle gathered together, panic written all over their faces.
Their plan to humiliate her backfired violently.
Sawyer muttered, “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”
“No,” Brennan snapped. “She wasn’t supposed to show up like that.”
As Elara came closer, whispers rolled through the room:
“She’s a Navy officer?”
“Did she fly combat missions?”
“She saved twelve Marines?”
“What were we doing while she risked her life?”
Elara stopped in the center of the room, letting the silence settle before she spoke.
“I saw your emails,” she said calmly. “The ones where you were planning your little performance today.
I came because I wanted to see if anything had changed in ten years.”
The four men stiffened. Several of the guests looked at them with disgust.
