Chapter 14: Parallel Continuity
The months after the decree passed without further contact from Ryan or Linda.
No messages. No indirect approaches. No attempts to reopen the financial questions that had already been closed by signature and court order. The silence was the most reliable indicator that the levers they had once used were permanently removed.
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On post, the work of the command filled the available space. The unit’s production cycle, the interagency requirements, and the internal leadership demands absorbed the energy that might otherwise have been spent on replaying the past. I did not discuss the civilian case with colleagues. A few senior officers had been aware, in general terms, that I was dealing with a difficult personal matter. Once it no longer affected my availability, the subject disappeared from professional conversation.
Hair grew back in an even, short cut that required no explanation. The scalp healed cleanly. When I looked in the mirror, the reflection no longer carried the immediate image of Linda standing over the bed. That image had been filed with the rest of the evidence—acknowledged, documented, and no longer active.
