His Wife, His Wingman, His Regret
Ethan Hale was the name every pilot at North Ridge Air Base looked up to.
I was Ava Morgan, his wife and his only flight partner.
To earn my ace qualification, I had to complete three final evaluation missions within the review period.
I failed all three.
I refused to accept it as coincidence, so I followed the access logs, flight records, and maintenance files until every abnormal detail pointed to one person.
Chloe Bennett.
When I took the evidence to Ethan, I heard him arguing with his deputy, Liam Reed, behind the office door.
"You are putting Chloe forward for the ace-track recommendation? She can barely hold steady in a back seat," Liam said, his anger barely restrained.
"Ava is my wife and my flight partner. Chloe is different. She has nothing."
Standing outside the door, I suddenly laughed.
Then I turned around and accepted the return offer from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
Before I left, I gave Ethan three things.
And he would regret them for the rest of his life.