After two long years overseas, Sergeant Michael Torres finally stepped off the bus onto his street. The autumn air felt sharper, thinner, almost foreign. He had expected relief, the warmth of a reunion. Instead, his chest tightened with a dread he couldn’t name, as if home itself had shifted in his absence.
He barely had time to set down his duffel before his daughter, Emily, tore across the pavement and threw herself into his arms. He lifted her high, her laughter ringing like music. Then she pressed her lips to his ear and whispered words that froze him: “Daddy, you have to know Mom’s secret…”
Michael’s arms stiffened around her small frame. His heart hammered with the echo of combat, though no gunfire rang here. He kissed her hair, forcing a smile for the neighbors watching, but inside, unease curled like smoke. Only two years gone, and already something at home didn’t add up…