The Name He Didn't Want to Hear

General Cross picked up the letter.

His hands were steady now.

Too steady.

“What is your name?” he asked.

“Emily.”

“Emily what?”

She hesitated.

Then said it.

“Emily Carter.”

The general stopped breathing for half a second.

I noticed.

So did everyone else.

“Carter,” he whispered.

The little girl nodded.

“My dad's name was Michael Carter.”

The general looked toward the end of the corridor.

There was a window there.