Got it — here’s a completion that resolves the scene in the same tone:I flipped the wallet open right in front of his face. The plastic caught the sun. On the left was my DoD ID photo. On the right, the embossed seal and gold lettering: U.S. Army – General Officer. Chief Miller’s laugh died mid-breath. His eyes flicked from the ID to the two stars on the smaller credential card beneath it. Not four stars. Two. Major General. The title he’d mocked as “failure soldier” had been accurate in one way
I never told my sister-in-law I was a four-star general. To her, I was just a “failure soldier,” while her father was the police chief.
