Search Results: 'U.S. Department of Justice'

The Unmarked Grave

Words: 3018 · Source Novel:: Embers of Valdoria

Ironvale, November 2026. Elias Voss, 78, a retired mechanic, receives a certified letter from the U.S. Department of Justice—a preliminary inquiry into "Operation Willow," a 1973 clearance mission in Valdoria. He burns the letter, but memories flood back: the orders, the smoke, and the children he ordered shot. Meanwhile, in a hospice across town, Dr. Mira Sorokin, the sole survivor, dictates her final testimony to a young federal prosecutor. She knows Voss’s real name—he was her captor’s lieutenant. The chapter ends with Voss visiting her ward, not to threaten, but to beg for silence.