Chapter 11: The Spy’s Dilemma

Michael spent the next day in turmoil. He met with Eleanor at the Red Cross tent on the city’s outskirts, helping her gather reports of the horrors in the camps. The stories were worse than anything he’d imagined: children dying of fever, women begging for clean water, Spanish guards turning a blind eye. Eleanor’s outrage was genuine—she pressed Michael to use his influence to get the story out, to shame both Spain and America into action.

But Michael’s American contacts had other ideas. That evening, in a smoky back room, his handler slid a packet of forged Spanish orders across the table. “Plant these in the offices of El Diario de la Marina,” the handler whispered. “We need proof the Spanish blew up the Maine—something to tip Washington over the edge. If you can’t find the evidence, create it. No one will question you. You’re a trusted American reporter now, with a nurse on your arm.”