Everyone laughed when they sent an eighty-year-old man and his eighteen-year-old wife off to spend their wedding night together. “Let’s see if Grandpa can make it until morning,” one relative joked through a burst of laughter. He didn’t respond. He simply picked up his old briefcase and closed the door. When six relatives opened it the next morning, they stopped laughing when they discovered what he had been protecting all night.

Samuel presented the comprehensive file to federal prosecutors and personally accompanied Chloe to every single official hearing.

Walter attended every proceeding alongside her, sitting quietly in the back row of the courtroom.

Whenever Chloe felt nervous and turned around to look for reassurance, Walter would simply give her a subtle, firm nod.

Three weeks into the formal investigation, one of the lead operatives was formally indicted for forgery, extortion, and real estate fraud.

Shortly after that arrest, a disgruntled former employee of the agency agreed to cooperate with authorities, turning over internal text messages, target lists, and photographs of prospective victims.

Chloe’s home address appeared prominently on one of those internal lists.