After my third deployment, my wife filed for divorce. «I’ve met someone better,» she said …

She looked up at Roy, then at Perry and Bridget. Her expression transformed from judicial neutrality to alarm. No one moves, she ordered sharply.

Bailiff immediately closed the doors and secure this courtroom. Perry stood suddenly. This is ridiculous.

I’m not subject to these proceedings. Sir, sit down immediately, the judge commanded. Bridget turned to Perry in confusion.

What’s happening? What did he give her? The courtroom doors opened to admit four military police officers in full tactical gear, accompanied by two FBI agents in suits. Pavel Resnick announced the lead FBI agent. You are under arrest for espionage against the United States and operating as an unregistered foreign agent.

Bridget’s lawyer dropped her papers in shock as the MPs moved purposefully toward Perry, who looked frantically for an escape route. Finding none, he lunged toward Bridget. Tell them this is a mistake.

Tell them. Two MPs intercepted him before he could reach her, securing him quickly and professionally while the FBI agents read him his rights. Bridget stood frozen, her face ashen as the reality of her situation dawned on her.

Mrs. Donovan, said the second FBI agent, approaching her, will need you to come with us as well for questioning regarding your involvement in this matter. I don’t understand, Bridget whispered, looking desperately toward Roy. What is this? Roy met her gaze evenly.

This is the consequence of choices, Bridget. Yours and mine. Judge Holbrook banged her gavel.

This custody hearing is suspended pending the outcome of this federal investigation. Sergeant Donovan, given these extraordinary circumstances, I’m granting you emergency temporary custody of the children. We’ll reconvene when the situation clarifies.

As the MPs led Perry away, he locked eyes with Roy one final time. The mask of Perry Wexler had fallen completely, revealing the cold calculation of Pavel Reznik. In that moment, Roy saw what his children had been living with, a predator who had targeted them as pawns in a dangerous game.

Outside the courtroom, Colonel Barrett waited. Clean Operation, Donovan. Thank you for your support, sir.

The children. Safe at school. I’ll pick them up myself.

The colonel nodded. This isn’t over. His network is extensive.

The children will need protection until we’ve rolled up the entire cell. Understood, sir. Roy straightened, every inch the soldier.

I’ll defend what’s mine.

Collateral Damage. The aftermath of the courtroom revelation unfolded rapidly.

Perry’s arrest made national headlines. Foreign agent arrested in military espionage case. Media vans camped outside the Donovan home, forcing Roy to relocate with the children to a secured military facility temporarily.

Bridget wasn’t arrested that day, but taken in for extensive questioning. The FBI investigation revealed she had accepted over $200,000 in payments disguised as consulting fees and investment returns, all coinciding with key dates in Roy’s deployment schedule and security clearance updates. Two weeks after the courtroom confrontation, Roy met with FBI Special Agent Diana Walsh to review the findings.

We believe your wife was a witting participant, Sergeant Donovan, Walsh explained, showing him transaction records. The pattern of payments is too consistent with your military activities to be coincidental. However, we don’t believe she understood the full scope of Resnick’s operation, meaning she likely knew she was being paid to provide access to your belongings, your schedule, and information about your work.

She probably convinced herself it was corporate espionage, not treason. Walsh closed the file. She’s cooperating now, claiming Resnick manipulated her.

It may reduce her charges, but she’s still looking at significant federal time. Roy absorbed this with the composed demeanor that had become his trademark, but internally, he struggled with conflicting emotions. The betrayal was absolute, not just of their marriage vows, but of everything he stood for.

The children were devastated. Explaining their mother’s absence required painful conversations that no parent should have to have. Is mom a bad person? Lily asked one night, her small voice breaking.

Roy chose his words carefully. Your mother made very bad choices that hurt a lot of people. But she still loves you.

But she helped a bad man, Max said, displaying the black and white moral certainty of youth. Perry was trying to hurt you and other soldiers. People are complicated, son.

They can make terrible mistakes without being terrible people. Even as he said it, Roy wasn’t sure he believed it anymore. The divorce proceedings resumed with Bridget in a drastically weakened position.

Her attorney withdrew from the case, unwilling to be associated with an espionage scandal. Her parents, devastated by their daughter’s actions, still advocated for her, hiring a new attorney specializing in both criminal defense and family law. At the rescheduled hearing, Bridget appeared in prison attire, having been denied bail due to flight risk.

Gone was the confident, stylish woman who had demanded the house and full custody. In her place sat a hollow-eyed defendant facing not just divorce, but federal charges. Judge Holbrook, who had presided over the original hearing, recused herself due to being a witness in the federal case…