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

The new judge, Raymond Ortiz, reviewed the case with fresh eyes. These are exceptional circumstances, he noted during preliminary remarks. The court must separate the criminal allegations from the custody considerations while acknowledging their inevitable impact.

Bridget’s new attorney, Martin Greenberg, argued that despite her legal troubles, Bridget deserved to maintain a relationship with her children. Your Honor, Mrs. Donovan has made grave errors in judgment, but her love for her children is genuine. We ask the court to consider supervised visitation while her criminal case proceeds.

Franklin Delacruz countered with evidence of Bridget’s willingness to use the children to extract information about Roy’s work. The record shows Mrs. Donovan specifically encouraged the children to observe their father’s work habits and report back to her and Mr. Resnick. She placed her children in the dangerous position of unwitting intelligence assets.

This demonstrates a fundamental failure to protect their well-being. The most damning evidence came from Max himself, who testified via closed-circuit television to avoid further trauma. Mom would give me special treats when I told her about Dad’s work stuff.

He explained nervously. She said it was a game to see what I could remember about Dad’s computer and the phone calls he made. Lily’s therapist testified that the young girl now suffered from anxiety and attachment issues stemming from the abrupt loss of her mother and the revelation that Mr. Perry had been using her to harm her father.

Judge Ortiz’s ruling was decisive. Roy received full legal and physical custody, with Bridget granted monthly supervised visitation only after completing a psychological evaluation and parenting classes. The family home was awarded to Roy, along with most of their joint assets.

Bridget, facing legal bills and potential restitution, received only her personal belongings and a small portion of their savings that couldn’t be tied to the illegal payments. As for Perry slash Pavel, he faced multiple federal charges carrying potential life sentences. The intelligence network Roy had helped uncover led to 15 additional arrests across three states, dismantling a major foreign intelligence operation that had targeted military personnel for nearly a decade.

Six weeks after the arrests, Roy was summoned to a classified briefing at the Pentagon. Colonel Barrett and several high-ranking intelligence officials thanked him for his service and the sacrifice of his personal life and service to national security. Your actions have saved countless lives and protected vital military intelligence, said General Harrington, director of defense intelligence.

The country owes you a debt it can never repay. I was just doing my job, sir, Roy replied, protecting what matters. We’d like you to continue that work, the general said.

Your unique experience makes you invaluable to our counterintelligence efforts. We’re offering you a promotion and a position with the newly formed military family security unit. You’d help identify and prevent exactly the type of operation that targeted your family.

Roy considered the offer. With respect, sir, my children need stability now. They’ve lost their mother to federal prison.

They need their father present. Understood, sergeant. That’s why this position is non-deployable.

Based here in Virginia, regular hours, for the most part. The general slid a folder across the table. Review the details.

This work would protect other military families from experiencing what yours has endured. That evening, Roy sat on the back deck of the family home, now just his and the children’s home, reviewing the offer. The position would allow him to continue serving while remaining present for Max and Lily.

More importantly, it would give purpose to the personal tragedy they’d endured. As he contemplated the future, his secure phone buzzed with a message from Agent Walsh. Resnick talking.

Claims operation larger than we thought. More sleepers in military communities. Can you come in tomorrow? Roy texted back.

Will be there. 0900. Inside, he heard Lily laughing at something Max said, a sound that had been too rare in recent months.

Their resilience amazed him. Despite everything, they were healing, adapting, finding moments of joy. He wouldn’t let what happened to them happen to another military family.

The battlefield had changed, but his mission remained the same. Protect what matters, at any cost.

The Aftermath One year after the courthouse revelation, Roy stood at his kitchen counter reviewing school permission forms while the children ate breakfast.

Their morning routine had found its rhythm. Lunches packed, backpacks checked, a carefully maintained stability that had become their salvation. Dad, I need you to sign this for the science museum trip, Max said, sliding a form across the counter.

At 13, he’d grown two inches in the past year and had recently joined the junior RODC program at school. Got it. Lily, do you have your math homework? Roy asked, scanning the permission slip before signing.

Lily, now 10, nodded while finishing her cereal. The therapy sessions had helped tremendously. Her anxiety attacks had decreased, though she still slept with her door open and occasionally crawled into Roy’s bed after nightmares.

Can we visit Mom this weekend? Max asked quietly, not meeting Roy’s eyes. Roy maintained his neutral expression, though the questions still triggered a complex wave of emotions. She’s scheduled for Saturday at 11 a.m. Same as always.

The monthly visits to the Federal Correctional Institution, where Bridget was serving her eight-year sentence, had become part of their routine, though not one Roy particularly looked forward to. Bridget had taken a plea deal, admitting to lesser charges of failing to register as a foreign agent and wire fraud. In exchange, she provided extensive information about Resnick’s network…