Chapter 6 - The Deeper Web
Over the next three weeks, police tracked down Julian and dismantled the illegal adoption broker ring before any harm could come to any unborn children or expectant mothers.
Madison faced legal charges for embezzlement and fraud. However, because she cooperated fully with the authorities to bring down the human trafficking ring and Julian, and because my parents declined to press full grand larceny charges against their daughter, she was sentenced to probation, heavy court-ordered restitution, and mandatory psychiatric rehabilitation.
For Daniel and me, the trauma left deep scars. We had been dragged into a circus of deceit that nearly tore our marriage apart. In the first days after the shower, Daniel barely slept, haunted by the moment he felt forced to strike the fake belly to shatter the illusion before the illegal adoption was finalized.
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“I hated doing it, Claire,” Daniel confessed to me late one night, holding me close in our quiet bedroom. “I knew if I just spoke, she would spin another lie and your parents would believe her. I had to make everyone see.”
“You saved our family from something far worse,” I told him, resting my head on his chest. “You brought the light, even when it burned.”
