Investigators discovered that Derek had allegedly been using my personal information to apply for loans and credit cards without my knowledge. Some documents contained signatures I had never written. Others included copies of my military records and deployment schedule. The missing savings had apparently helped finance his family’s expensive vacation and several unexplained transfers. I felt sick realizing that the man I trusted with our daughter had also been preparing a financial future using my identity.

Then Officer Bell discovered a second folder containing correspondence between Derek, his mother Patricia, and his sister Jenna. Their messages suggested that the cruise wasn’t simply a family vacation. They had been discussing a plan involving our house, my military benefits, and an account I had never heard of. One message ended with the words: “Everything must be finished before Hannah returns.”