“Who are you?” she asked, her voice defensive. “If you’re with the bank, I already sent the payment.”

“I’m not with the bank,” I said, showing her my military identification card through the gap. “My name is Colonel Hart. U.S. Army.”

She looked at the card, then up at my face.

“What does the Army want with me?”

“My daughter is Emily Hart Prescott,” I said. “She was married to Ethan.”

Sarah’s eyes widened.

She instinctively tried to close the door, but I placed the toe of my boot in the frame.

“Please,” I said, keeping my voice calm and low. “Emily is currently in hiding. The Prescotts are trying to arrest her on false charges.”

Sarah stared at me, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

“I don’t want any trouble,” she whispered. “They ruined my family. They paid off the police. They threatened my father until he had a stroke.”

“They’re doing the same to my daughter,” I said. “But I am not her father. I have resources, and I am not going away.”

Sarah looked down at my boot, then back at my face.