I didn’t know it then, but that call would expose everything: their greed, their cruelty, and the truth that would change my life forever.

My name is Marian, and I’m 28 years old. Looking back at the first months of my married life in Charlotte, North Carolina, feels like viewing a snapshot from a happier time. Sunny streets, the hum of engines from the workshop where my husband, Darren, worked, the smell of coffee in our tiny apartment – those little things felt complete.