The doorbell rang before dawn on August 16, 2022. It sounded like a newborn’s cry, sharp and impossible to ignore. I checked my phone: 6:00 a.m., the sky was still dark. When I looked out our windows, officers stood at the front door in vests and fully armed. A Department of Justice forensic truck sat in our driveway; at least five squad cars surrounded our house like an impending storm.

That morning everything changed.