Chapter 15 - WHO SOLD THE LIST
Investigators traced the family profile to a marketing company that bought consumer data legally and resold it recklessly.
But the deployment date was not consumer data.
That came from somewhere else.
A former civilian employee at David's installation had been collecting travel patterns from unsecured administrative emails and selling them to brokers.
He did not know Marcus.
He did not care who bought the information.
That indifference had consequences.
Several service members had been targeted for fraud.
One almost lost a house.
Another discovered a stranger had opened utility accounts in his name.
David testified during the investigation.
He expected rage.
Instead, he felt tired.
"People think security failures always look dramatic," he told Ortiz. "Sometimes it's just one lazy person selling one spreadsheet."
She nodded.
"And somebody else turns it into a weapon."
The data seller was charged separately.
Dana began negotiating a plea.
Marcus refused.
He insisted Sarah had invited him into everything.
That argument became harder to maintain as more victims appeared.
Nicole agreed to testify.
Sarah agreed too.
The night before the preliminary hearing, someone threw a brick through my apartment window.
Maya screamed.
David moved before the glass finished falling.
He pulled both children into the hallway and called police.
A note was tied to the brick.
STOP TALKING.
Sarah received the same message by text thirty minutes later.
For the first time, she called David before calling anyone else.
"I'm scared."
His answer was steady.
"Then do exactly what the detective says."
"What about the kids?"
"They're with me. They're safe."
She started crying.
"I should have made sure of that months ago."
David said nothing.
But he did not hang up.
Police traced the threatening text to a prepaid phone purchased by Dana's boyfriend.
The brick had a partial fingerprint.
May you like
The intimidation attempt failed.
It also destroyed any chance Dana had for a generous plea deal.
