In the fall of 2024, 24-year-old Sam Nordquist left his home in Minnesota full of hope. He had fallen in love with a woman online — a woman he believed truly cared for him — and he traveled more than a thousand miles to start a new life with her in upstate New York. His social media showed a smiling couple, affectionate TikToks, and a whirlwind romance. But behind those posts, something much darker was happening. The woman Sam went to meet, 38-year-old Precious Arzuaga, lived in a rundown roadsi

Estrangement doesn’t end because a parent says “just get over it” or “family is everything.” It doesn’t end because they want a holiday photo or because they suddenly feel uncomfortable with the distance. Healing only begins when the people who caused harm become safe enough to come back to. And safety is not sentimental. It’s not performative. It’s not a “we love you and miss you” text. Safety is accountability. Safety is truth-telling. Safety is the end of secrecy, control, gossip, triangulati