Chapter 13 - The Dark Web StreamThat evening, after getting the children fed, bathed, and tucked safely into bed under the care of my mother, who had driven three hours down from Cleveland upon hearing the news, I sat alone in my home office.
My laptop glowed in the dark room. I had plugged Karen’s seized phone into the USB port to back up the video evidence for the prosecuting attorney's office.
As the files transferred, a background application icon caught my eye—a small, purple-masked icon with no text label.
Curiosity mixing with unease, I clicked it.
The application launched instantly, bypassing any password prompt because it was linked to Karen’s biometric login. It wasn't a standard cloud storage app. It was a live-streaming and subscription-based server hosted on an encrypted dark-web domain named “Strict Discipline Hub.”
My blood ran cold.
I clicked on the "Broadcast History" tab.
There was a list of dates, view counts, and financial payouts.
Karen hadn't just been recording the children to keep tabs on them. She had been live-streaming their punishments to hundreds of anonymous, paying subscribers across the internet.
The most recent stream—the spaghetti incident—had generated over four thousand dollars in digital tips from sick, depraved viewers who commented in real-time, cheering her on.
Reaching for my desk phone, I dialed the direct number of the FBI field office in Columbus.
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"Federal Bureau of Investigation, Agent Vance speaking."
"Agent Vance, this is Deputy David Miller, county sheriff's department," I said, my voice shaking with a mixture of rage and horror. "I need federal cybercrimes jurisdiction invoked on an active child exploitation and illegal streaming ring operating out of my household."
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