If you’re on Android, as well, look into BlueBubbles. It bridges iMessage from a MacOS system to most any device/OS. I’ve used it for years now with my partner’s family with very little issue (all of which were resolved with a restart).
Hard part is getting a MacOS system. I started with a VM, but eventually landed on a ~$100 Mac Mini 2014. Both solutions worked well, but the former is against Apple’s TOS and requires spoofing things, so it’s ultimately much less reliable than actual hardware.
Problem is, if they acquire a novel virus, they can basically send us into another pandemic.
This kind of crap hurts everyone.