Laravel reCAPTCHA Validation Fix

The reCAPTCHA widget shows up correctly in my Laravel app, yet every time a user presses the claim button the challenge is accepted on Google’s side but my server still throws the “captcha failed” response.
I need the validation flow repaired so the claim submission proceeds only when the reCAPTCHA check is genuinely passed.

Here is what you will walk into:
• Laravel 9 codebase running on PHP 8.1
• Google reCAPTCHA v2 (“I’m not a robot”) already rendered on the page
• Front-end JS fires, token reaches the back-end, but the controller rejects it

What I expect from you:
1. Identify the break-point in the verification chain (possible issues with token forwarding, secret key usage, HTTPS, or Google API call).
2. Patch the code—controller, request class, or middleware—so valid tokens are accepted and invalid ones are blocked.
3. Test the fix with me on staging and supply a concise report of the change set (files touched, lines altered, any env keys added).

Please keep the solution minimal, clean, and fully compatible with the existing Laravel validation pipeline—no heavy third-party packages unless absolutely necessary.