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Speaker 1: Hi, everyone, we have some exciting news to share. ABC

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Speaker 1: News Studios has turned Caroline Brega's story from Betrayal season

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Speaker 1: four into a docu series. You'll get to meet the

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Speaker 1: people involved, You'll hear from people who have never spoken before,

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Speaker 1: and you get to see where this story took place.

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Speaker 1: We are so proud and excited to share it with

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Speaker 1: you all. Stream Betrayal, Dirty Secrets now on Hulu or

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Speaker 1: Hulu for Disney Plus. Hi everyone, It's Andrea Gunning. Before

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Speaker 1: we start this episode, I want to let you know

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Speaker 1: that we will be talking explicitly about the realities of

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Speaker 1: domestic violence, so please be mindful with this episode.

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Speaker 2: I saw this figure standing in the doorway and he

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Speaker 2: was an all black and had a batman mask and

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Speaker 2: just covered head to toe in black clothing. I kept

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Speaker 2: closing opening my eyes, like am I really seeing this

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Speaker 2: or not.

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Speaker 1: I'm Andrea Gunning and this is Betrayal, a show about

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Speaker 1: the people we trust the most and the deceptions that

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Speaker 1: change everything. This week's episode has also been adapted into

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Speaker 1: an episode of our TV show Betrayal, Secrets and Lies.

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Speaker 1: You can stream it on Disney Plus or Hulu. Morgan

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Speaker 1: Metzer grew up in Canton, Georgia, where big stretches of

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Speaker 1: forest hug quaint neighborhoods and the Chattahoochee River carves its

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Speaker 1: way through the town.

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Speaker 2: Growing up, I was the youngest. I have an older

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Speaker 2: brother and an older sister. My brother was in baseball

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Speaker 2: and my sister was in fast pitch, so I felt

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Speaker 2: like a lot of my weekends were following him around.

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Speaker 1: Morgan kept up with the older kids.

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Speaker 2: I was very outspoken in strong world.

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Speaker 1: School was challenging for Morgan.

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Speaker 2: I struggled a little bit with test taking and I

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Speaker 2: didn't have best grades.

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Speaker 1: But her parents taught her there are a lot of

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Speaker 1: things in life that are more important than grades.

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Speaker 2: My dad explained, in the real world, it's not the

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Speaker 2: grades in the end. They are more focused on who

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Speaker 2: you are as a person, your values, being truthful, being honest.

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Speaker 1: Morgan's school had a back patio where everyone hung out

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Speaker 1: after class. One day, when Morgan was in eighth grade,

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Speaker 1: she and her friends were out on the patio when

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Speaker 1: she saw a guy she hadn't noticed before.

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Speaker 2: I just random I saw him one day and we

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Speaker 2: just started talking a little bit. He was in high

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Speaker 2: school and I was in middle school.

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Speaker 1: His name was Rodney, and soon she found out everyone

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Speaker 1: on campus knew him. He was sixteen, two years older

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Speaker 1: than her, and Morgan thought that was exciting.

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Speaker 2: I thought he was really cute and I liked him.

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Speaker 1: The next time she saw him at school, they talked again.

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Speaker 1: The more time Morgan spent with Rodney, the more she

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Speaker 1: liked him.

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Speaker 2: We are very close, instantly, very connected. He was very

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Speaker 2: easy going, a study as a stream. Not much could

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Speaker 2: really rock his pote.

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Speaker 1: He made friends easily and was kind to everyone he met.

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Speaker 2: He was funny. He's what you would call the guy

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Speaker 2: next door that everyone just likes.

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Speaker 1: They started hanging out after school. They never got tired

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Speaker 1: of talking to each other and realized that their connection

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Speaker 1: was more than just friendship. Rodney asked Morgan to be

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Speaker 1: his girlfriend.

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Speaker 2: She said yes, that was just a typical teenager in love.

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Speaker 1: When she told her parents about her new.

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Speaker 2: Boyfriend, as you can imagine, my dad and my mom

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Speaker 2: weren't very happy about an eighth grader dating a junior.

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Speaker 2: So my dad made it perfetly clear that we would

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Speaker 2: not be going on date until I was sixteen, and

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Speaker 2: that if you wanted to see me, he would have

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Speaker 2: to come to the house and hang out.

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Speaker 1: So that's what they did. After school, Rodney would go

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Speaker 1: over to Morgan's house. They respected her parents' dating rules,

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Speaker 1: and Rodney quickly gained her parents trust.

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Speaker 2: Everyone loved him in my family. He grew up with them.

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Speaker 1: She grew up with his family too. His parents could

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Speaker 1: afford to go on extravagant vacations. They started inviting Morgan

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Speaker 1: to come with them on their trips.

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Speaker 2: His parents left to go to the Bahamas. They loved

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Speaker 2: to go on cruises, so we did all different kinds

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Speaker 2: of trips.

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Speaker 1: Once Morgan was in high school, she and Rodney gained

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Speaker 1: a little independence.

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Speaker 2: He would pick me up. We would meet up with

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Speaker 2: all of our friends and we'd all go to this

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Speaker 2: one waffle house and just hang out after school.

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Speaker 1: Morgan and Rodney always sat next to each other at

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Speaker 1: the waffle house. In fact, they almost never left each

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Speaker 1: other's side.

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Speaker 2: Everyone just knew it was always us. We came together

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Speaker 2: as one. If you had vied one, then they knew

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Speaker 2: I was coming, or vice versa.

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Speaker 1: They were inseparable and their friends understood why.

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Speaker 2: They all thought we were the power couple. Everyone just

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Speaker 2: loved us together.

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Speaker 1: Morgan and Rodney started planning for their future after high school.

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Speaker 2: All I wanted to do was become a mom and

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Speaker 2: support my house and create a home, and he said

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Speaker 2: that he wanted to be the main proviter. So we

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Speaker 2: kind of had our.

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Speaker 1: Plan, but she knew that plan would have to wait

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Speaker 1: until Rodney made enough money to support them both. After

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Speaker 1: graduating high school, she started pursuing her interest in hair

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Speaker 1: and makeup. Morgan decided to go to cosmetology school and

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Speaker 1: become a hairdresser. Rodney wanted to become a car mechanic

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Speaker 1: and began looking at trade schools.

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Speaker 2: Rod decided he wanted to go to the school called Wyotech.

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Speaker 1: Wyotech is a trade school in Laramie, Wyoming, a small

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Speaker 1: town that sits high in the plains, nestled between two

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Speaker 1: stretches of the Rocky Mountains.

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Speaker 2: He didn't want to go by himself, and they had

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Speaker 2: a cosmetology school there, so we backed up and moved

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Speaker 2: to Wyoming.

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Speaker 1: Morgan and Rodney had to get used to a new

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Speaker 1: pace of life.

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Speaker 2: It was a big jump. I mean, Georgia's not cold

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Speaker 2: like that, and you go to Laramie, Wyoming and not

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Speaker 2: for be mean about the city, but Applebee's was the

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Speaker 2: place to be. It was definitely a change in culture Forsure.

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Speaker 1: Still, they were eager to start this new chapter.

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Speaker 2: It was very exciting moving in together for the first time,

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Speaker 2: developing our routine, our habits.

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Speaker 1: Rodney started trade school to become a car mechanic, and

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Speaker 1: Morgan started a cosmetology school.

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Speaker 2: I would ride my bike every day.

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Speaker 1: As she peddled through town. She could look out and

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Speaker 1: see the stretches of mountains just beyond Laramie. She was

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Speaker 1: excited about the life she and Rodney were building. Home

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Speaker 1: was wherever Rodney was.

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Speaker 2: We would get up through our morning routine together. We

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Speaker 2: would be in school all day and then we'd meet up.

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Speaker 2: We'd have dinner, and then in the evenings was likely

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Speaker 2: watching a movie.

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Speaker 1: Rodney told her about everything he was learning at school.

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Speaker 2: He loved it. He loves cars. We loved building cars.

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Speaker 2: He loved everything about it.

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Speaker 1: At night, they would talk about their future.

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Speaker 2: We just created a dream scenario in our head that

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Speaker 2: you know, we would get married and eventually we would

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Speaker 2: have children.

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Speaker 1: And when they each graduated, they moved back to Georgia

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Speaker 1: and got to work making their dream life a reality.

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Speaker 2: We bought our first house. I was working at a

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Speaker 2: hair Salon in Roswell, and we developed some really good

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Speaker 2: friend friends that we knew since we were younger. Our

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Speaker 2: friends knew each other, and our friends knew our family.

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Speaker 1: They had a tight knit community with deep roots before

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Speaker 1: Morgan knew it. Six years flew by with Rodney and

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Speaker 1: they went from being high school sweethearts to mature adult partners.

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Speaker 1: They knew each other's favorite jokes, deepest fears, and biggest dreams.

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Speaker 1: And then on Christmas Day, Rodney proposed to Morgan with

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Speaker 1: her grandmother's wedding ring.

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Speaker 2: I was so excited. I couldn't stop crying.

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Speaker 1: She was so happy. A little over a year later,

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Speaker 1: they got married.

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Speaker 2: They got married niga zebo at dusk, and the gazebo

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Speaker 2: was covered in high ranges of pionies and lily's and roses,

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Speaker 2: spinkle lights all over the place, and pretty much like

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Speaker 2: a magical Cinderella type of feel.

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Speaker 1: That magical feeling continued well after their wedding.

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Speaker 2: We were very much a team. His mom, though, was

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Speaker 2: happy wife, happy life. So he just wanted to provide

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Speaker 2: anything he possibly could. He was the main provider financially.

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Speaker 2: He always took care of things around the house to

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Speaker 2: make sure you're a roof over our head, food on

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Speaker 2: our plate, bury in our train, very emotionally there for me.

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Speaker 1: But not too long after their wedding, Rodney's family suffered

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Speaker 1: a horrible loss. His brother, Kevin had battled leukemia for years.

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Speaker 1: One night, he passed away in his sleep.

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Speaker 2: He was an amazing person. I loved him a lot.

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Speaker 2: It really changed the dynamic and his family so much pain.

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Speaker 1: It was hard for Rodney's parents to make time for

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Speaker 1: him as they struggled with Kevin's death. It felt like

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Speaker 1: when Kevin died, so did their happy, tight knit family.

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Speaker 2: Rod started feeling abandoned. And that's when I started being

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Speaker 2: rod changed just a tidy bit because he just felt

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Speaker 2: not as important as he used too.

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Speaker 1: Rodney's brother, Kevin had always wanted to be an uncle.

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Speaker 2: We got pregnant shortly after his brother passed away.

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Speaker 1: They had a son and named him Kevin to honor

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Speaker 1: Rodney's brother. But shortly after he was born, Morgan and

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Speaker 1: Rodney were given devastating news their son had a congenital

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Speaker 1: heart defect. At this point in her life, Morgan can

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Speaker 1: tell the story without much emotion, but it's still incredibly painful.

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Speaker 2: When he was born. He was immediately shipped to Egilson

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Speaker 2: Atlanta Cardiac Unit for eighteen days he was there, he

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Speaker 2: had his first heart surgery, but he couldn't recover from it.

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Speaker 2: He couldn't get off the vener later and he didn't

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Speaker 2: make it.

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Speaker 1: Their firstborn son died before he was a month old.

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Speaker 1: Morgan and Rodney were facing a grief no parent should

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Speaker 1: have to endure. Rodney tried to find the words to

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Speaker 1: comfort Morgan.

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Speaker 2: He was like, even if you don't want to go

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Speaker 2: back to work after this, she don't have to. You

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Speaker 2: thought you were a mom and you were going to

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Speaker 2: get to stay home, and I don't want to make

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Speaker 2: you go back to work. So he was very supportive,

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Speaker 2: but there were.

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Speaker 1: Times when Rodney couldn't handle the grief. To him, seeing

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Speaker 1: Morgan sad was a reminder of how much they had lost.

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Speaker 2: He would help me not to cry because they didn't

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Speaker 2: like steamy cry, and so I didn't. So I didn't

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Speaker 2: feel like I could really grieve all that much.

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Speaker 1: They decided to try for kids again.

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Speaker 2: We got pregnant twins. My mom says I was the

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Speaker 2: happiest pregnant person she's ever seen. I enjoyed every second

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Speaker 2: of it, the good, the bad, ugly. I loved it.

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Speaker 1: When the twins were born, Morgan and Rodney were overjoyed.

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Speaker 2: I was just elated to have help with babies. We

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Speaker 2: were in heaven. We were just so happy. It brought

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Speaker 2: some light into our world. After a really hard few years.

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Speaker 1: Rodney and Morgan made a good team.

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Speaker 2: We were in a dynamic duo. We would tackle every

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Speaker 2: day's task. We delegated, we would support each other emotionally.

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Speaker 2: We would just conquer it together.

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Speaker 1: Rodney was working as a car mechanic and Morgan stayed

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Speaker 1: home with the twins. Juggling parenting and work meant the

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Speaker 1: two of them had less quality time together and Rodney

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Speaker 1: had a hard time adjusting.

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Speaker 2: I think he struggled a little bit with sharing my

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Speaker 2: time with the twins.

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Speaker 1: Rodney started acting spacey at home and at the mechanics

223
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Speaker 1: where he worked, and one day rad.

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Speaker 2: Got fired because he let a car fall off the lift.

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Speaker 1: It was a dangerous mistake. Someone could have died. Rodney

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Speaker 1: insisted that it wasn't his fault.

227
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Speaker 2: And it's like, okay, well it was your fault. You

228
00:13:02,040 --> 00:13:04,360
Speaker 2: put the car on the left, you know. So that

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00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:05,959
Speaker 2: kind of brought a strain.

230
00:13:06,880 --> 00:13:10,040
Speaker 1: Rodney needed to find a new way to support their family.

231
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Speaker 2: So he started doing day trading the stock market.

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Speaker 1: At first he was successful.

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Speaker 2: He neede great money. We owned our house pretty much

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Speaker 2: at right, I could stay home. The twins were sorry

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Speaker 2: in preschool at the time.

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Speaker 1: They had dealt with a lot of grief, but they

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00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:32,240
Speaker 1: were still able to grow together, and finally they had

238
00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:35,880
Speaker 1: what they always wanted. Rodney worked full time to support

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00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:41,720
Speaker 1: their family, freeing up Morgan to raise their twins. One day,

240
00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:44,880
Speaker 1: Rodney came to Morgan in a panic and told her

241
00:13:45,360 --> 00:13:49,520
Speaker 1: someone had stolen money from their shared savings account. Morgan

242
00:13:49,559 --> 00:13:53,079
Speaker 1: didn't really understand what he meant. The details of their

243
00:13:53,120 --> 00:13:57,840
Speaker 1: finances had always been Rodney's domain, but when she logged

244
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Speaker 1: into their shared bank account, you saw that he was right.

245
00:14:02,040 --> 00:14:04,120
Speaker 1: The account was drained.

246
00:14:05,880 --> 00:14:07,760
Speaker 2: I just knew that the money was gone, and I

247
00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:10,839
Speaker 2: was like, what is going on? This can't possibly be true.

248
00:14:12,360 --> 00:14:14,080
Speaker 2: I was just blindsided.

249
00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:39,000
Speaker 1: Morgan in her high school sweetheart, Rodney, got married and

250
00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:42,480
Speaker 1: settled down near their hometown in Georgia. They were living

251
00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:45,680
Speaker 1: the life they dreamed of since they were teenagers. Rodney

252
00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:48,560
Speaker 1: worked full time and Morgan stayed home with their twins.

253
00:14:49,320 --> 00:14:52,720
Speaker 1: But one day Rodney came home in a panic. He

254
00:14:52,800 --> 00:14:57,120
Speaker 1: told Morgan someone had stolen from their savings account. It

255
00:14:57,240 --> 00:15:00,160
Speaker 1: was a life changing amount of money. They wouldn't be

256
00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:02,840
Speaker 1: able to afford to stay in their house, and so

257
00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:04,240
Speaker 1: they moved into a rental.

258
00:15:05,160 --> 00:15:07,400
Speaker 2: So we no longer had any acts of some money.

259
00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:11,160
Speaker 2: And so at that time he pretty much told me,

260
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Speaker 2: He's like, now it's your turn provided for the house.

261
00:15:14,400 --> 00:15:17,760
Speaker 1: Not only was the money gone, but Rodney expected her

262
00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:22,240
Speaker 1: to fix it. Morgan was shocked. This was never their plan.

263
00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:27,200
Speaker 1: Rodney had always prided himself on being a provider, and

264
00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:30,720
Speaker 1: now he was panicking and asking her to fill that role.

265
00:15:31,520 --> 00:15:33,960
Speaker 1: She had to figure something out to take care of

266
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Speaker 1: their kids.

267
00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:38,800
Speaker 2: And I couldn't go become a hairdresser and support this

268
00:15:39,240 --> 00:15:40,800
Speaker 2: lavish lifestyle that we had.

269
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Speaker 1: Then she had an idea.

270
00:15:45,880 --> 00:15:48,080
Speaker 2: All my friends had really said that I was really

271
00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:51,840
Speaker 2: good into he design, and so I decided to start

272
00:15:51,880 --> 00:15:53,280
Speaker 2: manunte your design business.

273
00:15:54,040 --> 00:15:57,440
Speaker 1: Morgan named her business Ship Lap and Sugar. It was

274
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Speaker 1: an immediate success in town on working with local clients,

275
00:16:01,720 --> 00:16:04,960
Speaker 1: and before long she was working full time and was

276
00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:09,200
Speaker 1: the primary provider for their family. Within a year, Ship

277
00:16:09,280 --> 00:16:13,680
Speaker 1: Lap In Sugar was voted Canton's number one interior design business.

278
00:16:14,560 --> 00:16:17,320
Speaker 1: Rodney was in a new role too. He was staying

279
00:16:17,320 --> 00:16:20,320
Speaker 1: home with the twins and working for Morgan's Interior Design

280
00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:23,880
Speaker 1: company part time as a handyman. He helped with the

281
00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:27,520
Speaker 1: construction side of things, building bunk beds and mounting decor,

282
00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:30,880
Speaker 1: but soon he started to overstep.

283
00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:34,520
Speaker 2: Sometimes he would try to overtalk me with customers and

284
00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:37,160
Speaker 2: chime in about how he thought something should be done,

285
00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:39,000
Speaker 2: and it just didn't make us look like we're on

286
00:16:39,040 --> 00:16:41,880
Speaker 2: the same page. I didn't really like that, and I

287
00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:45,720
Speaker 2: was like, this is not your position. I am in

288
00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:49,760
Speaker 2: charge of running the consultations and speaking to my customers.

289
00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:53,880
Speaker 1: It was frustrating to see Rodney trying to take control

290
00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:56,960
Speaker 1: and ownership of the business she had built.

291
00:16:57,520 --> 00:16:59,760
Speaker 2: I'm sorry, like you put me in charge or running

292
00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:02,520
Speaker 2: a hout household and providing for the household. I did

293
00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:04,480
Speaker 2: this myself. I built this from the bottom up.

294
00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:08,119
Speaker 1: She told Rodney to stay in is lane at work

295
00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:10,760
Speaker 1: and let her manage the business.

296
00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:13,480
Speaker 2: That's when I think you prod really took a hit

297
00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:16,800
Speaker 2: because I was providing for the household, and you know,

298
00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:18,560
Speaker 2: he had to stay home with the kids.

299
00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:23,920
Speaker 1: She and Rodney had always been a team. They met

300
00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:26,840
Speaker 1: when they were kids and they'd been together for more

301
00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:31,880
Speaker 1: than fifteen years. For that entire time, Rodney had been

302
00:17:31,920 --> 00:17:35,760
Speaker 1: the calm, grounded one, but that began to change.

303
00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:40,120
Speaker 2: He was very impatience. He got very angry, very fast.

304
00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:43,560
Speaker 2: It just turned ugly and nasty, and that's when it

305
00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:44,960
Speaker 2: all just started spiraling.

306
00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:48,760
Speaker 1: Rodney became argumentative and combative with her.

307
00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:52,560
Speaker 2: Some nights, we'd be up fighting all night long and

308
00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:54,639
Speaker 2: I wouldn't get a minute of sleep, and then I

309
00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:57,119
Speaker 2: have to go work twelve hours and there was no

310
00:17:57,200 --> 00:17:59,800
Speaker 2: break from him because I worked with him too.

311
00:18:00,560 --> 00:18:03,840
Speaker 1: Morgan suggested they go to couple's therapy, but it didn't

312
00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:05,320
Speaker 1: go well, like he got.

313
00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:09,119
Speaker 2: Kick out one session because he was so aggressive, and

314
00:18:09,160 --> 00:18:13,600
Speaker 2: she diagnosed him with PTSD and he didn't believe it

315
00:18:13,760 --> 00:18:15,080
Speaker 2: and he just didn't want help.

316
00:18:15,760 --> 00:18:18,119
Speaker 1: Rodney started lashing out at Morgan.

317
00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:21,520
Speaker 2: He'd start a fight and he would scream and yell

318
00:18:21,560 --> 00:18:26,560
Speaker 2: at me and follow me around and drive me insane

319
00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:29,280
Speaker 2: until I finally broke and I would scream, and then

320
00:18:29,320 --> 00:18:32,640
Speaker 2: he'd turn it around on me and make me look

321
00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:36,240
Speaker 2: like the crazy person, like I would be the insane one.

322
00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:38,879
Speaker 1: He became verbally abusive.

323
00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:41,399
Speaker 2: I would end up hiding in the closet because I

324
00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:44,760
Speaker 2: was like, please just shut up. I'm exhausted in hearing

325
00:18:44,800 --> 00:18:48,280
Speaker 2: you constantly at my throat. It was horrible.

326
00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:52,960
Speaker 1: Even little things would set him off. The environment in

327
00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:56,280
Speaker 1: their home shifted. She felt like she was walking on

328
00:18:56,320 --> 00:18:57,119
Speaker 1: egg sheells.

329
00:18:57,480 --> 00:18:59,879
Speaker 2: I didn't want to irritate him. I didn't want to

330
00:18:59,880 --> 00:19:02,639
Speaker 2: set them off. We were on tippy toes. It was

331
00:19:02,640 --> 00:19:04,840
Speaker 2: like skinning out the knife. Guys just didn't want to

332
00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:06,320
Speaker 2: cause conflict.

333
00:19:07,600 --> 00:19:12,159
Speaker 1: The Rodney she had fallen in love with was steady, loving, kind.

334
00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:17,679
Speaker 1: This new version of him was angry, impulsive, and cruel.

335
00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:22,600
Speaker 2: His soul just turned black. It was very scary, but

336
00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:26,280
Speaker 2: it was done little by little, and when things are

337
00:19:26,320 --> 00:19:29,000
Speaker 2: done little by little, you don't really notice change it.

338
00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:33,160
Speaker 1: Morgan was working hard at building her business, and after

339
00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:35,440
Speaker 1: a year they moved out of their rental and bought

340
00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:38,199
Speaker 1: a new home. But the home she had worked so

341
00:19:38,480 --> 00:19:42,080
Speaker 1: hard to afford was unsafe for her and their twins.

342
00:19:42,680 --> 00:19:45,960
Speaker 2: The kids were just getting older. Rod was more aggressive

343
00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:50,160
Speaker 2: and just It became unhealthy and very toxic.

344
00:19:51,320 --> 00:19:54,240
Speaker 1: That summer, a friend of Morgan and Rodney's rented a

345
00:19:54,280 --> 00:19:57,000
Speaker 1: houseboat for their group of friends for the night. It

346
00:19:57,080 --> 00:19:57,919
Speaker 1: was a big party.

347
00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:02,440
Speaker 2: Everyone was having a great time drinking out in the sun.

348
00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:05,600
Speaker 1: At the end of the evening, Morgan and Rodney went

349
00:20:05,640 --> 00:20:06,000
Speaker 1: to their.

350
00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:08,959
Speaker 2: Room and we were going to go to sleep, but

351
00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:12,640
Speaker 2: then he attacked me. It was dark, it was pitch

352
00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:15,639
Speaker 2: black because there was no windows in there. All I

353
00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:17,720
Speaker 2: remember it is just getting humbled by him.

354
00:20:18,560 --> 00:20:21,120
Speaker 1: Morgan managed to get away from him and came out

355
00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:23,679
Speaker 1: of their bedroom into the main area of the boat.

356
00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:27,440
Speaker 1: A few of their friends were still awake and startled

357
00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:30,840
Speaker 1: at the sight of her. She was bleeding. Rodney was

358
00:20:30,880 --> 00:20:33,760
Speaker 1: close on her heels, but when he saw their friends,

359
00:20:34,080 --> 00:20:35,720
Speaker 1: he quickly came up with the story.

360
00:20:36,359 --> 00:20:38,560
Speaker 2: He was like, I cannot believe you have hacked me.

361
00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:41,920
Speaker 2: My gosh, you are so drunk.

362
00:20:42,600 --> 00:20:45,560
Speaker 1: Morgan and her friends stared at him, dumbfounded.

363
00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:50,639
Speaker 2: My friends were like, no, that if she attacked you,

364
00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:53,359
Speaker 2: you'd be able to hold her down. She doesn't need

365
00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:57,119
Speaker 2: to have marks on her like this and bleeding for

366
00:20:57,320 --> 00:20:58,440
Speaker 2: you to stop her.

367
00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:01,720
Speaker 1: She called her parents to come pick her up.

368
00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:05,000
Speaker 2: I went to their house and I slept for the

369
00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:09,480
Speaker 2: entire day, and then rod showed up. He convinced my

370
00:21:09,560 --> 00:21:11,840
Speaker 2: parents it was me, and then I was the crazy

371
00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:16,320
Speaker 2: one and that I attacked him and that it was

372
00:21:16,359 --> 00:21:17,240
Speaker 2: all my fault.

373
00:21:18,040 --> 00:21:21,400
Speaker 1: The more Rodney told the story of Morgan attacking him,

374
00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:24,680
Speaker 1: the more Morgan began to question her own experience.

375
00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:28,959
Speaker 2: I was embarrassed. I was like, well, maybe it was me, because,

376
00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:31,920
Speaker 2: like I said, we had all been drinking and hanging out,

377
00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:36,000
Speaker 2: so it's not like I was completely sober. You question yourself,

378
00:21:36,040 --> 00:21:39,280
Speaker 2: you know, like, was I wrong? Am I crazy? Did

379
00:21:39,320 --> 00:21:40,720
Speaker 2: I lose it? Like what happened?

380
00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:47,520
Speaker 1: Morgan's memory felt fuzzy, but Rodney seemed to remember everything

381
00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:51,560
Speaker 1: in perfect detail. He sat on her parents couch and

382
00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:54,160
Speaker 1: calmly explained how she attacked him.

383
00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:56,919
Speaker 2: He would just sit there and lay it all out, so,

384
00:21:56,960 --> 00:21:58,680
Speaker 2: of course, naturally then I was like, oh my gosh,

385
00:21:58,720 --> 00:21:59,480
Speaker 2: well maybe it was me.

386
00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:05,600
Speaker 1: I'm so Rodney was physically and emotionally abusing Morgan. He

387
00:22:05,680 --> 00:22:08,119
Speaker 1: always found a way to make her take the blame

388
00:22:08,200 --> 00:22:09,320
Speaker 1: for his actions.

389
00:22:10,200 --> 00:22:12,000
Speaker 2: He was like, Okay, well I'm going to give you

390
00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:15,480
Speaker 2: a chance, and you're going to get better. You're not

391
00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:17,560
Speaker 2: going to do this again. So then I feel like

392
00:22:17,600 --> 00:22:20,679
Speaker 2: I was being given a chance, like I need to

393
00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:23,720
Speaker 2: become a better person, so I feel like I was

394
00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:24,560
Speaker 2: the one on trial.

395
00:22:25,720 --> 00:22:29,359
Speaker 1: They went back to their routines, but now whenever they

396
00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:34,000
Speaker 1: had an argument, Rodney made Morgan believe she started it.

397
00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:37,760
Speaker 2: He'd like, well, it was your fault. You said this,

398
00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:39,919
Speaker 2: you did this, And I was like, I don't remember that,

399
00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:43,800
Speaker 2: but okay, I'm sorry. My mind would play games in me.

400
00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:46,960
Speaker 2: It's like, no, you're at fault. No, no, he's at fault.

401
00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:50,000
Speaker 2: It was just a cluster of just so many things

402
00:22:50,119 --> 00:22:51,080
Speaker 2: running through my head.

403
00:22:51,840 --> 00:22:56,000
Speaker 1: Morgan was losing trust in herself. Rodney was gaslighting her

404
00:22:56,280 --> 00:22:59,480
Speaker 1: and his plan was working. She was starting to doubt

405
00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:00,560
Speaker 1: her own way reality.

406
00:23:02,560 --> 00:23:05,439
Speaker 2: There was a time that we were arguing and we

407
00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:08,560
Speaker 2: were walking up the stairs and he pretended I pushed

408
00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:11,200
Speaker 2: them down the stairs, and he did it in front

409
00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:13,359
Speaker 2: of the children and was like, look, mom pushed me

410
00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:14,360
Speaker 2: down the stairs.

411
00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:18,080
Speaker 1: This time, Morgan did not doubt herself.

412
00:23:18,880 --> 00:23:20,639
Speaker 2: I know I did not do this, Like that was

413
00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:23,280
Speaker 2: a situation in a scenario where he can never convince

414
00:23:23,359 --> 00:23:24,160
Speaker 2: me that I did that.

415
00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:27,760
Speaker 1: He was trying to get their kids to stop trusting her.

416
00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:30,320
Speaker 2: I just decided to grab the kids and go to

417
00:23:30,320 --> 00:23:31,159
Speaker 2: my mom's house.

418
00:23:32,080 --> 00:23:35,600
Speaker 1: She knew something had to change. She tried to encourage

419
00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:38,400
Speaker 1: Rodney to seek professional help for his behavior.

420
00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:40,960
Speaker 2: I didn't want to give up on them. I was

421
00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:43,400
Speaker 2: trying to get them help, like I wanted to get help.

422
00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:45,920
Speaker 2: He wouldn't go see a therapist. He wouldn't do anything.

423
00:23:46,359 --> 00:23:50,600
Speaker 1: His abuse only escalated. As a note to listeners, the

424
00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:53,199
Speaker 1: next scene involves a threat of suicide.

425
00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:55,720
Speaker 2: One time we were fighting and I grabbed the kids

426
00:23:55,720 --> 00:23:57,679
Speaker 2: and I went to my parents' house. But as I

427
00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:01,480
Speaker 2: would leave in the driveway, came out stood in the driveway.

428
00:24:01,640 --> 00:24:03,920
Speaker 2: He had a gun and he pointed it to his head.

429
00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:06,920
Speaker 2: I just dropped everything and put my hands in my

430
00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:10,080
Speaker 2: face because I didn't want to see it happen. I

431
00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:12,360
Speaker 2: drove away.

432
00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:16,159
Speaker 1: Morgan was focused on surviving his abuse and keeping her

433
00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:16,879
Speaker 1: kids safe.

434
00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:21,000
Speaker 2: I was just trying to get by minute per minute.

435
00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:25,520
Speaker 1: It was devastating. She still had so much love for

436
00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:30,200
Speaker 1: this person, but he was not the man she married. Eventually,

437
00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:34,879
Speaker 1: Morgan told her parents that she needed to leave her marriage.

438
00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:36,800
Speaker 2: I went to them and was like, I can't do

439
00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:40,240
Speaker 2: this anymore. They were on my side. My dad was like, Okay,

440
00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:43,240
Speaker 2: call the attorney. We're going to get the divorce. We're done.

441
00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:44,560
Speaker 2: I get it. I understand.

442
00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:49,240
Speaker 1: Hearing her parents affirm her decision to leave shifted something

443
00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:50,000
Speaker 1: within Morgan.

444
00:24:50,600 --> 00:24:53,879
Speaker 2: I don't know what it was, but a light just

445
00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:57,280
Speaker 2: came on and I was like, I'm ton I don't

446
00:24:57,320 --> 00:24:59,280
Speaker 2: have to do this. I could get out.

447
00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:04,280
Speaker 1: After eleven years of marriage and nearly twenty years together,

448
00:25:05,119 --> 00:25:06,600
Speaker 1: Morgan filed for divorce.

449
00:25:07,359 --> 00:25:09,600
Speaker 2: My divorce was like a month long.

450
00:25:10,160 --> 00:25:12,440
Speaker 1: The proceedings were extremely fast.

451
00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:15,680
Speaker 2: He gave me the house, he gave me everything. He

452
00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:17,560
Speaker 2: didn't fight it, and I think it's because he thought

453
00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:20,479
Speaker 2: he could win me back. Behind the scenes, he was like,

454
00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:23,480
Speaker 2: give me another chance. I was just constantly begging me

455
00:25:23,560 --> 00:25:24,119
Speaker 2: and begging me.

456
00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:28,960
Speaker 1: But Morgan was done giving Rodney chances to change. Their

457
00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:32,760
Speaker 1: divorce was finalized in December of twenty twenty, and she

458
00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:34,480
Speaker 1: knew she had made the right decision.

459
00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:39,399
Speaker 2: I was feeling free. I just felt great. I didn't

460
00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:42,240
Speaker 2: have the urge to want to go back. I just

461
00:25:42,320 --> 00:25:46,399
Speaker 2: felt like the weight of the world was off my shoulders.

462
00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:49,200
Speaker 1: It was a positive change for her kids too.

463
00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:51,720
Speaker 2: And my kids were like, Mom, it's so much happier

464
00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:54,120
Speaker 2: around here. I was like, yes, I know, I did

465
00:25:54,119 --> 00:25:58,359
Speaker 2: the right thing. I was just so elated that the

466
00:25:58,480 --> 00:26:00,000
Speaker 2: house was calm and quiet.

467
00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:05,080
Speaker 1: It Rodney was the only one not adjusting well.

468
00:26:05,840 --> 00:26:08,879
Speaker 2: Rob is still asking me to get back together with them.

469
00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:10,240
Speaker 2: Let me give another chance.

470
00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:13,560
Speaker 1: Morgan tried her best to ignore him, but he was

471
00:26:13,600 --> 00:26:15,720
Speaker 1: trying everything to make her feel bad.

472
00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:18,920
Speaker 2: It was a few days before his birthday. He's like, well,

473
00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:20,840
Speaker 2: no one's going to take me out for my birthday.

474
00:26:21,359 --> 00:26:23,199
Speaker 2: Can you please go out and make my birthday? So

475
00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:25,320
Speaker 2: that I said, okay, I'll go to dinner for your birthday.

476
00:26:25,880 --> 00:26:30,000
Speaker 1: The dinner was uncomfortable. The entire time, Rodney was begging

477
00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:33,200
Speaker 1: her to take him back. She tried to set boundaries

478
00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:37,760
Speaker 1: between them again. Then a few days before Christmas, Morgan

479
00:26:37,840 --> 00:26:39,760
Speaker 1: was at her friend's house when she got an email

480
00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:43,720
Speaker 1: from Rodney. He was writing to let her know that

481
00:26:43,840 --> 00:26:47,560
Speaker 1: he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He attached a

482
00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:51,200
Speaker 1: doctor's note to his email. The cancer had already progressed

483
00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:54,080
Speaker 1: to stage four by the time they found it. It

484
00:26:54,200 --> 00:26:59,000
Speaker 1: was a terminal diagnosis. Morgan was stunned. She rushed over

485
00:26:59,119 --> 00:27:02,160
Speaker 1: to Rodney's house right away, and I was.

486
00:27:02,119 --> 00:27:05,040
Speaker 2: Like, I am so sorry. I'm here for you, your father,

487
00:27:05,240 --> 00:27:06,840
Speaker 2: my children. I'm always gonna love you.

488
00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:10,600
Speaker 1: She spent the day at his apartment, trying to support

489
00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:13,959
Speaker 1: him as he wrapped his mind around the diagnosis. When

490
00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:16,400
Speaker 1: the day he came to an end, Rodney told her

491
00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:19,240
Speaker 1: he was scared to be alone. That night, she told

492
00:27:19,320 --> 00:27:21,480
Speaker 1: him he could come to her house and sleep on

493
00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:23,080
Speaker 1: the sofa if he needed.

494
00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:26,119
Speaker 2: To, and the following morning, I said, Okay, you know,

495
00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:28,480
Speaker 2: I think it's time we call your parents. He's like,

496
00:27:28,480 --> 00:27:30,119
Speaker 2: I don't want my parents to know. And I was like,

497
00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:32,240
Speaker 2: rod you got in credit cancer.

498
00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:36,399
Speaker 1: Morgan wanted to support him, but she was frustrated that

499
00:27:36,520 --> 00:27:41,520
Speaker 1: Rodney only wanted support from her and nobody else. Even

500
00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:44,680
Speaker 1: though she still cared for Rodney, they were divorced.

501
00:27:44,680 --> 00:27:49,200
Speaker 2: Now. I was feeling like, you know, this isn't really

502
00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:52,800
Speaker 2: on me, Like this isn't my responsibility anymore.

503
00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:56,560
Speaker 1: It was a tough decision, but she knew she couldn't

504
00:27:56,560 --> 00:28:00,639
Speaker 1: be Rodney's only support system for her sake and for his,

505
00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:04,960
Speaker 1: so she called his parents, told them about his diagnosis,

506
00:28:05,440 --> 00:28:08,159
Speaker 1: and then told him it was time for him to

507
00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:08,919
Speaker 1: go back home.

508
00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:11,720
Speaker 2: I was like, that's it. You're not putting all of

509
00:28:11,760 --> 00:28:16,640
Speaker 2: this on me. I didn't feel responsible for him anymore.

510
00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:20,159
Speaker 1: Morgan tried to take a step back.

511
00:28:20,840 --> 00:28:23,000
Speaker 2: And he was still messaging me. He's like, let me

512
00:28:23,040 --> 00:28:24,960
Speaker 2: take you out for New Year's Eve. Let me let's

513
00:28:24,960 --> 00:28:26,880
Speaker 2: do the New Year's Eve together. And I was like, no,

514
00:28:27,119 --> 00:28:28,880
Speaker 2: I'm not doing it. I don't want to do it.

515
00:28:29,720 --> 00:28:32,679
Speaker 1: So she made up an excuse. She told him she

516
00:28:32,720 --> 00:28:35,280
Speaker 1: was spending the night at her parents' house so he

517
00:28:35,320 --> 00:28:38,520
Speaker 1: wouldn't try to come over. Her kids were out of town,

518
00:28:38,760 --> 00:28:41,440
Speaker 1: so Morgan decided to go to a friend's New Year's

519
00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:42,080
Speaker 1: Eve party.

520
00:28:42,520 --> 00:28:44,680
Speaker 2: I was there for a little bit and I was like,

521
00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:46,400
Speaker 2: you know what, I don't really want to be here.

522
00:28:46,720 --> 00:28:49,360
Speaker 2: I'm tired. This is my first New Year by myself.

523
00:28:49,520 --> 00:28:53,000
Speaker 2: I don't like drinking. I just wanted it to be relaxing,

524
00:28:53,360 --> 00:28:55,760
Speaker 2: and I didn't have my kids. I was like, I

525
00:28:55,840 --> 00:28:56,680
Speaker 2: just want to go home.

526
00:28:57,240 --> 00:28:59,560
Speaker 1: Her kids were at her sister's house in Florida for

527
00:28:59,560 --> 00:29:02,960
Speaker 1: the week, and Morgan had the house to herself. She

528
00:29:03,040 --> 00:29:06,280
Speaker 1: went home, changed into her pajamas, and put on a movie.

529
00:29:06,760 --> 00:29:10,320
Speaker 2: I fell asleep on the sofa that night. I woke up.

530
00:29:10,560 --> 00:29:13,880
Speaker 2: I think it was just about a minute before midnight,

531
00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:16,920
Speaker 2: and it was a firework I heard in the neighborhood

532
00:29:16,920 --> 00:29:19,120
Speaker 2: and it woke me up. And so I was like,

533
00:29:19,160 --> 00:29:21,440
Speaker 2: oh gosh, okay, it was just for a second. And

534
00:29:21,480 --> 00:29:23,080
Speaker 2: then I'd been down and I kissed my dog and

535
00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:24,040
Speaker 2: I was like having a year.

536
00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:27,680
Speaker 1: She pulled herself off the couch, went to her room,

537
00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:31,040
Speaker 1: and went back to bed. As a note for listeners,

538
00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:34,760
Speaker 1: Morgan is about to describe an instance of graphic violence.

539
00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:38,320
Speaker 2: It was like thirty minutes later or something like that,

540
00:29:39,720 --> 00:29:43,000
Speaker 2: I woke up again. There's always been a creek by

541
00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:44,480
Speaker 2: my door when you walk by it.

542
00:29:45,120 --> 00:29:48,120
Speaker 1: She heard the floorboard creak and her eyes snapped open.

543
00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:52,160
Speaker 2: It was just loud, and I saw this figure standing

544
00:29:52,200 --> 00:29:56,400
Speaker 2: in the doorway. He was an all black and had

545
00:29:56,440 --> 00:30:00,680
Speaker 2: a batman mask and just covered head to toe and clothing.

546
00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:04,480
Speaker 1: The light in the living room was on behind the intruder.

547
00:30:04,880 --> 00:30:07,680
Speaker 1: He was silhouetted in the doorway. She didn't have a

548
00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:08,640
Speaker 1: clear view of him.

549
00:30:08,920 --> 00:30:10,960
Speaker 2: I kept closing and opening my eyes, like am I

550
00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:14,360
Speaker 2: really seeing this or not. The moment that I think

551
00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:17,840
Speaker 2: he realized my eyes were opened is when he pounced

552
00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:23,040
Speaker 2: at me. I remember letting out this blood curling scream,

553
00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:25,760
Speaker 2: a scream that you never thought would possibly be able

554
00:30:25,760 --> 00:30:26,720
Speaker 2: to come out of your body.

555
00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:31,160
Speaker 1: The intruder used zip ties to restrain her. The whole time.

556
00:30:31,240 --> 00:30:33,800
Speaker 1: He had a gun in her face and he used

557
00:30:33,840 --> 00:30:37,480
Speaker 1: it to hit her. The attack felt like it lasted forever.

558
00:30:38,360 --> 00:30:41,760
Speaker 2: When you're strangled, it is the worst feeling in the

559
00:30:41,880 --> 00:30:45,760
Speaker 2: entire world. I mean, it's so personal. You're looking up

560
00:30:45,920 --> 00:30:50,520
Speaker 2: at this person and you can't breathe. I got to

561
00:30:50,560 --> 00:30:53,600
Speaker 2: the point where I literally felt like my body was

562
00:30:53,640 --> 00:30:56,440
Speaker 2: shutting down. When I was done, I was thinking in

563
00:30:56,480 --> 00:30:57,960
Speaker 2: my head he was going to take my kids.

564
00:30:59,600 --> 00:31:02,560
Speaker 1: He put it pillowcase over her head and he sexually

565
00:31:02,560 --> 00:31:08,520
Speaker 1: assaulted her. Then the intruder began to speak. It sounded

566
00:31:08,560 --> 00:31:12,320
Speaker 1: like he was using a voice changer. The altered voice

567
00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:15,680
Speaker 1: was deep and gravelly. It sounded just like Batman.

568
00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:21,280
Speaker 2: That was definitely the scariest thing, the Batman voice sound.

569
00:31:22,080 --> 00:31:25,560
Speaker 2: That is what still haunts my dreams. Hey would just

570
00:31:25,600 --> 00:31:28,240
Speaker 2: make all these comments of like you've messed with the

571
00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:31,080
Speaker 2: wrong person. You're gonna pay for this.

572
00:31:32,120 --> 00:31:36,080
Speaker 1: The intruder demanded that she share her phone password. Scared

573
00:31:36,120 --> 00:31:40,360
Speaker 1: for her life, she told him. Morgan's mind was racing

574
00:31:40,680 --> 00:31:43,440
Speaker 1: trying to figure out who was behind the mask.

575
00:31:44,040 --> 00:31:45,600
Speaker 2: I'm thinking in my head, like I do not have

576
00:31:45,720 --> 00:31:50,120
Speaker 2: enemies like this. What is going on. Then he makes

577
00:31:50,120 --> 00:31:52,320
Speaker 2: a comment, if you're really going to miss your husband.

578
00:31:52,920 --> 00:31:55,440
Speaker 1: She had to make a split second decision of how

579
00:31:55,480 --> 00:31:59,560
Speaker 1: to respond. Something in her knew what the intruder wanted

580
00:31:59,560 --> 00:32:01,640
Speaker 1: to hear, and I was.

581
00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:04,560
Speaker 2: Like, oh no, please, don't hurt my husband. I love

582
00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:08,760
Speaker 2: him very much. And I think that's what saved me,

583
00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:14,040
Speaker 2: because the mood in the entire room changed. It wasn't

584
00:32:14,040 --> 00:32:16,440
Speaker 2: as heavy, it wasn't as dark, it wasn't as deep.

585
00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:20,320
Speaker 2: His whole persona changed.

586
00:32:23,040 --> 00:32:26,640
Speaker 1: Just seconds ago, the intruder's violence had been life threatening,

587
00:32:27,240 --> 00:32:31,280
Speaker 1: but now his focus shifted from Morgan to her valuables

588
00:32:31,560 --> 00:32:32,920
Speaker 1: and what he could steal.

589
00:32:33,080 --> 00:32:34,880
Speaker 2: Like he was a burglar more so than they're the

590
00:32:34,960 --> 00:32:36,760
Speaker 2: murder me. He's like, where's your jewelry? And he started

591
00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:39,200
Speaker 2: ripping out stuff from my drawers and things like that.

592
00:32:40,000 --> 00:32:43,200
Speaker 1: Then the intruder lifted Morgan off of the bed.

593
00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:46,280
Speaker 2: He kept that pillow case over my head and then

594
00:32:46,360 --> 00:32:49,360
Speaker 2: took me outside in the back patio, laid me on

595
00:32:49,440 --> 00:32:53,440
Speaker 2: my outside sofa, and he was like, don't move until

596
00:32:53,480 --> 00:32:54,960
Speaker 2: you hear three car hons.

597
00:32:56,880 --> 00:33:01,160
Speaker 1: She complied and listened as the intruder's foots faded away.

598
00:33:06,200 --> 00:33:08,080
Speaker 2: I heard the car leave, but I didn't hear any

599
00:33:08,080 --> 00:33:09,400
Speaker 2: three car hogs.

600
00:33:10,120 --> 00:33:13,800
Speaker 1: There was still a pillowcase over her head. She didn't

601
00:33:13,800 --> 00:33:16,960
Speaker 1: know for sure if the intruder had left or if

602
00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:18,480
Speaker 1: anyone else was watching her.

603
00:33:18,840 --> 00:33:21,960
Speaker 2: I don't know if there's more than one person. I

604
00:33:21,960 --> 00:33:24,400
Speaker 2: couldn't see anything, and I was trying to keep myself

605
00:33:24,440 --> 00:33:28,080
Speaker 2: awake because I can feel the blood running down my faith.

606
00:33:29,120 --> 00:33:32,920
Speaker 1: Morgan was severely injured. She focused all of her energy

607
00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:37,160
Speaker 1: on coaching herself through the pain. She needed to survive this,

608
00:33:37,840 --> 00:33:40,760
Speaker 1: not only for herself, before her children.

609
00:33:41,400 --> 00:33:43,960
Speaker 2: And I was like, you can have a concussion. Try

610
00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:46,120
Speaker 2: to stay awake. Try to stay awake. At the same time,

611
00:33:46,240 --> 00:33:49,360
Speaker 2: I'm thinking in my head, okay, where are your keith at.

612
00:33:49,360 --> 00:33:50,800
Speaker 2: You're going to run to the car, like I was

613
00:33:50,880 --> 00:33:52,160
Speaker 2: planning things out in my head.

614
00:33:53,320 --> 00:33:56,880
Speaker 1: She laid on the back patio for forty minutes waiting,

615
00:33:57,760 --> 00:33:59,959
Speaker 1: but then she heard something.

616
00:34:00,280 --> 00:34:02,960
Speaker 2: We had river rocks in our backyard, and I heard

617
00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:06,680
Speaker 2: someone stepping on them. And then I heard footsteps going

618
00:34:06,720 --> 00:34:10,160
Speaker 2: up the back deck stairs, and I was like, somebody

619
00:34:10,280 --> 00:34:11,720
Speaker 2: else is here.

620
00:34:31,880 --> 00:34:34,319
Speaker 1: Morgan was asleep at her house on New Year's Eve

621
00:34:34,760 --> 00:34:37,720
Speaker 1: when an intruder broke into her home. He was wearing

622
00:34:37,719 --> 00:34:41,319
Speaker 1: a batman mask, black clothing, and disguising his voice with

623
00:34:41,360 --> 00:34:45,239
Speaker 1: a voice changer. He violently attacked her before leaving her

624
00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:48,719
Speaker 1: on the back porch, her head covered with a pillowcase.

625
00:34:49,719 --> 00:34:51,920
Speaker 1: He told her not to move until she heard three

626
00:34:51,920 --> 00:34:55,000
Speaker 1: hanks of a car's horn, but the sounds never came,

627
00:34:55,600 --> 00:34:58,439
Speaker 1: so she stayed there for forty minutes until she heard

628
00:34:58,440 --> 00:35:00,000
Speaker 1: footsteps approaching.

629
00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:02,680
Speaker 2: And I was like, somebody else is here.

630
00:35:03,680 --> 00:35:06,400
Speaker 1: She wasn't sure if this was help or the start

631
00:35:06,480 --> 00:35:07,520
Speaker 1: of a second attack.

632
00:35:08,120 --> 00:35:11,160
Speaker 2: And then I heard footsteps going up the back deckstairs.

633
00:35:11,680 --> 00:35:15,040
Speaker 1: The pillowcase was slifted off her head, and Morgan looked

634
00:35:15,080 --> 00:35:20,799
Speaker 1: up to see who had arrived. It was Rodney.

635
00:35:20,920 --> 00:35:22,960
Speaker 2: He looked very surprised.

636
00:35:23,600 --> 00:35:28,040
Speaker 1: Morgan was also surprised. How did Rodney know she needed help?

637
00:35:28,680 --> 00:35:32,840
Speaker 2: He said, well, why right? Someone can tapping out my

638
00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:35,320
Speaker 2: window and saying you better go check on your wife

639
00:35:35,440 --> 00:35:36,520
Speaker 2: or something like that.

640
00:35:37,719 --> 00:35:40,320
Speaker 1: Then Rodney began to tend to Morgan.

641
00:35:40,880 --> 00:35:46,040
Speaker 2: I'm still naked and my hands are tied and I

642
00:35:46,200 --> 00:35:49,000
Speaker 2: was crying, and he took me inside, took me by

643
00:35:49,040 --> 00:35:53,719
Speaker 2: the fireplace. He was consulting, but also like trying to

644
00:35:53,800 --> 00:35:55,600
Speaker 2: act like he was staying in the day. He's like,

645
00:35:55,600 --> 00:35:58,080
Speaker 2: I'm going to check the house out, make sure everything's good,

646
00:35:58,360 --> 00:36:00,040
Speaker 2: and make sure everyone's gone.

647
00:36:00,160 --> 00:36:03,759
Speaker 1: He walked around the house, opening closet doors, but he.

648
00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:06,160
Speaker 2: Still has under my handcuffs or got me my clothes

649
00:36:06,200 --> 00:36:06,720
Speaker 2: that I needed.

650
00:36:07,800 --> 00:36:13,000
Speaker 1: Then Rodney called the police. Morgan listened, still handcuffed as

651
00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:15,399
Speaker 1: he told the nine one one dispatcher.

652
00:36:15,080 --> 00:36:17,640
Speaker 2: He's gone now and it's no big deal. We don't

653
00:36:17,640 --> 00:36:19,520
Speaker 2: need the sirens of the lights or the big old

654
00:36:19,680 --> 00:36:22,799
Speaker 2: or deal or anything like that. And I'm sitting there

655
00:36:22,840 --> 00:36:23,160
Speaker 2: like what.

656
00:36:23,920 --> 00:36:25,880
Speaker 1: The police made their way to the house at a

657
00:36:25,960 --> 00:36:30,279
Speaker 1: leisurely pace. Based on Rodney's account, they didn't think it

658
00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:32,000
Speaker 1: was that serious of a situation.

659
00:36:33,160 --> 00:36:35,800
Speaker 2: The policeman walks in the front door and he stops

660
00:36:35,840 --> 00:36:38,319
Speaker 2: in his fracks and back right back out outside and

661
00:36:38,400 --> 00:36:39,319
Speaker 2: calling her back up.

662
00:36:39,960 --> 00:36:43,359
Speaker 1: Rodney sounded calm on the phone, but one look at

663
00:36:43,400 --> 00:36:48,120
Speaker 1: Morgan told a different story. She had been physically assaulted.

664
00:36:48,880 --> 00:36:52,000
Speaker 1: She was bleeding from a head wound, her face was

665
00:36:52,040 --> 00:36:54,400
Speaker 1: swelling and starting to turn purple.

666
00:36:55,760 --> 00:36:58,000
Speaker 2: I mean, I can't even see out of like one eye.

667
00:36:58,680 --> 00:37:00,600
Speaker 2: The cop was kind of like, what do you mean?

668
00:37:00,640 --> 00:37:01,879
Speaker 2: This is not this big of a deal.

669
00:37:03,600 --> 00:37:07,160
Speaker 1: The police took Rodney aside for questioning. In the meantime,

670
00:37:07,680 --> 00:37:11,879
Speaker 1: they searched the house. Occasionally someone came over to talk

671
00:37:11,920 --> 00:37:15,479
Speaker 1: to Morgan, but all of their words faded into one

672
00:37:15,680 --> 00:37:16,600
Speaker 1: loud hum.

673
00:37:17,960 --> 00:37:21,960
Speaker 2: I just felt like I was medicated or something. It

674
00:37:22,080 --> 00:37:26,400
Speaker 2: was all a blur. My brain was just going, you know,

675
00:37:26,440 --> 00:37:28,520
Speaker 2: a thousand miles a minute, and I couldn't even keep

676
00:37:28,600 --> 00:37:30,040
Speaker 2: up with what detectives were saying.

677
00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:33,919
Speaker 1: But then one of the detectives said something that cut

678
00:37:33,920 --> 00:37:39,600
Speaker 1: through the noise. He told her they were arresting Rodney.

679
00:37:39,800 --> 00:37:44,200
Speaker 1: Morgan's head was spinning. She remembered the look on Rodney's

680
00:37:44,239 --> 00:37:48,279
Speaker 1: face when he first saw her injuries. He had looked surprised,

681
00:37:49,440 --> 00:37:52,359
Speaker 1: but they had been together since they were teenagers, and

682
00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:54,279
Speaker 1: Morgan knew Rodney's expressions.

683
00:37:54,320 --> 00:37:57,480
Speaker 2: Intimately, it was a genuine shock. But I think it

684
00:37:57,520 --> 00:38:02,919
Speaker 2: was a genuine shock of like, oh, Lee wrap, what

685
00:38:02,960 --> 00:38:03,799
Speaker 2: did I do to have.

686
00:38:05,680 --> 00:38:09,719
Speaker 1: Her thoughts were racing. Could Rodney really have done this?

687
00:38:10,600 --> 00:38:12,799
Speaker 2: Maybe it said, Maybe it wasn't. I don't know. I

688
00:38:12,840 --> 00:38:15,200
Speaker 2: didn't know if he'd hired anybody else.

689
00:38:15,880 --> 00:38:19,239
Speaker 1: Morgan was taken to the hospital. Luckily, her kids were

690
00:38:19,360 --> 00:38:23,200
Speaker 1: still out of town, staying with her sister. Rodney was

691
00:38:23,239 --> 00:38:27,200
Speaker 1: the prime suspect, but authorities needed solid proof if they

692
00:38:27,200 --> 00:38:30,080
Speaker 1: were going to charge him with the crime, so they

693
00:38:30,120 --> 00:38:33,680
Speaker 1: got a warrant to search Rodney's apartment. That's when the

694
00:38:33,760 --> 00:38:38,680
Speaker 1: picture began to come together. Detectives found a book in

695
00:38:38,800 --> 00:38:42,640
Speaker 1: Rodney's apartment, Seven Ways to Be Her Hero, a self

696
00:38:42,719 --> 00:38:47,400
Speaker 1: help book for men, and Rodney's search history told a

697
00:38:47,400 --> 00:38:48,480
Speaker 1: disturbing story.

698
00:38:49,080 --> 00:38:53,120
Speaker 2: They took his computer and they found searches of how

699
00:38:53,239 --> 00:38:56,800
Speaker 2: to strangle somebody and writing a suicide letter.

700
00:38:58,400 --> 00:39:01,480
Speaker 1: He also searched for how to change the sound of

701
00:39:01,520 --> 00:39:04,839
Speaker 1: your voice, how to get sympathy from your ex, and

702
00:39:05,320 --> 00:39:10,240
Speaker 1: how long to choke someone unconscious. Then they found physical evidence,

703
00:39:10,960 --> 00:39:14,000
Speaker 1: zip ties that looked just like the ones used to

704
00:39:14,040 --> 00:39:15,360
Speaker 1: restrain Morgan.

705
00:39:15,800 --> 00:39:18,720
Speaker 2: And they took the zip ties to forensics to see

706
00:39:18,840 --> 00:39:20,480
Speaker 2: if it was a match.

707
00:39:21,320 --> 00:39:25,480
Speaker 1: Forensics came back quickly it was a match. The evidence

708
00:39:25,600 --> 00:39:28,719
Speaker 1: was overwhelming. Rodney was the intruder.

709
00:39:29,880 --> 00:39:32,640
Speaker 2: I just dropped to the ground and just started crying.

710
00:39:33,920 --> 00:39:37,040
Speaker 2: Finally someone saw that it wasn't my fault.

711
00:39:39,200 --> 00:39:43,360
Speaker 1: For years, Rodney had been gaslighting Morgan, telling her she

712
00:39:43,640 --> 00:39:47,840
Speaker 1: was to blame for his violence. Now it was finally over.

713
00:39:49,200 --> 00:39:53,319
Speaker 2: I was just throwing back like, Oh my gosh, I

714
00:39:53,360 --> 00:39:55,640
Speaker 2: can't believe he was honestly just stupid to look it

715
00:39:55,680 --> 00:39:57,239
Speaker 2: all up online.

716
00:39:57,280 --> 00:40:00,520
Speaker 1: In the weeks before the attack, Rodney told me he

717
00:40:00,560 --> 00:40:05,520
Speaker 1: had terminal cancer, but in their investigation, police discovered a

718
00:40:05,560 --> 00:40:10,799
Speaker 1: forged doctor's note proof that Rodney's story was a lie.

719
00:40:11,080 --> 00:40:15,479
Speaker 2: It was just so mind boggling. I guess I never

720
00:40:15,520 --> 00:40:17,319
Speaker 2: really truly thought he would go that far.

721
00:40:18,280 --> 00:40:22,000
Speaker 1: Rodney had been desperate to regain control of Morgan's life

722
00:40:22,280 --> 00:40:25,120
Speaker 1: and to get her back. He started by trying to

723
00:40:25,160 --> 00:40:28,720
Speaker 1: gain her sympathy. When he first told Morgan about his cancer,

724
00:40:29,200 --> 00:40:33,120
Speaker 1: she was distraught, but even though she was worried for him,

725
00:40:33,600 --> 00:40:36,040
Speaker 1: she still didn't want to get back together with him.

726
00:40:36,320 --> 00:40:38,960
Speaker 2: That is when I think he finally made a decision. Okay,

727
00:40:38,960 --> 00:40:41,520
Speaker 2: he's going to go through with what his end game was.

728
00:40:43,360 --> 00:40:47,080
Speaker 1: Morgan had let Rodney sleep on her couch. He said

729
00:40:47,120 --> 00:40:51,360
Speaker 1: he was scared about his terminal diagnosis, but in reality,

730
00:40:52,080 --> 00:40:53,959
Speaker 1: he had ulterior motives.

731
00:40:54,760 --> 00:40:57,600
Speaker 2: During that time I was sleeping, he went downstairs in

732
00:40:57,640 --> 00:41:00,880
Speaker 2: the basement and took a window sensor off the window,

733
00:41:01,840 --> 00:41:04,279
Speaker 2: so he was a planning as next est.

734
00:41:05,920 --> 00:41:09,279
Speaker 1: With the window sensor removed, Rodney had an easy way

735
00:41:09,320 --> 00:41:14,719
Speaker 1: to enter Morgan's house without activating the alarm system. On

736
00:41:14,800 --> 00:41:17,359
Speaker 1: the night of the attack, he'd asked for Morgan's phone

737
00:41:17,400 --> 00:41:22,359
Speaker 1: password and gone through her phone. Police discovered he'd been

738
00:41:22,400 --> 00:41:28,360
Speaker 1: deleting security footage. Rodney Metzer was charged with fourteen counts

739
00:41:28,400 --> 00:41:33,600
Speaker 1: related to the attack, including kidnapping, home invasion, armed robbery,

740
00:41:34,040 --> 00:41:39,719
Speaker 1: aggravated assault, and sexual battery. But one question remained, why

741
00:41:39,760 --> 00:41:43,279
Speaker 1: would Rodney do this to her? Why take it this far?

742
00:41:44,480 --> 00:41:47,240
Speaker 1: Morgan thinks it's because he wanted to create a villain

743
00:41:47,719 --> 00:41:50,000
Speaker 1: so that he could be the hero.

744
00:41:50,520 --> 00:41:54,120
Speaker 2: Because he wanted to gain back that guy next door

745
00:41:54,200 --> 00:41:58,920
Speaker 2: type of vibe everyone like the penny of the perfect person.

746
00:41:59,840 --> 00:42:04,080
Speaker 1: The assistant district attorney who prosecuted a case believes Rodney's

747
00:42:04,080 --> 00:42:08,000
Speaker 1: motivations were even more sinister. In a press release about

748
00:42:08,000 --> 00:42:11,759
Speaker 1: Morgan's case, she gave this quote, which we've had read

749
00:42:11,800 --> 00:42:15,839
Speaker 1: by a voice actor. This man is a master manipulator.

750
00:42:16,680 --> 00:42:19,240
Speaker 3: In the days leading up to the attack, he faked

751
00:42:19,239 --> 00:42:22,480
Speaker 3: a cancer diagnosis in an attempt to gain sympathy from

752
00:42:22,520 --> 00:42:26,520
Speaker 3: his ex wife. When that didn't work, he created a

753
00:42:26,560 --> 00:42:30,600
Speaker 3: convoluted plan that the investigators in this case and our office,

754
00:42:31,000 --> 00:42:34,400
Speaker 3: truly believe involved a plot to kill her and then himself.

755
00:42:35,520 --> 00:42:38,320
Speaker 3: When he couldn't go through with that plan, he instead

756
00:42:38,400 --> 00:42:42,120
Speaker 3: devised a new plan to rescue her.

757
00:42:44,719 --> 00:42:47,800
Speaker 1: In the weeks following the attack, Morgan's sister agreed to

758
00:42:47,840 --> 00:42:50,960
Speaker 1: take care of her kids while she focused on recovering.

759
00:42:51,840 --> 00:42:57,040
Speaker 1: She checked herself into an impatient rehab for PTSD recovery,

760
00:42:57,239 --> 00:43:00,719
Speaker 1: but even with professional help, she found her self struggling

761
00:43:00,719 --> 00:43:02,760
Speaker 1: to return to the life she had before.

762
00:43:03,800 --> 00:43:06,160
Speaker 2: I didn't want to be left alone in the house.

763
00:43:06,200 --> 00:43:07,799
Speaker 2: But I didn't want to leave my house because I

764
00:43:07,800 --> 00:43:10,560
Speaker 2: worked very hard to pay for that house. At that time,

765
00:43:10,719 --> 00:43:12,640
Speaker 2: I was too afraid to work because I didn't want

766
00:43:12,640 --> 00:43:14,040
Speaker 2: to go to random people's houses.

767
00:43:14,400 --> 00:43:18,399
Speaker 1: I was scared nights for the hardest. She didn't feel

768
00:43:18,440 --> 00:43:20,840
Speaker 1: safe letting her guard down in her own home.

769
00:43:21,880 --> 00:43:24,160
Speaker 2: There was a month that I would sleep in my

770
00:43:24,239 --> 00:43:25,759
Speaker 2: son's room and just sit in the corner of the

771
00:43:25,840 --> 00:43:28,080
Speaker 2: room and stare at the door. I just wouldn't sleep.

772
00:43:28,600 --> 00:43:32,120
Speaker 2: I couldn't find comfort in it, but I refused to

773
00:43:32,200 --> 00:43:34,480
Speaker 2: let him beat me.

774
00:43:34,480 --> 00:43:38,000
Speaker 1: Meanwhile, the state built their case against Rodney and prepared

775
00:43:38,040 --> 00:43:38,600
Speaker 1: for trial.

776
00:43:39,360 --> 00:43:45,280
Speaker 2: I was just talking to the DA constantly, just constant questions.

777
00:43:45,600 --> 00:43:49,120
Speaker 2: They came to get server at my house, they went

778
00:43:49,160 --> 00:43:52,920
Speaker 2: through his phone. It was just reliving that moment every

779
00:43:53,040 --> 00:43:57,120
Speaker 2: second for like eight months.

780
00:43:58,520 --> 00:44:01,800
Speaker 1: Rodney pled guilty to for team counts related to the attack.

781
00:44:02,600 --> 00:44:06,520
Speaker 1: On August fourth, twenty twenty one, Rodney was sentenced to

782
00:44:06,560 --> 00:44:10,040
Speaker 1: twenty five years in prison and forty five years of probation.

783
00:44:11,239 --> 00:44:14,640
Speaker 1: Morgan wanted to go to his sentencing hearing. She prepared

784
00:44:14,640 --> 00:44:17,239
Speaker 1: a victim impact statement. What she read in the.

785
00:44:17,160 --> 00:44:20,800
Speaker 2: Courtroom and my last statement to him, I said, do

786
00:44:20,840 --> 00:44:24,360
Speaker 2: you know, rod the pain you've given me is turned

787
00:44:24,360 --> 00:44:28,680
Speaker 2: into so much power. I walked off that stand feeling

788
00:44:29,080 --> 00:44:32,080
Speaker 2: like weight was lifted off my shoulders. I just felt

789
00:44:32,080 --> 00:44:34,839
Speaker 2: like I could breathe a little bit more. I feel

790
00:44:34,880 --> 00:44:36,640
Speaker 2: like some things that were at peace.

791
00:44:38,920 --> 00:44:42,440
Speaker 1: In that same press release about the case, the prosecutor

792
00:44:42,480 --> 00:44:45,400
Speaker 1: wrote a line that stood out to our team. Here's

793
00:44:45,440 --> 00:44:46,120
Speaker 1: what she wrote.

794
00:44:47,520 --> 00:44:50,200
Speaker 3: This is a classic example of how the most dangerous

795
00:44:50,239 --> 00:44:53,200
Speaker 3: time for a domestic violence victim is when she decides

796
00:44:53,239 --> 00:44:54,879
Speaker 3: to leave an abusive relationship.

797
00:44:56,640 --> 00:44:58,880
Speaker 1: Morgan had to find a way to explain to her

798
00:44:58,960 --> 00:45:01,640
Speaker 1: kids why the couldn't see their father anymore.

799
00:45:02,560 --> 00:45:04,759
Speaker 2: I told them, do you guys know when you get

800
00:45:04,760 --> 00:45:07,759
Speaker 2: in trouble, there's a consequence for your actions. And they

801
00:45:07,840 --> 00:45:10,839
Speaker 2: said yes, and I said, well, that did something very

802
00:45:10,880 --> 00:45:14,920
Speaker 2: bad and he has to have a punish net and

803
00:45:14,960 --> 00:45:18,120
Speaker 2: he's going to be away for twenty to twenty five years.

804
00:45:19,480 --> 00:45:22,080
Speaker 1: She did everything she could to process her trauma and

805
00:45:22,160 --> 00:45:26,160
Speaker 1: heal for herself and for her kids. It took months,

806
00:45:26,480 --> 00:45:27,520
Speaker 1: but slowly.

807
00:45:27,480 --> 00:45:30,160
Speaker 2: I felt like I was more myself, letting the kids

808
00:45:30,200 --> 00:45:33,360
Speaker 2: go to school, more Okay, we're getting back into a routine.

809
00:45:33,640 --> 00:45:36,680
Speaker 1: Rodney was a defining figure in Morgan's life since she

810
00:45:36,800 --> 00:45:41,440
Speaker 1: was fourteen years old. Without him around, even the smallest

811
00:45:41,480 --> 00:45:42,399
Speaker 1: things felt new.

812
00:45:43,400 --> 00:45:46,040
Speaker 2: I was trapped by him for so long that I

813
00:45:46,120 --> 00:45:48,960
Speaker 2: was getting to know my real self too. I had

814
00:45:49,000 --> 00:45:53,000
Speaker 2: to reintroduce myself. I feel like I had to relearn

815
00:45:53,080 --> 00:45:57,839
Speaker 2: how to walk and talk again, like do they Eventually

816
00:45:58,000 --> 00:46:02,160
Speaker 2: I started learning to get up every day and learn

817
00:46:02,200 --> 00:46:03,520
Speaker 2: who the new me was going to be.

818
00:46:06,920 --> 00:46:10,239
Speaker 1: In her victim impact statement, she told Rodney she would

819
00:46:10,280 --> 00:46:13,879
Speaker 1: turn the pain he inflicted into power, and she did

820
00:46:14,800 --> 00:46:15,480
Speaker 1: that power.

821
00:46:15,960 --> 00:46:18,360
Speaker 2: It's gotten me through figuring out how to provide for

822
00:46:18,440 --> 00:46:21,400
Speaker 2: my children, how to figure out how to do daily

823
00:46:21,480 --> 00:46:24,240
Speaker 2: life today.

824
00:46:24,400 --> 00:46:28,640
Speaker 1: Morgan's interior design business is thriving. She reclaimed the house

825
00:46:28,640 --> 00:46:31,880
Speaker 1: where she was attacked and turned it into a loving home,

826
00:46:32,520 --> 00:46:35,200
Speaker 1: and as for her twins, she's proud of the people

827
00:46:35,239 --> 00:46:40,160
Speaker 1: they're becoming. We end every weekly episode with the same question,

828
00:46:40,880 --> 00:46:42,440
Speaker 1: why do you want to share your story?

829
00:46:43,200 --> 00:46:46,680
Speaker 2: I'm very lucky. Unfortunately a lot of women in my

830
00:46:46,760 --> 00:46:52,640
Speaker 2: situation don't get out alive. And I just want women

831
00:46:52,760 --> 00:46:55,439
Speaker 2: to know that it's important to speak to each other

832
00:46:55,480 --> 00:46:58,440
Speaker 2: and to be open and to talk about things. I

833
00:46:58,520 --> 00:47:01,520
Speaker 2: never said anything out loud. I never really went to

834
00:47:02,160 --> 00:47:04,399
Speaker 2: a lot of my friends because I wanted to paint

835
00:47:04,440 --> 00:47:07,280
Speaker 2: this beautiful picture of my family and nothing was wrong.

836
00:47:07,680 --> 00:47:12,440
Speaker 2: And we as women are each other's big guest supporterers,

837
00:47:12,640 --> 00:47:16,200
Speaker 2: and if we say what's going on, maybe would have

838
00:47:16,200 --> 00:47:17,440
Speaker 2: been able to get help earlier.

839
00:47:24,960 --> 00:47:27,120
Speaker 1: On the next episode of Betrayal.

840
00:47:26,680 --> 00:47:30,520
Speaker 4: Weekly, suddenly the knock is on my door. I open

841
00:47:30,600 --> 00:47:32,920
Speaker 4: the door. These two men in street clothes are claiming

842
00:47:32,960 --> 00:47:37,799
Speaker 4: to be us Marshals. My whole body is hot. I

843
00:47:37,960 --> 00:47:41,160
Speaker 4: feel like my stomach is dropped and they show me

844
00:47:41,200 --> 00:47:44,120
Speaker 4: a picture. Yeah, that is my fiance.

845
00:47:54,960 --> 00:47:57,640
Speaker 1: If you'd like to share your story on Betrayal, please

846
00:47:57,719 --> 00:48:03,120
Speaker 1: email Betrayal Pod at gmail dot com that is Betrayalpod

847
00:48:03,480 --> 00:48:07,200
Speaker 1: at gmail dot com. Please note that we are not

848
00:48:07,400 --> 00:48:11,400
Speaker 1: a mental health organization. If you are in crisis or

849
00:48:11,520 --> 00:48:16,000
Speaker 1: currently experiencing domestic violence, we encourage you to seek local

850
00:48:16,080 --> 00:48:20,400
Speaker 1: help or dial nine to one one. Please contact organizations

851
00:48:20,400 --> 00:48:24,520
Speaker 1: that offer immediate support. In our show notes, we've included

852
00:48:24,520 --> 00:48:28,400
Speaker 1: a list of US based resources. You can follow us

853
00:48:28,440 --> 00:48:31,799
Speaker 1: on Instagram at betrayal Pod, or find me at It's

854
00:48:31,840 --> 00:48:36,040
Speaker 1: Andrea Gunning. To access our newsletter and additional content, and

855
00:48:36,080 --> 00:48:39,520
Speaker 1: to connect with the Betrayal community, join our substack at

856
00:48:39,680 --> 00:48:43,800
Speaker 1: Betrayal dot substack dot com. We're grateful for your support.

857
00:48:44,080 --> 00:48:46,560
Speaker 1: One way to show support is by subscribing to our

858
00:48:46,600 --> 00:48:49,759
Speaker 1: show on Apple Podcasts and don't forget to rate and

859
00:48:49,800 --> 00:48:54,000
Speaker 1: review Betrayal. Five star reviews go a long way. Big

860
00:48:54,080 --> 00:48:57,160
Speaker 1: thank you to all of our listeners. Betrayal is a

861
00:48:57,160 --> 00:49:00,720
Speaker 1: production of Glass Podcasts, a division of Glass and Entertainment Group,

862
00:49:00,760 --> 00:49:05,000
Speaker 1: in partnership with iHeart Podcasts. The show is executive produced

863
00:49:05,000 --> 00:49:08,480
Speaker 1: by Nancy Glass and Jennifer Fason, posted and produced by

864
00:49:08,560 --> 00:49:12,640
Speaker 1: me Andrea Gunning, written and produced by Olivia Hewitt. Our

865
00:49:12,719 --> 00:49:16,880
Speaker 1: story editor is Monique Lebord. Also produced by Ben Fetterman.

866
00:49:17,400 --> 00:49:22,600
Speaker 1: Our associate producer is Leah Jablo. Production management by Kristin Melcurie,

867
00:49:23,080 --> 00:49:28,200
Speaker 1: Booking support by Curry Richmond. Voice acting by Teresa Christine Brabson.

868
00:49:29,040 --> 00:49:33,080
Speaker 1: Our iHeart team is Ali Perry and Jessica Crincheck. Audio

869
00:49:33,160 --> 00:49:36,200
Speaker 1: editing by Tanner Robbins, with additional editing and mixing by

870
00:49:36,200 --> 00:49:40,560
Speaker 1: Matt Delbecchio. A Trayals theme composed by Oliver Baines. Music

871
00:49:40,640 --> 00:49:45,000
Speaker 1: library provided by my Music and For more podcasts from iHeart,

872
00:49:45,160 --> 00:49:49,000
Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get

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00:49:49,040 --> 00:49:50,520
Speaker 1: your podcasts,