WEBVTT - Introducing: Agent Layla from CBC’s Personally 

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<v Speaker 1>When she was 20 years old, something terrible happened to

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<v Speaker 1>Vienna Luke. And for more than a decade, the truth

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<v Speaker 1>of that night remained buried. But when Vienna became a mother,

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<v Speaker 1>she realized she needed to confront the past and uncover

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<v Speaker 1>the truth, no matter the consequences for her family. Her

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<v Speaker 1>sister Shaughnessy came aboard in the role of dogged detective.

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<v Speaker 1>Vienna plays the secret agent in a relentless search for

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<v Speaker 1>answers and justice. Hi, I'm Jodi Martinson. I'm a journalist

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<v Speaker 1>and producer in Vancouver, and I'm the host of a

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<v Speaker 1>brand new season of CBC's Personally, Agent Layla. Agent Layla

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<v Speaker 1>is a gripping true story about memory, family, and how

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<v Speaker 1>far one woman must go to set the record straight.

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<v Speaker 1>Here's the first episode of Agent Layla. This is a

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<v Speaker 1>memoir about sexual assault. Please listen with care. Vienna Luke

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<v Speaker 1>discovered something the other day. In the eyes of her nine-year-old,

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<v Speaker 1>she is not cool.

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<v Speaker 2>My daughter is like, why can't you have a cool job?

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<v Speaker 1>This revelation happened on the drive to school. The nine-year-old

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<v Speaker 1>compares her mom to her friend's mom, who's an artist.

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<v Speaker 2>She's creative and she is talented. And yes, she creates

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<v Speaker 2>beautiful things. She's just like, yeah, yeah. I just wish

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<v Speaker 2>you had a cool job.

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<v Speaker 1>As far as her nine-year-old can tell, Vienna is wasting

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<v Speaker 1>her time. She drives around, volunteers for hot lunch at

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<v Speaker 1>the school, teaches Pilates.

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<v Speaker 2>Your neighborhood mom. And I'm like, well, I teach fitness.

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<v Speaker 2>Isn't that cool?

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<v Speaker 1>The nine-year-old has no idea what her mom has really

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<v Speaker 1>been up to for the better part of the last

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<v Speaker 1>two decades.

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<v Speaker 2>I always think that I'm like, oh, sweetheart, if only

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<v Speaker 2>you knew what I've been, like, doing in the background

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<v Speaker 2>for all these years.

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<v Speaker 1>Someday, when her daughter is older, she'll sit her down,

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<v Speaker 1>she'll tell her about a day when she did do

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<v Speaker 1>something cool. Or maybe she'll just play her this podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>It was a Friday in October 2021. Vienna shuffles the

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<v Speaker 1>kids out the door to school. She puts on dark

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<v Speaker 1>sunglasses and a puffer jacket with a big hood. She

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<v Speaker 1>slides into the back of an SUV. Two plainclothes cops

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<v Speaker 1>are inside. They've given her a code name. She's Agent Layla.

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<v Speaker 1>She takes a deep breath. They head to the airport.

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<v Speaker 1>Vienna gets herself a table at the lounge.

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<v Speaker 3>How are you today?

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<v Speaker 2>I'm good, thank you. I'll let you settle.

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<v Speaker 1>Let me take this. Sure. She tries to blend in.

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<v Speaker 1>She's wearing a plain white blouse. She's also wearing a

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<v Speaker 1>hidden microphone. This is the actual recording. Are you waiting

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<v Speaker 1>for a joiner?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I am waiting for someone to join me.

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<v Speaker 1>Around her at other tables... The cops have taken their positions.

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<v Speaker 1>She's nervous.

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<v Speaker 2>My heart is starting to race a little bit faster.

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<v Speaker 1>A few floors above them in a hotel room, there

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<v Speaker 1>are even more police, the ones running this operation. They're

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<v Speaker 1>listening to a feed transmitting from a microphone in Vienna's purse.

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<v Speaker 1>There's one for backup in her bra. They hear her

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<v Speaker 1>test the signal.

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<v Speaker 2>Hey there. Hey there. Hey there. I'm just talking in

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<v Speaker 2>my right ear voice.

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<v Speaker 1>They hang on every word.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh, I think the guy's here.

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<v Speaker 1>And right on schedule, her target walks toward her table.

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<v Speaker 2>I think he's here. Can you hear me? Dang, looks

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<v Speaker 2>exactly the same.

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<v Speaker 1>Last time they were alone together, he did something she

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<v Speaker 1>can't remember. But she knows it was wrong.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, so.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, obviously.

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<v Speaker 4>Haven't really wanted to do this for quite some time.

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<v Speaker 4>And we're going to take this at my pace.

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<v Speaker 3>And.

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<v Speaker 5>Can I just ask before we start?

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<v Speaker 2>Are you recording this?

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<v Speaker 1>No. Of course she is recording. That's what we're listening to.

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<v Speaker 1>This time, she's the one with the secret plan. She

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<v Speaker 1>needs him to confess, and she needs it on tape.

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<v Speaker 4>So I hope that you're ready to tell me, like,

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<v Speaker 4>the actual facts.

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<v Speaker 1>So are you?

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<v Speaker 2>Do you mean what you say? Like, you want to

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<v Speaker 2>be honest?

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<v Speaker 1>This is the time.

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<v Speaker 2>So you will get everything you need from me today.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, good.

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<v Speaker 2>Then I want to hear everything.

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<v Speaker 1>This is the story of how that Pilates teaching mom

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<v Speaker 1>became a secret agent in her own case.

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<v Speaker 2>So bring it on. Let's go. Let's get a confession.

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<v Speaker 1>You called his bluff.

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<v Speaker 5>That's the whole point.

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<v Speaker 2>I played him.

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<v Speaker 5>You played him so hard.

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<v Speaker 2>And then he left and was like, holy crap.

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<v Speaker 1>It's about how exposing the truth forced the people she

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<v Speaker 1>loves to pick a side.

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<v Speaker 2>You know what? Fuck it. I hope he gets tons

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<v Speaker 2>of years in prison. It's the only thing that's ever

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<v Speaker 2>going to make any change in this family.

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<v Speaker 1>And it's about what it takes to tell the truth.

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<v Speaker 1>There's nothing more like life-giving than just being like, hey,

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<v Speaker 1>I get to.

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<v Speaker 2>Tell the truth. Not to spite anyone, not out of revenge,

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<v Speaker 2>but out of just like owning my life.

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<v Speaker 1>For CBC's Personally, I'm Jodi Martinson, and this is Agent Layla.

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<v Speaker 2>And the fact is, is that, oh my goodness, I'm sorry,

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<v Speaker 2>but he must be so regretting meeting me at the airport.

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<v Speaker 1>Episode 1. The Sin That So Easily Entangles. Vienna Luke

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<v Speaker 1>was innocent at age 20. Her world felt safe. She

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<v Speaker 1>was excited, even euphoric. and not in the way other

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<v Speaker 1>young people might mean.

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<v Speaker 2>I went to Bible school in Europe. So I was on,

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<v Speaker 2>the general public might not think this, but a little

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<v Speaker 2>bit of a high in terms of, like, the world

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<v Speaker 2>is your oyster and so much positivity and motivation and,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, where am I going to end up? What's, like,

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<v Speaker 2>next for me?

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<v Speaker 1>She had made some great friends. They banded together to

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<v Speaker 1>go backpacking. And everyone agreed to make a stopover in

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<v Speaker 1>Rome so she could run her first marathon.

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<v Speaker 2>My kind of, I guess you could say like life

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<v Speaker 2>first at that time was like Hebrews 12.1, which is

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<v Speaker 2>all about kind of running the race.

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<v Speaker 1>Hebrews 12.1. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a

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<v Speaker 1>great cloud.

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<v Speaker 2>Of witnesses, let us throw off all that hinders and

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<v Speaker 2>the sin that so easily entangles and let us run

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<v Speaker 2>with perseverance. The race marked out for us.

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<v Speaker 1>Vienna loved that verse so much, she even got it

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<v Speaker 1>engraved on the back of one of her favorite things.

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<v Speaker 2>It would have been like on my metallic blue giant iPod.

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<v Speaker 2>I wish we still had iPods like that. First generation.

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<v Speaker 1>When Vienna finished the marathon, she sent an email home.

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<v Speaker 2>Hey guys, I did it. Actually, it was all God.

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<v Speaker 2>I ran the race. I missed you all throughout it.

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<v Speaker 2>I just kept thinking of just how amazing you all are.

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<v Speaker 2>I love you guys. From your daughter, sister, and Jesus lover, Vienna. P.S.

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<v Speaker 2>I just thought the whole way I am running for Jesus.

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<v Speaker 1>Vienna's parents wrote back right away.

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<v Speaker 2>Great job, Vienna. Praise God. We're so proud of you.

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<v Speaker 2>We're so pleased you had your friends with you cheering

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<v Speaker 2>and supporting you along the way. Love you lots, Mom

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<v Speaker 2>and Dad. There was... trust in our relationship then. I

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<v Speaker 2>didn't have any reason to doubt them or to question them.

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<v Speaker 2>And yeah, it was just simpler.

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<v Speaker 5>When I think about the three of us girls, church

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<v Speaker 5>was part of our lives.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Shaughnessy. She's the middle sister.

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<v Speaker 5>Reading the Bible, praying, listening to Christian music. We just never,

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<v Speaker 5>we didn't drink, we didn't smoke, we didn't have sex.

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<v Speaker 5>And we never Those things were not discussed.

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<v Speaker 1>Vienna and Shaughnessy have an older sister. We're going to

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<v Speaker 1>call her Sunny. Vienna was 10 when Sunny started dating

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<v Speaker 1>a guy named Justin Sewell. He's the first and only

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<v Speaker 1>guy Sunny ever brought home. And when he first showed up,

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<v Speaker 1>most members of the family were smitten.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, he played rugby. He was the student council vice president,

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<v Speaker 2>not president.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, I think in his like realm, kind of

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<v Speaker 2>a big deal. And my sister's dating this guy. I'm thinking, oh, wow. Like, yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>this seems like the perfect guy.

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<v Speaker 4>Totally.

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<v Speaker 5>I remember thinking the guy ate so much spaghetti.

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<v Speaker 1>Shaughnessy was not won over.

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<v Speaker 5>I was like, this is crazy because my dad would

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<v Speaker 5>get like swatted on the head or anyone if we

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<v Speaker 5>went back for more. So I remember thinking, wow, that guy.

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<v Speaker 5>He's just eating so much spaghetti and they're fine with it.

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<v Speaker 1>The Luke's house was built on a big lot in

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<v Speaker 1>a Vancouver suburb. When Justin would visit, he'd do yard work.

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<v Speaker 1>One time he restained the kitchen cabinets. He quickly earned

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<v Speaker 1>himself a spot on the Luke family's annual Christmas card.

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<v Speaker 1>Within a year, Justin and Sunny were engaged and married.

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<v Speaker 1>And so the years ticked by... Vienna grew up. She

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<v Speaker 1>graduated high school. Justin became a veterinarian. He and Sunny

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<v Speaker 1>moved to northern BC to start building a business in

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<v Speaker 1>Justin's hometown of Fort St.

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<v Speaker 3>John.

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<v Speaker 1>They also start building a family. They have their first children,

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<v Speaker 1>two boys. And even though Sunny, Justin, and their kids

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<v Speaker 1>live so far away, the big extended family stays connected.

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<v Speaker 1>They spend Christmases together in Mexico, cruises, phone calls. So

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<v Speaker 1>when Vienna comes back from Bible school, all high on

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<v Speaker 1>that experience and the marathon, she moves up to Fort St.

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<v Speaker 1>John to live with her oldest sister and Justin. She

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<v Speaker 1>gets a job and starts to save some money, but

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<v Speaker 1>she doesn't have a car.

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<v Speaker 2>So I was completely reliant on them to get me

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<v Speaker 2>to work.

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<v Speaker 1>She asks her dad to hunt around for a used car.

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<v Speaker 1>She'll pick it up when the whole crew comes back

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<v Speaker 1>together in Vancouver for the wedding of a close family friend.

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<v Speaker 1>She and Justin would need to get back right away

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<v Speaker 1>for work. They could drive her new car, a black Jetta,

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<v Speaker 1>back up north to Fort St.

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<v Speaker 3>John.

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<v Speaker 1>The two of them alone.

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<v Speaker 2>There wouldn't have been any reason to think like driving

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<v Speaker 2>up with my brother-in-law that that would be like a

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<v Speaker 2>questionable idea. So I think at the time it was just, yeah, normal.

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<v Speaker 1>Since they're driving, they can bring a big rug Justin

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<v Speaker 1>and Sunny had bought for their home.

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<v Speaker 5>It went all the way up to the front seats

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<v Speaker 5>between both front seats, and it was quite large, so

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<v Speaker 5>it was rolled up. And then we would have all said, oh, goodbye,

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<v Speaker 5>and then they would have gone on their drive up.

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<v Speaker 2>To Fort St.

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<v Speaker 5>John, which is like a 15-hour drive.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, 15 hours. It's a monumental drive pointed north into

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<v Speaker 1>the vast wilderness of British Columbia. And so Justin and

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<v Speaker 1>Vienna leave the sprawl of Metro Vancouver in their rear view.

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<v Speaker 1>Justin mostly drove. He steered that little Jetta along increasingly

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<v Speaker 1>lonely stretches of highway between towns. The mountains are epic.

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<v Speaker 1>The river valleys are wide. And from inside that little

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<v Speaker 1>black car, the sense that they are alone in the

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<v Speaker 1>world really starts to grow. Then, many kilometers behind them,

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<v Speaker 1>and still many to go, Justin reaches his arm over

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<v Speaker 1>the rug and takes hold of Vienna's hand.

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<v Speaker 2>It felt very awkward. I think in the moment, I

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<v Speaker 2>just kind of, froze and went with it.

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<v Speaker 1>It sounds so small, but remember who we're talking about here.

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<v Speaker 1>Vienna had never even been on a date.

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<v Speaker 2>Why is this happening? Why is he holding my hand?

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<v Speaker 2>Why am I holding it back? Like, why am I

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<v Speaker 2>doing this?

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<v Speaker 1>For long stretches, Justin held Vienna's hand. Interlocked fingers, the

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<v Speaker 1>kind of hand-holding couples do.

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<v Speaker 2>To add to it, which I am not... proud of

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<v Speaker 2>he didn't just hold my hand in the car but

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<v Speaker 2>we like stopped and he like bought CDs at Walmart.

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<v Speaker 1>They walked to the CD aisle hands intertwined.

0:14:21.050 --> 0:14:24.340
<v Speaker 2>So we picked out CDs and of course they're like

0:14:24.540 --> 0:14:29.280
<v Speaker 2>John Mayer Hootie and the Blowfish I was kind of

0:14:29.300 --> 0:14:32.620
<v Speaker 2>like what the hell is happening but I wasn't doing

0:14:32.720 --> 0:14:36.780
<v Speaker 2>anything about it but I really was so confused and

0:14:37.380 --> 0:14:40.080
<v Speaker 2>Because I was like, wait a second, when did you,

0:14:40.600 --> 0:14:43.100
<v Speaker 2>when did you get the idea that I, like I'm

0:14:43.180 --> 0:14:47.030
<v Speaker 2>your sister-in-law. I guess the question is that I asked

0:14:47.090 --> 0:14:51.030
<v Speaker 2>myself then, and I continue to wonder is, why didn't

0:14:51.090 --> 0:14:54.090
<v Speaker 2>I speak up? Why didn't I pull away? Why, why

0:14:54.110 --> 0:14:55.070
<v Speaker 2>did I just freeze?

0:15:01.150 --> 0:15:05.190
<v Speaker 1>Vienna and Justin arrive home in Fort St. John. Justin

0:15:05.230 --> 0:15:08.510
<v Speaker 1>and Sunny's house had a long gravel driveway. It was

0:15:08.550 --> 0:15:11.570
<v Speaker 1>outside the city itself in a rural area on a

0:15:11.630 --> 0:15:15.950
<v Speaker 1>road called Hilltop. It's a big home with a yard

0:15:15.970 --> 0:15:20.130
<v Speaker 1>they cut with a riding lawnmower. It's quiet. It's isolated.

0:15:20.790 --> 0:15:23.380
<v Speaker 1>They'll be alone for a week until Sunny gets home

0:15:23.410 --> 0:15:30.280
<v Speaker 1>with the kids. They get back to their jobs. Then

0:15:30.360 --> 0:15:34.450
<v Speaker 1>one evening there's a lightning storm. Justin calls down the

0:15:34.490 --> 0:15:37.670
<v Speaker 1>stairs to Vienna's bedroom. He asks her to come watch

0:15:37.730 --> 0:15:40.430
<v Speaker 1>the storm with him through the big living room windows.

0:15:41.510 --> 0:15:46.770
<v Speaker 1>And then Vienna does something that she still can't explain.

0:15:46.790 --> 0:15:51.030
<v Speaker 2>I don't know why, but I just like laid down

0:15:51.770 --> 0:15:55.170
<v Speaker 2>on the rug on the carpet in their living room.

0:15:56.030 --> 0:16:01.640
<v Speaker 2>And then he laid down beside me and started rubbing

0:16:01.680 --> 0:16:08.340
<v Speaker 2>my back. I just remember like rubbing, stroking my back,

0:16:09.620 --> 0:16:18.850
<v Speaker 2>feeling like, yeah, like my skin was crawling. Like I

0:16:18.910 --> 0:16:23.970
<v Speaker 2>wanted to get out of my body and I wanted

0:16:23.990 --> 0:16:27.930
<v Speaker 2>to get up and I felt very stuck, but also

0:16:27.990 --> 0:16:32.710
<v Speaker 2>very embarrassed. Like, why did I do this? How do

0:16:32.770 --> 0:16:33.260
<v Speaker 2>I get up?

0:16:35.250 --> 0:16:38.600
<v Speaker 1>Vienna thinks it went on for maybe five minutes. It

0:16:38.650 --> 0:16:40.180
<v Speaker 1>felt excruciating.

0:16:41.600 --> 0:16:43.280
<v Speaker 2>And I don't know if I want to include this,

0:16:43.600 --> 0:16:45.040
<v Speaker 2>but I will say it anyways.

0:16:46.020 --> 0:16:48.980
<v Speaker 1>Besides Justin holding her hand earlier that week in the car,

0:16:49.560 --> 0:16:51.490
<v Speaker 1>Vienna had never been touched by a guy.

0:16:52.660 --> 0:16:59.670
<v Speaker 2>This would have been my first experience, my first feelings

0:17:00.010 --> 0:17:09.030
<v Speaker 2>of probably being turned on Even though I didn't want

0:17:09.050 --> 0:17:09.990
<v Speaker 2>to feel that way.

0:17:11.170 --> 0:17:14.169
<v Speaker 3>Fiona, that's so brave of you to share. Like, you

0:17:14.210 --> 0:17:18.620
<v Speaker 3>hear that more from men who've been through assault, right?

0:17:18.880 --> 0:17:19.800
<v Speaker 1>They get an erection.

0:17:21.180 --> 0:17:25.940
<v Speaker 3>And it's really disturbing to them because exactly what you've described.

0:17:26.760 --> 0:17:28.540
<v Speaker 3>I've never heard a woman talk about it, though.

0:17:29.920 --> 0:17:32.679
<v Speaker 1>Oh, yeah. My body.

0:17:34.740 --> 0:17:39.369
<v Speaker 2>Was naturally because something was being done in a certain

0:17:39.430 --> 0:17:47.730
<v Speaker 2>way feeling turned on but my brain was telling it

0:17:49.320 --> 0:17:53.899
<v Speaker 2>otherwise and was like I shouldn't feel this way because

0:17:53.960 --> 0:17:57.400
<v Speaker 2>this is my brother-in-law like I don't like him like

0:17:57.460 --> 0:18:03.680
<v Speaker 2>that like this was very extreme in in the the

0:18:03.810 --> 0:18:09.050
<v Speaker 2>fight between what my body was saying and what my

0:18:09.869 --> 0:18:12.790
<v Speaker 2>mind and brain was saying.

0:18:15.530 --> 0:18:19.490
<v Speaker 1>Vienna lies there on the carpet. She's experiencing arousal for

0:18:19.530 --> 0:18:22.949
<v Speaker 1>the first time. She's sick with herself for feeling it

0:18:23.030 --> 0:18:26.840
<v Speaker 1>with a trusted family member. And she's totally frozen.

0:18:27.780 --> 0:18:34.340
<v Speaker 2>And then eventually, I muster the courage, the strength to

0:18:35.280 --> 0:18:38.780
<v Speaker 2>get up and start to make my way downstairs.

0:18:40.600 --> 0:18:43.640
<v Speaker 1>And as she walks away from Justin toward the staircase,

0:18:44.480 --> 0:18:47.220
<v Speaker 1>he calls out to her, I love you.

0:18:47.240 --> 0:18:51.070
<v Speaker 2>At that point, I'm not going to be like, what

0:18:51.090 --> 0:18:53.190
<v Speaker 2>the hell? Like, why are you telling me you love me?

0:18:53.210 --> 0:18:58.410
<v Speaker 2>Because I feel like I'm also in a little bit deep.

0:18:58.890 --> 0:19:02.520
<v Speaker 2>He's held my hand. I did nothing. This thunder and

0:19:02.560 --> 0:19:06.209
<v Speaker 2>lightning happens. I'm invited up. I lay down. Like, I

0:19:06.250 --> 0:19:06.730
<v Speaker 2>did that.

0:19:08.730 --> 0:19:10.250
<v Speaker 1>So Vienna says it back.

0:19:11.930 --> 0:19:16.070
<v Speaker 2>Trying to just kind of get out of there and

0:19:16.970 --> 0:19:23.810
<v Speaker 2>make as little deal of this as possible. Just without

0:19:23.830 --> 0:19:27.780
<v Speaker 2>even thinking. Very nonchalantly. Like, yeah, you're my brother. Love

0:19:27.800 --> 0:19:29.820
<v Speaker 2>you too. I'm out of here.

0:19:30.710 --> 0:19:34.189
<v Speaker 1>She gets back to her bedroom, closes the door, and

0:19:34.230 --> 0:19:35.250
<v Speaker 1>lies down on her bed.

0:19:35.270 --> 0:19:43.840
<v Speaker 2>I think that might have been one of my roughest

0:19:44.869 --> 0:19:52.730
<v Speaker 2>nights going to sleep. And I remember just... like shaking

0:19:52.750 --> 0:19:59.230
<v Speaker 2>yeah my body shaking and my teeth like chattering like

0:19:59.320 --> 0:20:05.199
<v Speaker 2>I was shivering and just like hoping to fall asleep.

0:20:07.200 --> 0:20:10.710
<v Speaker 1>For years after this when she tells this story, including

0:20:10.770 --> 0:20:13.649
<v Speaker 1>in therapy, and one time after she holds hands with

0:20:13.690 --> 0:20:18.470
<v Speaker 1>someone on a date, Vienna's teeth chatter and her whole

0:20:18.530 --> 0:20:32.780
<v Speaker 1>body shivers. So, all of that was on their first

0:20:32.840 --> 0:20:37.460
<v Speaker 1>couple of nights alone. Sometime later that week, Justin presents

0:20:37.520 --> 0:20:40.700
<v Speaker 1>Vienna with another idea to pass their time in that

0:20:40.740 --> 0:20:41.359
<v Speaker 1>big house.

0:20:42.340 --> 0:20:49.240
<v Speaker 2>Oh, hey, what about getting drunk so you can experience

0:20:49.300 --> 0:20:55.070
<v Speaker 2>what it feels like to do that in a safe place?

0:20:56.230 --> 0:20:58.750
<v Speaker 1>He'll mix the drinks. She'll be able to test them out.

0:20:59.690 --> 0:21:02.590
<v Speaker 2>The crazy thing is, is that I don't think I

0:21:02.630 --> 0:21:08.500
<v Speaker 2>really ever, like, had any desire to get drunk. I was...

0:21:09.420 --> 0:21:11.639
<v Speaker 2>scared of what it would feel like.

0:21:12.740 --> 0:21:15.530
<v Speaker 1>Even though she was feeling lukewarm to the whole idea,

0:21:15.550 --> 0:21:18.660
<v Speaker 1>it didn't sound totally out of left field to her.

0:21:19.570 --> 0:21:21.710
<v Speaker 1>She knew another Christian girl who had done the same

0:21:21.770 --> 0:21:23.150
<v Speaker 1>thing with someone she trusted.

0:21:24.030 --> 0:21:27.350
<v Speaker 2>It wasn't as though he pressured me. I just was,

0:21:28.190 --> 0:21:30.950
<v Speaker 2>I was just going with it or I was, yeah,

0:21:31.109 --> 0:21:32.510
<v Speaker 2>taking the bait.

0:21:32.530 --> 0:21:40.440
<v Speaker 1>So, They go about their days as usual. And then

0:21:40.460 --> 0:21:41.840
<v Speaker 1>the evening arrives.

0:21:42.619 --> 0:21:44.740
<v Speaker 2>I don't remember what time I got home. I don't

0:21:44.780 --> 0:21:49.699
<v Speaker 2>remember what we had for dinner, whether I changed after work.

0:21:50.420 --> 0:21:55.889
<v Speaker 2>I just remember him mixing me drinks.

0:21:56.710 --> 0:21:59.590
<v Speaker 1>He makes something blended, like a daiquiri or a margarita.

0:22:00.310 --> 0:22:04.310
<v Speaker 1>And he makes her a liqueur-based drink with Kahlua. Vienna

0:22:04.350 --> 0:22:07.560
<v Speaker 1>sits at the dining room table. She's not watching him closely.

0:22:08.100 --> 0:22:12.940
<v Speaker 1>He made three or four drinks, but she only sips. Maybe, altogether,

0:22:13.060 --> 0:22:14.659
<v Speaker 1>she drinks the equivalent of one.

0:22:16.859 --> 0:22:20.630
<v Speaker 2>Basically, I'm not fully engaged in this exercise. I'm not

0:22:20.770 --> 0:22:23.750
<v Speaker 2>trying to finish these drinks. I'm not trying to get drunk.

0:22:24.210 --> 0:22:27.210
<v Speaker 2>I'm just like, okay, yep, this is what's going on.

0:22:27.670 --> 0:22:30.740
<v Speaker 2>I'll drink these drinks. Yeah, I'm going along with it.

0:22:31.430 --> 0:22:33.689
<v Speaker 2>But he's not, he's certainly not drinking these drinks that

0:22:33.750 --> 0:22:36.290
<v Speaker 2>he's given to me. He's not like, oh, I'll pour

0:22:36.330 --> 0:22:38.970
<v Speaker 2>you a glass, I'll pour me a glass. None of that.

0:22:42.780 --> 0:22:46.540
<v Speaker 1>There was country music playing. She starts to feel what

0:22:46.580 --> 0:22:50.340
<v Speaker 1>she imagined it must feel like to be drunk. They

0:22:50.380 --> 0:22:53.080
<v Speaker 1>go to the living room and start dancing together, two-stepping.

0:22:54.960 --> 0:22:58.639
<v Speaker 2>The dancing does not feel, and maybe it's because I'm

0:22:58.720 --> 0:23:01.510
<v Speaker 2>already a little bit like out of it, The dancing

0:23:01.550 --> 0:23:06.510
<v Speaker 2>does not feel sexual at all. It is very, like, friendly.

0:23:07.770 --> 0:23:12.830
<v Speaker 1>But then the drinking plan takes a turn.

0:23:12.850 --> 0:23:18.970
<v Speaker 2>I lose feeling in my legs. And I remember, I mean,

0:23:18.990 --> 0:23:21.840
<v Speaker 2>he would have been, like, still holding on to me.

0:23:21.859 --> 0:23:25.060
<v Speaker 2>And then I kind of collapse onto the ottoman.

0:23:30.410 --> 0:23:33.540
<v Speaker 1>As the world goes black, a few thoughts flash through

0:23:33.600 --> 0:23:37.500
<v Speaker 1>Vienna's mind. Of all the things in the world, she

0:23:37.540 --> 0:23:41.220
<v Speaker 1>thinks about how bad she feels for her brother-in-law. It

0:23:41.240 --> 0:23:44.260
<v Speaker 1>had been a hard year for him. His parents separated

0:23:44.340 --> 0:23:48.139
<v Speaker 1>and his sister got sick. Then, she thinks to herself,

0:23:48.800 --> 0:23:51.310
<v Speaker 1>if this is what getting drunk feels like, it is

0:23:51.470 --> 0:23:55.590
<v Speaker 1>not worth it. This feels horrible. And then she has

0:23:55.810 --> 0:23:56.970
<v Speaker 1>one final thought.

0:23:58.630 --> 0:24:02.770
<v Speaker 2>I just love Jesus. My 20-year-old self was kind of like,

0:24:02.950 --> 0:24:06.179
<v Speaker 2>I don't need booze. I don't need drugs. I got God.

0:24:07.119 --> 0:24:11.139
<v Speaker 2>And then I did say out loud a couple of

0:24:11.200 --> 0:24:16.660
<v Speaker 2>times on repeat, I just love Jesus. I just love Jesus.

0:24:16.859 --> 0:24:28.070
<v Speaker 2>I just love Jesus. And then I woke up in

0:24:28.109 --> 0:24:32.720
<v Speaker 2>my bed And I remember it was like I was

0:24:32.800 --> 0:24:35.140
<v Speaker 2>not in my body and it was like I was

0:24:35.720 --> 0:24:47.510
<v Speaker 2>looking at myself from above to my brother-in-law taking off

0:24:48.410 --> 0:24:58.890
<v Speaker 2>my underwear. And even in that moment thinking, okay, like,

0:24:58.950 --> 0:25:03.690
<v Speaker 2>why is he undressing me? Why down to my underwear? Like,

0:25:03.710 --> 0:25:06.570
<v Speaker 2>this doesn't make any sense. There must be a reason

0:25:07.290 --> 0:25:11.290
<v Speaker 2>that my underwear are being taken off. Like, he's going

0:25:11.310 --> 0:25:13.930
<v Speaker 2>to redress me. He's actually helping me.

0:25:18.170 --> 0:25:20.449
<v Speaker 1>The next morning, Vienna wakes up feeling rotten.

0:25:21.820 --> 0:25:28.890
<v Speaker 2>I am sick to my stomach. Like, it wasn't Like nausea.

0:25:28.910 --> 0:25:36.450
<v Speaker 2>It was like muscle pain. Like my core was like tight.

0:25:36.890 --> 0:25:39.490
<v Speaker 2>And like I felt like I just wanted to be

0:25:39.530 --> 0:25:40.649
<v Speaker 2>in fetal position.

0:25:40.670 --> 0:25:45.690
<v Speaker 1>Eventually, Vienna drags herself upstairs to call in sick to work.

0:25:46.450 --> 0:25:51.710
<v Speaker 2>He, my mother-in-law, has left me money. Exactly what I

0:25:51.730 --> 0:25:53.010
<v Speaker 2>would have made that day.

0:25:57.040 --> 0:25:59.139
<v Speaker 1>For a few days, Vienna's life becomes a bit of

0:25:59.160 --> 0:26:03.720
<v Speaker 1>a blur. Justin showed up at work to wash her car.

0:26:04.340 --> 0:26:06.800
<v Speaker 1>A co-worker looked at her like, that's strange, the kind

0:26:06.840 --> 0:26:09.840
<v Speaker 1>of thing a boyfriend does. She's doing a lot of

0:26:09.900 --> 0:26:11.480
<v Speaker 1>what she calls shelving.

0:26:12.320 --> 0:26:14.180
<v Speaker 2>I think it's that I just can't even admit that

0:26:14.240 --> 0:26:17.820
<v Speaker 2>to myself. There's no part of me is like bringing

0:26:17.859 --> 0:26:20.020
<v Speaker 2>that up with him. Oh, hey, you did this to me.

0:26:20.580 --> 0:26:23.300
<v Speaker 2>I'm just shelving. Yeah, that is being shelved.

0:26:24.320 --> 0:26:28.380
<v Speaker 1>She tries to pretend everything is normal. But inside, Vienna

0:26:28.430 --> 0:26:29.320
<v Speaker 1>is spinning out.

0:26:30.080 --> 0:26:33.090
<v Speaker 2>Just blaming myself for all of it. Like, why? Like, why?

0:26:33.420 --> 0:26:37.100
<v Speaker 2>My fault. My fault. My fault. Like, how did we

0:26:37.180 --> 0:26:37.859
<v Speaker 2>end up here?

0:26:39.060 --> 0:26:41.880
<v Speaker 1>She and Justin go for a drive. And in the car,

0:26:42.160 --> 0:26:43.060
<v Speaker 1>she confronts him.

0:26:44.300 --> 0:26:54.159
<v Speaker 2>I basically told Justin, like, something happened between us. I

0:26:54.220 --> 0:26:57.480
<v Speaker 2>can't figure it out. I don't know what happened. But

0:26:57.520 --> 0:27:00.600
<v Speaker 2>I do know that it wasn't right, that it was

0:27:00.619 --> 0:27:04.619
<v Speaker 2>a violation of my, I mean, I didn't even see

0:27:04.640 --> 0:27:07.820
<v Speaker 2>it as a violation of me at that point. I

0:27:07.880 --> 0:27:10.479
<v Speaker 2>saw it as a violation of like his relationship with

0:27:10.530 --> 0:27:14.410
<v Speaker 2>my sister. But ultimately, I kind of called him out

0:27:14.530 --> 0:27:18.480
<v Speaker 2>and said, hey, it's on you to tell her about it.

0:27:19.410 --> 0:27:24.010
<v Speaker 1>Justin tells Vienna, no. He's consulted one of his spiritual mentors.

0:27:24.500 --> 0:27:26.659
<v Speaker 1>And that guy has advised him it's best to bury it,

0:27:26.840 --> 0:27:29.920
<v Speaker 1>not tell Sonny. No need to rock the boat.

0:27:31.010 --> 0:27:34.710
<v Speaker 2>Almost like he's like, no big deal. It's not worth

0:27:35.190 --> 0:27:36.990
<v Speaker 2>telling your sister. I don't have to tell your sister.

0:27:38.109 --> 0:27:40.530
<v Speaker 1>It's in this moment that a line gets drawn between

0:27:40.650 --> 0:27:45.230
<v Speaker 1>secrets and truth and who they serve. Justin wants to

0:27:45.270 --> 0:27:48.949
<v Speaker 1>keep it secret. Vienna thinks Sonny needs to know, but

0:27:49.020 --> 0:27:50.160
<v Speaker 1>she can't do it herself.

0:27:51.000 --> 0:27:53.120
<v Speaker 2>I didn't say, well, if you don't tell her, I'm

0:27:53.160 --> 0:27:55.990
<v Speaker 2>telling her. I didn't really want to confront all of

0:27:56.050 --> 0:28:00.050
<v Speaker 2>the emotions that I was dealing with. So yeah, I'll

0:28:00.070 --> 0:28:01.910
<v Speaker 2>believe you. I'll take you for your word and I'll

0:28:02.250 --> 0:28:06.350
<v Speaker 2>assume that you know better. You're older and that you

0:28:06.390 --> 0:28:07.490
<v Speaker 2>would do the right thing too.

0:28:13.130 --> 0:28:16.360
<v Speaker 1>Sunny and the boys arrive back home. On the surface,

0:28:16.780 --> 0:28:20.060
<v Speaker 1>life goes back to normal. But for Vienna, the psychological

0:28:20.119 --> 0:28:22.860
<v Speaker 1>work of living with a secret begins. The shelving.

0:28:24.109 --> 0:28:28.970
<v Speaker 2>As much as I'm trying to shelve the most deepest,

0:28:29.030 --> 0:28:33.700
<v Speaker 2>darkest part of it, which is him removing my underwear,

0:28:34.220 --> 0:28:37.120
<v Speaker 2>it's a real continual flashbacks.

0:28:37.740 --> 0:28:41.320
<v Speaker 3>Why do you think your body woke you up so

0:28:41.360 --> 0:28:42.710
<v Speaker 3>that you made that one memory?

0:28:47.950 --> 0:28:51.310
<v Speaker 2>I don't know. I mean, I think it was so invasive.

0:28:53.190 --> 0:28:56.430
<v Speaker 2>that I think the invasiveness of it woke me up.

0:28:56.950 --> 0:29:01.330
<v Speaker 2>I mean, yeah, which is like so the most painful

0:29:01.390 --> 0:29:06.520
<v Speaker 2>memory of it all, but also is like the extremely

0:29:06.580 --> 0:29:09.180
<v Speaker 2>profound that if I didn't have that, like I would

0:29:09.220 --> 0:29:12.880
<v Speaker 2>have nothing to even be able to call out and say,

0:29:13.360 --> 0:29:16.830
<v Speaker 2>you did more, you did more to me than just

0:29:16.870 --> 0:29:20.690
<v Speaker 2>get me drunk. Yeah, I wonder, it's hard in like

0:29:20.770 --> 0:29:25.650
<v Speaker 2>a supernatural way way I'm like oh was it God

0:29:26.050 --> 0:29:27.910
<v Speaker 2>like kind of or what yeah.

0:29:27.690 --> 0:29:30.330
<v Speaker 3>Say that part like that part of you that says

0:29:30.790 --> 0:29:32.070
<v Speaker 3>there was a greater reason I.

0:29:32.390 --> 0:29:37.030
<v Speaker 2>Think I'm hesitant to like go there because I feel

0:29:37.050 --> 0:29:41.100
<v Speaker 2>like my idea of God is that he is safety

0:29:41.160 --> 0:29:49.430
<v Speaker 2>and protection. Was it God? I woke myself up. I

0:29:49.430 --> 0:29:53.290
<v Speaker 2>knew whether it was the invasiveness of it or what,

0:29:53.370 --> 0:29:56.530
<v Speaker 2>like I knew, I knew I needed that piece of information.

0:29:56.790 --> 0:30:00.000
<v Speaker 2>Did I have that foresight? Was it an instinct, a

0:30:00.020 --> 0:30:04.040
<v Speaker 2>deep knowing that, whoa, like you're going to need this?

0:30:08.700 --> 0:30:11.990
<v Speaker 1>It's the end of summer. Vienna moves back to her parents'

0:30:12.030 --> 0:30:17.230
<v Speaker 1>place outside Vancouver, over a thousand kilometers away from Justin, Sunny,

0:30:17.830 --> 0:30:19.130
<v Speaker 1>and that house in Fort St.

0:30:19.170 --> 0:30:19.510
<v Speaker 3>John.

0:30:20.550 --> 0:30:23.510
<v Speaker 1>For months, she fights a war between her body that

0:30:23.570 --> 0:30:28.640
<v Speaker 1>remembers and her brain that's trying to forget. At this point,

0:30:28.810 --> 0:30:31.510
<v Speaker 1>it's about 10 years before the Me Too social movement.

0:30:31.810 --> 0:30:35.030
<v Speaker 1>The iPhone has just been released, and Facebook has just

0:30:35.170 --> 0:30:38.810
<v Speaker 1>opened to the public. In Vienna's vocabulary, it was either

0:30:38.950 --> 0:30:44.900
<v Speaker 1>nothing or rape. There was no language for what's in between. Then,

0:30:45.240 --> 0:30:48.620
<v Speaker 1>on autopilot, she travels to Florida to go on a

0:30:48.680 --> 0:30:52.120
<v Speaker 1>family cruise. That means for the first time since she's

0:30:52.160 --> 0:30:55.740
<v Speaker 1>moved back home, she'll be coming face-to-face with Justin again.

0:30:57.630 --> 0:31:00.790
<v Speaker 1>When they say their goodbyes at the end of the trip, Shaughnessy,

0:31:01.020 --> 0:31:03.740
<v Speaker 1>the middle sister, notices something is off.

0:31:05.040 --> 0:31:06.260
<v Speaker 2>I remember like it was yesterday.

0:31:07.100 --> 0:31:10.320
<v Speaker 5>I watched and I don't know why I happened to

0:31:10.380 --> 0:31:13.300
<v Speaker 5>watch it and that I wasn't busy hugging someone else.

0:31:13.340 --> 0:31:16.550
<v Speaker 5>But I saw the way that, and it's very specific,

0:31:16.610 --> 0:31:17.990
<v Speaker 5>the way he hugged her.

0:31:19.130 --> 0:31:21.970
<v Speaker 1>Justin held Vienna a little tighter and a little longer

0:31:22.010 --> 0:31:22.730
<v Speaker 1>than anyone else.

0:31:23.590 --> 0:31:26.010
<v Speaker 2>I think he like picked me up and hugged me.

0:31:26.460 --> 0:31:32.760
<v Speaker 5>And I think that's strange. That's prolonged. I knew something

0:31:32.780 --> 0:31:33.360
<v Speaker 5>was going on.

0:31:34.320 --> 0:31:36.960
<v Speaker 1>Shaughnessy describes herself as like a dog with a bone.

0:31:37.590 --> 0:31:41.210
<v Speaker 1>She's a deeply intuitive person who trusts her gut. So

0:31:41.310 --> 0:31:44.750
<v Speaker 1>while everyone around her doesn't notice what's going on or

0:31:44.790 --> 0:31:48.730
<v Speaker 1>pretends not to, she does. And once they're back home,

0:31:48.950 --> 0:31:50.340
<v Speaker 1>she starts to ask questions.

0:31:51.080 --> 0:31:52.900
<v Speaker 5>The next scene that I can remember like it was

0:31:52.920 --> 0:31:55.640
<v Speaker 5>yesterday is where in my parents, it's called a utility room.

0:31:55.760 --> 0:31:57.460
<v Speaker 5>It's a narrow room with a washer and dryer.

0:31:57.480 --> 0:31:59.940
<v Speaker 2>I think she was like doing laundry.

0:32:00.160 --> 0:32:02.140
<v Speaker 5>And then I just said, I was very forceful. I said,

0:32:02.660 --> 0:32:04.680
<v Speaker 5>something's going on between you two. You got to tell

0:32:04.720 --> 0:32:05.590
<v Speaker 5>me what's going on.

0:32:06.180 --> 0:32:12.530
<v Speaker 2>Oh, I just remember like freezing and being like, she knows. Like,

0:32:12.570 --> 0:32:15.510
<v Speaker 2>how does she know? No, she can't know this. No

0:32:15.590 --> 0:32:16.330
<v Speaker 2>one can know this.

0:32:16.810 --> 0:32:20.050
<v Speaker 5>And I remember saying, something's going on between you two.

0:32:20.850 --> 0:32:23.590
<v Speaker 5>And you need to tell me. I was like very firm.

0:32:24.110 --> 0:32:27.330
<v Speaker 2>She definitely pulled it out of me. I did not volunteer.

0:32:27.350 --> 0:32:28.969
<v Speaker 5>And then she told me she was like, it was

0:32:29.030 --> 0:32:33.740
<v Speaker 5>in June. And he got me drunk. And she didn't

0:32:33.780 --> 0:32:34.660
<v Speaker 5>say much more than that.

0:32:35.300 --> 0:32:38.040
<v Speaker 2>The fact that he'd taken off my underwear. I couldn't

0:32:38.080 --> 0:32:41.620
<v Speaker 2>divulge it. Like it was just too, it was too painful.

0:32:41.640 --> 0:32:44.780
<v Speaker 2>I told her like the bare minimum.

0:32:49.480 --> 0:32:52.140
<v Speaker 1>So in other words, Vienna hasn't told the most damning part.

0:32:53.150 --> 0:32:56.050
<v Speaker 1>The sole memory she has of what happened after she

0:32:56.070 --> 0:33:01.110
<v Speaker 1>blacked out. But for Shaughnessy, knowing Vienna so well, even

0:33:01.150 --> 0:33:05.220
<v Speaker 1>the idea he was giving her drinks is enough. The

0:33:05.320 --> 0:33:05.820
<v Speaker 1>only thing I.

0:33:05.820 --> 0:33:10.280
<v Speaker 5>Knew is something inappropriate happened, but she couldn't, didn't want

0:33:10.300 --> 0:33:12.120
<v Speaker 5>to disclose it or couldn't disclose it. And I didn't

0:33:12.160 --> 0:33:16.710
<v Speaker 5>even know how to ask. But in my mind, moral

0:33:16.810 --> 0:33:19.650
<v Speaker 5>compass brain the minute I heard those things I was

0:33:19.690 --> 0:33:22.120
<v Speaker 5>like I don't need to know anymore I believe you

0:33:22.620 --> 0:33:24.360
<v Speaker 5>and we got to tell someone about this because this

0:33:24.400 --> 0:33:26.780
<v Speaker 5>was wrong whatever happened to you or he did was

0:33:26.860 --> 0:33:27.700
<v Speaker 5>totally wrong.

0:33:28.220 --> 0:33:30.380
<v Speaker 2>It wasn't like oh yeah I got that off my

0:33:30.420 --> 0:33:34.920
<v Speaker 2>chest it was like well once it's like out it

0:33:34.960 --> 0:33:38.740
<v Speaker 2>can take on like what is it going to become

0:33:39.420 --> 0:33:42.469
<v Speaker 2>she probably was like we're going to tell mom and dad.

0:33:42.190 --> 0:33:44.890
<v Speaker 5>Oh we got to tell mom and dad that's what

0:33:44.930 --> 0:33:45.780
<v Speaker 5>I said Like.

0:33:45.820 --> 0:33:48.540
<v Speaker 2>This is what we're doing. And I was just like

0:33:48.600 --> 0:33:49.620
<v Speaker 2>a deer in headlights.

0:33:50.080 --> 0:33:53.010
<v Speaker 5>Yeah, because I thought, oh, well, surely we're going to

0:33:53.050 --> 0:33:54.270
<v Speaker 5>go to them and they're going to help us.

0:33:54.670 --> 0:33:57.290
<v Speaker 2>I think in going to my parents, even though I

0:33:57.350 --> 0:34:01.590
<v Speaker 2>wasn't the one like initiating it, it was my sister.

0:34:02.330 --> 0:34:06.420
<v Speaker 2>There was like a hope that they would see, like,

0:34:07.560 --> 0:34:09.160
<v Speaker 2>know the person that I am.

0:34:09.180 --> 0:34:13.960
<v Speaker 1>Deanna and Shaughnessy wait until their parents get home from Florida.

0:34:14.390 --> 0:34:16.790
<v Speaker 1>They've stayed a little longer to spend time with Justin

0:34:16.830 --> 0:34:20.569
<v Speaker 1>and Sunny and the grandkids. Vienna tells her mom and

0:34:20.590 --> 0:34:24.189
<v Speaker 1>dad a few pieces of information. She says Justin held

0:34:24.230 --> 0:34:27.470
<v Speaker 1>her hand, that he touched her the night of the thunderstorm,

0:34:28.090 --> 0:34:29.319
<v Speaker 1>and that he got her drunk.

0:34:30.920 --> 0:34:34.739
<v Speaker 2>If their response had been different, I might have been

0:34:34.840 --> 0:34:39.840
<v Speaker 2>able to open up. But I think because their response was, whoa,

0:34:40.500 --> 0:34:41.419
<v Speaker 2>we don't know what to do.

0:34:41.440 --> 0:34:43.930
<v Speaker 1>I knew....

0:34:43.989 --> 0:34:46.310
<v Speaker 2>That I couldn't share more.

0:34:48.010 --> 0:34:51.930
<v Speaker 1>Vienna does not tell them Justin removed her underwear.

0:34:53.050 --> 0:34:58.410
<v Speaker 2>But I was smarter than I gave myself credit for,

0:34:59.219 --> 0:35:02.299
<v Speaker 2>smarter than they all gave me credit for, in that

0:35:03.080 --> 0:35:07.060
<v Speaker 2>I knew how important that one detail I had was,

0:35:07.080 --> 0:35:10.930
<v Speaker 2>and I knew that it would be falling on ears

0:35:10.969 --> 0:35:13.469
<v Speaker 2>that weren't ready to hear it, that weren't ready to

0:35:13.550 --> 0:35:18.000
<v Speaker 2>acknowledge or inquire. And then they call him.

0:35:18.400 --> 0:35:21.180
<v Speaker 1>They call him right away? Right away. Like that day?

0:35:21.200 --> 0:35:23.600
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, so my dad, I don't even think my mom

0:35:23.820 --> 0:35:27.480
<v Speaker 2>got on the phone. My dad called him. I can't hear.

0:35:28.980 --> 0:35:37.290
<v Speaker 2>But then I get handed the phone. And I have

0:35:37.330 --> 0:35:38.029
<v Speaker 2>to talk to him.

0:35:40.850 --> 0:35:43.589
<v Speaker 1>She pleads with Justin for the second time now to

0:35:43.610 --> 0:35:44.680
<v Speaker 1>tell Sunny what happened.

0:35:45.340 --> 0:35:48.799
<v Speaker 2>And I remember him saying like, so basically you have

0:35:48.820 --> 0:35:50.839
<v Speaker 2>me up against the wall, like I have to do this,

0:35:50.860 --> 0:35:55.120
<v Speaker 2>you're giving me no other choice. And I was like, yeah, yeah,

0:35:55.140 --> 0:35:56.140
<v Speaker 2>you have to tell her.

0:35:58.050 --> 0:36:01.450
<v Speaker 1>Vienna doesn't know if Justin told Sunny or not. But

0:36:01.489 --> 0:36:04.690
<v Speaker 1>whatever happened, Sunny does not reach out to Vienna to

0:36:04.730 --> 0:36:06.090
<v Speaker 1>hear her side of the story.

0:36:07.210 --> 0:36:09.760
<v Speaker 2>So at that point, I'm like, even at 20, I'm

0:36:09.820 --> 0:36:16.109
<v Speaker 2>thinking like, She blames me. Ultimately, my parents are, I mean,

0:36:16.160 --> 0:36:24.000
<v Speaker 2>I can kind of see from their perspective that they're like, okay,

0:36:24.040 --> 0:36:29.160
<v Speaker 2>wait a second, like very confused. Really what I needed

0:36:29.200 --> 0:36:32.700
<v Speaker 2>was somebody to be like, oh my goodness, we know you. Wow,

0:36:34.330 --> 0:36:37.650
<v Speaker 2>something is terribly wrong here because this is out of character.

0:36:38.630 --> 0:36:39.210
<v Speaker 2>My mom.

0:36:44.160 --> 0:36:49.120
<v Speaker 2>It's almost like she forgot completely who I was. It

0:36:49.780 --> 0:36:53.100
<v Speaker 2>was easier to take Justin for his word. He was

0:36:53.219 --> 0:36:58.890
<v Speaker 2>the one that knew what happened. He got to write

0:36:58.910 --> 0:36:59.490
<v Speaker 2>the story.

0:37:00.570 --> 0:37:04.130
<v Speaker 5>And then in that moment, therein lies the history of

0:37:04.190 --> 0:37:07.310
<v Speaker 5>our family with Justin Sewell, where he is able to

0:37:08.190 --> 0:37:12.270
<v Speaker 5>create the narrative. And then my parents are basically... believing

0:37:12.469 --> 0:37:13.950
<v Speaker 5>his version of the events.

0:37:16.030 --> 0:37:18.790
<v Speaker 1>Vienna and Shaughnessy's parents didn't want to talk about this

0:37:19.070 --> 0:37:22.290
<v Speaker 1>for the podcast. But in writing, they say that their

0:37:22.350 --> 0:37:26.529
<v Speaker 1>effort to uncover the full story was unsuccessful. And so

0:37:26.590 --> 0:37:30.810
<v Speaker 1>lacking information and clarity, they had no path forward. They

0:37:30.830 --> 0:37:34.790
<v Speaker 1>felt uneasy about what they knew, but didn't pursue things further.

0:37:35.910 --> 0:37:38.229
<v Speaker 2>And I guess all I could tell myself is that

0:37:38.250 --> 0:37:46.870
<v Speaker 2>I must be This must not have, this isn't a

0:37:46.890 --> 0:37:47.370
<v Speaker 2>big deal.

0:37:48.630 --> 0:37:52.090
<v Speaker 1>But that little memory of him taking off her underwear,

0:37:53.090 --> 0:37:55.260
<v Speaker 1>it kept whispering to Vienna's conscience.

0:37:57.320 --> 0:38:05.340
<v Speaker 2>My intuition was ahead of me in that I knew,

0:38:05.360 --> 0:38:09.190
<v Speaker 2>I knew that what I had, I was saving it

0:38:09.230 --> 0:38:11.910
<v Speaker 2>for a rainy day. That if that piece of information

0:38:11.950 --> 0:38:16.740
<v Speaker 2>got back to him, then he just had the upper hand.

0:38:27.330 --> 0:38:32.050
<v Speaker 1>For six years, the truth stays buried. Vienna feels lost

0:38:32.110 --> 0:38:36.470
<v Speaker 1>to herself. And what really happened that night is almost

0:38:36.510 --> 0:38:41.810
<v Speaker 1>lost to time. But then... People start to ask questions.

0:38:42.410 --> 0:38:44.090
<v Speaker 2>Why are you alone with this guy?

0:38:44.590 --> 0:38:47.250
<v Speaker 5>And his wife's out of town and the family's like

0:38:47.860 --> 0:38:49.700
<v Speaker 5>orchestrated to be somewhere else.

0:38:50.160 --> 0:38:51.799
<v Speaker 1>She's like exactly like this.

0:38:52.500 --> 0:38:53.719
<v Speaker 2>Well, you know, there's pictures, right?

0:38:54.219 --> 0:38:56.060
<v Speaker 5>There's pictures of your sister. I'm like, what?

0:38:56.900 --> 0:39:00.760
<v Speaker 1>Vienna and Shaughnessy find people who can help. My whole

0:39:00.820 --> 0:39:03.350
<v Speaker 1>life I have been a champion for the underdog.

0:39:03.550 --> 0:39:05.690
<v Speaker 2>It's why I do my job. Take control.

0:39:05.810 --> 0:39:06.590
<v Speaker 1>You are strong.

0:39:06.610 --> 0:39:08.130
<v Speaker 5>You aren't the girl who got taken advantage of.

0:39:08.170 --> 0:39:12.120
<v Speaker 2>You're the Mom of two and strong woman.

0:39:12.980 --> 0:39:14.610
<v Speaker 1>And people who get in their way.

0:39:15.010 --> 0:39:18.570
<v Speaker 2>We're family, but it's not a trusting relationship anymore.

0:39:20.170 --> 0:39:31.279
<v Speaker 1>That's in the next episodes of Agent Layla. Agent Layla

0:39:31.380 --> 0:39:34.940
<v Speaker 1>was produced in consultation with Vienna Luke and Shaughnessy Luke.

0:39:35.540 --> 0:39:38.520
<v Speaker 1>The series is written and reported by me, Jodi Martinson.

0:39:39.200 --> 0:39:43.860
<v Speaker 1>Sophie Woodruff is associate producer. Jeff Turner is our senior producer.

0:39:44.500 --> 0:39:47.980
<v Speaker 1>Mixing and sound design by Graham MacDonald and Julian Uzziali.

0:39:48.469 --> 0:39:52.770
<v Speaker 1>with additional mixing support from Evan Kelly. Anna Ashite is

0:39:52.810 --> 0:39:58.140
<v Speaker 1>our coordinating producer. Executive producers are Cecil Fernandez and Chris Oak.

0:39:58.800 --> 0:40:02.560
<v Speaker 1>Tonya Springer is the senior manager. Arif Noorani is the

0:40:02.580 --> 0:40:07.010
<v Speaker 1>director of CBC Podcasts. If you've liked this episode, please

0:40:07.050 --> 0:40:09.310
<v Speaker 1>share it with your friends. That's the number one way

0:40:09.370 --> 0:40:12.069
<v Speaker 1>people find out about good podcasts, and it would mean

0:40:12.090 --> 0:40:19.279
<v Speaker 1>a lot to us. That was the first episode of

0:40:19.340 --> 0:40:22.430
<v Speaker 1>Agent Layla. Episode two is waiting for you right now.

0:40:23.030 --> 0:40:26.040
<v Speaker 1>Just search for the Personally feed wherever you get your podcasts.

0:40:26.580 --> 0:40:28.180
<v Speaker 1>And be sure to follow the feed so you don't

0:40:28.200 --> 0:40:28.940
<v Speaker 1>miss an episode.