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4 Petrifying True Costco Horror Stories That Will Ruin Your Shopping Experience · True Horror Stories

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Sometime last year, I started dating this guy named Steve.
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: He seemed perfect. He was handsome and caring, and he
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: had a lot of money. I felt really comfortable with him.
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: The only problem was that I wasn't being completely honest
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: with him about my past. I met him right after
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: I had moved to the city to escape my crazy
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: ex boyfriend, Miguel. I went through hell in my last
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: relationship and really had trouble talking about it with anyone.
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: On my first date with Steve, obviously, I didn't tell
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: him anything about Miguel. But then we kept on seeing
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: each other and I started to have real feelings for him.
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: I didn't know how to bring up Miguel, like it
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: was never the right time to talk about something so heavy.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: After about a month of dating, I was feeling pretty
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: guilty about not being open with Steve. He deserved to
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: know everything about me, even the difficult parts. So when
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: we went out to a restaurant for dinner, I decided
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: to pull off the band aid and tell him. I
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: didn't say every detail, but I told him the main
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: point that I had an ex who was off his
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: meds and Violet, that I basically fled my hometown and
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: that I still have anxiety issues because of it. Steve
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: being the amazing boyfriend that he was listen to everything
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: I said, as if he was taking mental notes. He
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: asked me a bunch of questions, really specific stuff like
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: Miguel's last name and our old address. I felt a
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: little weird at the time, but Steve worked in it.
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: He was always a very technical, meticulous person, so maybe
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: he just wanted as many details as possible. The next morning,
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: I was still asleep in bed while Steve was off
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: in the kitchen fixing breakfast. I could hear him humming
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: to himself, but that didn't really wake me up. I
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: woke up because my phone started buzzing. I heard my
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: sister's voice on the line. She asked me if i'd
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: been on Facebook lately. I told her no, and she
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: said that everyone was posting memorial photos of Miguel. He
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: had died the night before. I know it sounds terrible,
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: but I was thrilled to hear the news. I won't
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: tell you what it was like living with Miguel, but
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: he was an absolute monster. He deserved what he got. Then,
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: I started to feel pretty guilty for thinking that. I
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: asked my sister what happened, and she said that she
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: didn't know. Nobody knew except his parents, and they weren't
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: talking to anybody. I decided not to think about it
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: and just go about my day. Steve and I had
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: breakfast together, nothing eventful, just a normal couple's breakfast, though
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: Steve seemed to be in an extra chip or mood.
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: I wanted to tell him about the news I just heard,
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: but I thought that would ruin our breakfast. I went
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: to work after that and tried to be as productive
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: as possible, even though my mind kept drifting back to Miguel.
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: I checked the news a bunch, but there was still
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: no specifics about what had happened to him. That afternoon,
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: Steve surprised me at my work with a bouquet of flowers.
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: He'd never done that before. I asked him what the
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: occasion was, and he said that he wanted to make
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: sure I had a good day. He convinced me to
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: leave work early and we went to take a walk
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: around the park together. The flowers were beautiful. He was
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: in such a good mood. It was a very romantic
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: afternoon until we were all alone in the middle of
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: the park and a really weird. Smile spread across his face.
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: He looked like he was proud of himself. Then he
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: asked me, so, how's me Gal. That's when I knew
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: that Steve had something to do with Miguel's death. It
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: wasn't just a coincidence that my ex died the same
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: night that I told my current boyfriend about what a
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: monster he was horrified. I backed away from Steve. What
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: did you do? I asked, absolutely nothing. Ah, I was
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: just online, and I happened to mention your ex to
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: a couple people. One thing led to another, and I
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: might have signed you up for a little kill swap.
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: What the hell is a kill swap? He looked around
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: to make sure no one was nearby. Then he explained
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: that he didn't just work in it. He used the
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: deep web to work with clients that were very particular
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: about their anonymity. And somewhere in the deep web, on
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: some website that no one can find, there's a place
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: where you register a person you want killed. Then you
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: partner off with another client, agreeing to kill each other's target.
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: It's a perfect plan, he said. There's no way to
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: get caught because you never find out who the other
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: person is everything is completely anonymous.
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: So you've sent.
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: Someone you've never met to kill me gel yep, he said,
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: But I think he's from Santa Cruz because that's where
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: you're going to kill his target. I couldn't believe it.
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: This guy was crazy. There was no way I was
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: going to murder somebody. How could he possibly sign me
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: up for something like this without talking to me first?
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: I ran away. I couldn't be near him anymore. Wait,
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: he shouted at me, let's talk about this. You can't
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: tell any I didn't hear the last part of his
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: sentence because I was too far gone. I ran all
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: the way back to my car and hopped in the
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: bouquet Steve I'd given me was on the car seat.
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: As I drove away, I threw the bouquet out the window.
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: I didn't want to be near them. But when I
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: looked down in my lap, I saw the card that
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: had fallen out of the bouquet. A street address was
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: written on one side, an address in Santa Cruz. I
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: knew what I had to do. I drove straight to
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: the police station and showed them the address. I explained
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: everything that Steve had told me, even though I barely
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: understood any of the deep web stuff he was talking about,
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: but when I said the words killswap, the officer flinched.
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: He was looking at the card at the time, but
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: he threw it back at me. I don't want to
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: see this, take it away too late. I told him,
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: you saw it now, whoever lives at that address is
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: in danger. Can you help this person before he's killed?
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: Like Miguel, the officer took a long, sad breath. Whoever
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: lives here is already dead. I've dealt with kill swappers before.
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: The people in those deep web groups always have backup
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: killers waiting. But that's not the worst part. I was
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: afraid to ask. If someone ever goes to the authorities
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: with any information like you just did, then everyone they
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: love will be killed. I really wish you hadn't shown
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: me this paper. For your own safety, I'm not going
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: to write a report. I grabbed the paper from him
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: and went back to my house. All of Steve's stuff
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: was already packed up and gone. As soon as he
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: realized I'd gone to the cops, he fled. It's been
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: a week since I talked to the officer, and so
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: far two of my cousins and one uncle have already
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: been killed. I know that more deaths are coming. I
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: don't know how those people knew I went to the police,
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: but they did, and now I live in constant fear,
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: all because my boyfriend wanted to use the deep Web
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: to help me overcome my past. All I wanted was
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: a nose job, plain and simple as daylight. They bullied
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: me back in elementary school for having nostrils that are
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: too big for the rest of my face, and I
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: honestly thought they were right. So Ever, since I started
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: making my own money, I've been saving up for one,
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: and sure enough, after four years of saving and living
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: in one room studio apartments, I finally had enough for
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: a nose job.
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: Guess what.
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: The clinic I had an appointment with closed down without notice.
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: Apparently they hadn't paid their taxes in five years, or
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: whatever crook they were paying to get away with it
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: was finally put behind bars. Just my luck. Of course,
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: in this small town, that was the only available beauty clinic.
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: The nearest recommended facility was in San Francisco. That's a
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: good three hour drive away. I didn't know if I
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: would be able to afford a big city rate for
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: the procedure, and my two week paid leave already in motion,
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: I was desperate for an express solution, so, of course,
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: like anyone else in a pinch these days, I turned
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: to internet forums for help. After wasting the first day
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: of said pay leave, I was finally able to find
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: someone with a concrete lead. Kathy Mandy's six sixty six
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: pointed me to a doctor Daniel Leeds. I gave his
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: number a call. He sounded like a friendly old man
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: who was apparently practicing out of his home at a Highlands,
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: the town's high end gated community where all those city
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: people who want a taste of the small town life
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: without actually living the small town life lived. Sounded good
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: enough to me. We discussed the payment terms quickly, and
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: he actually gave me a fifty percent discount. Said he
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: wanted to give back to the community. Amazing a generous,
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: wealthy city doctor who gave discounts for small town folks'
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: charity work. I couldn't wait for doctor Leeds to cut
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: up my nose and be done with this whole thing.
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: Walking away with extra spending money most definitely sounded nice too.
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: As expected, Doctor Daniel Leads lived in one of those
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: really nice brick country homes you saw in the movies.
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: It actually occurred to me then that for the twenty
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: five years that I've been alive, I never once set
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: foot behind the gates of Highlands. And there I was
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: staring at a Highland's country home, knowing full well I
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: have everything right to be here and about to have
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: my nose, and hopefully my life changed for ever. A
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: nurse answered the door and immediately led me to the kitchen,
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: where I was served a very fancy looking buffet, including
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: a shrim cocktail. Delightful, I guess. The nurse Melanie was
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: a very polite, stern lady, who then led me to
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: a sterile operation room where doctor Leeds himself stood waiting,
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: already in his surgery robe. He looked exactly how I imagined
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: he would in his sixties, well groomed and with a
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: friendly smile that could only come from a life lived comfortably.
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: I had already told him everything I needed to about
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: the type of nose I needed, so it was straight
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: to changing lying on the table and anesthetics. Nurse Melanie
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: explained that once I woke up, I was allowed to
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: stay at a room provided by doctor Leeds at his
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: home for a week to recover. The mets were already
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: taking effect then, so I nodded along and fantasized about
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: how nice that would be New nos on a free
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: vacation at a nice country home. Not bad at all,
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: as promised. When I woke up, I had been transported
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: to a lush, comfortable bed in one of the rooms
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: of doctor leeds country home. The sun filtered through the window.
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: It was a beautiful day. I couldn't wait to see
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: my new improved face. There you are, How are you
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: feeling this afternoon, asked Doctor Leeds, popping his head into
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: the room. I let out a series of garbled nothings
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: and realized I wasn't fully awake yet. The anesthetics must
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: still be doing its work. Sh that's all right, take
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: your time, he said, crossing the room and cradling my head.
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: This is odd.
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: Why does he feel like he can touch me this way?
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: Oh no, was he your run of the meal pervert?
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: Then I let out more garbled noises and tried to
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: pull myself away from him. But that was when I
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: noticed the chains. My arms and legs were chained to
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: the bed.
• 11:22
  Speaker 2: Oh God, what does he want with me.
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: Sh It's all right, You're safe.
• 11:29
  Speaker 3: Sh.
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: I realized fighting was futile and that the best thing
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: for me to do was to lay still and wait
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: to see just what it is he is going to
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: do with me helpless. A chained up toy nurse Melanie
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: walked in then, pushing a cart of food, more exquisite,
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: fancy looking food, just like the buffet. She moved aside,
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: and I saw that what was on the platter was
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: there is no mistaking it. On the platter was my
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: old nose. For your initiation leads see, I'm an aesthetician,
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: meaning I pursue beauty, and you Lois, through your willingness,
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: hard work, and dedication, have also shown that you're also
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: pursuing beauty. Hence, I have decided that you're a worthy
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: residence at my house, where we dedicate ourselves to a
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: lifelong pursuit of beauty. I couldn't understand what he meant.
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: What does he mean pursuit of beauty? He must have
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: seen the panic in my eyes, because he continued, We've
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: beautified your nose, and should you choose, you may consume
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: your old nose, consume your past unbautified self and pursue
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: your ideal self, one that I will gladly help you achieve.
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: I looked at my nose on a plate and back
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: to doctor Leeds. But if you choose not to, well,
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: this will be the end of your journey, and you
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: will be using your body to help beautify other people,
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: those who will be dedicated to the cause that drove
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: me over the edge. I just wanted a new nose.
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: Now I have to deal with this mess like at
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: the end of the day. A nose is nothing but flesh,
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: tender meat. Once cooked, it should be good enough to eat.
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth as a
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: masticated on the flesh of my old nose. Tears streamed
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: on my cheek, mixing with the warm, salty liquid. Doctor
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: Leeds watched me with a detached fascination, his eyes gleaming
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: with morbid curiosity. You're doing very well, lois, he said,
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: his voice dripping with condescension. Here becoming one of us.
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: With each bite, I felt a part of myself slipping away,
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: replaced by a cold, hollow emptiness. The familiar contours of
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: my face, once the source of my insecurity, now felt alien,
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: a grotesque mask that I was forced to wear. You see, Lois,
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: Doctor Leeds continued, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper.
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: Beauty is not just about appearances. It's about sacrifice, about
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: shedding your old self and embracing your true potential. His
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: words were like poisons seeping into my mind, twisting my
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: perception of reality. I was no longer lowest, the girl
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: with the big nose. I was a work in progress,
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: the sculpture being molded into perfection by Doctor Lee's scalping.
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: Days turned into weeks. I lost myself of the doctor's
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: twisted world. I consumed my body piece by piece, each
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: bite a sacrifice to the altar of beauty. My reflection
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: in the mirror became a stranger, a grotesque caricature of
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: my former self. One day, Doctor Leeds announced that I
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: was ready for the final stage of my transformation. He
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: led me to a room filled with surgical instruments, their
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: gleaming metal surfaces reflecting the harsh fluorescent lights. This is
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: where you will be reborn, Lois, he said, his voice
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: filled with a twisted excitement, or you will finally.
• 14:55
  Speaker 2: Achieve true beauty.
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: I closed my eyes, surrendering mysel to the inevitable. The
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: pain was excruciating, a searing inferno that consumed my every thought.
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: When it was finally over, I was no longer human.
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: I was a creature of doctor Lead's creation, a living
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: testament to his twisted obsession. I opened my eyes and
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: I gasp escaped my limbs as I saw my reflection
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: in the mirror. I was a chimera, a patchwork of
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: human and animal parts, a grotesque mockery of beauty. Doctor
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: Leads stood behind me, his eyes wide with satisfaction. Magnificent,
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: he breathed, you are truly a work of art. I
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: turned to face and my eyes burning with red. You monster,
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: I hissed, my voice a distorted echo of my former self.
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: He smiled, his teeth gleaming in the harsh light. I
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: am the artist, Lois, and you are my masterpiece.
• 16:03
  Speaker 2: My sister Lily took me to the Burning Man last year.
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: I usually didn't join Lily on her wowed adventures, but
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: I had just gotten dumped by my boyfriend and I
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: needed a distraction. On our first day there, as we
• 16:15
  Speaker 2: were exploring the area and looking at all the weird
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: art installations, a really handsome bearded guy named Clay introduced himself.
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: He noticed Lily and I were checking out an art
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: exhibit and may dad of old motorcycles. He asked us
• 16:28
  Speaker 2: what we thought about it. Honestly, I thought it was
• 16:31
  Speaker 2: really ugly, but I didn't say anything. I'm glad I
• 16:34
  Speaker 2: didn't because Clay said that he created the piece himself.
• 16:38
  Speaker 2: He seemed really proud of it too. For the rest
• 16:41
  Speaker 2: of the festival, we ended up spending a lot of
• 16:42
  Speaker 2: time with Clay. He and Lily seemed to really hit
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: it off. I liked him well enough, but it was
• 16:48
  Speaker 2: obvious that my sister was the one he really felt
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: a connection with. He had this artistic spirit, just like Lily.
• 16:54
  Speaker 2: He'd come to music festivals throughout the year and really
• 16:57
  Speaker 2: dive into the experience, and then he'd go back to
• 16:59
  Speaker 2: work it guy. Lily worked in retail, but her lifestyle
• 17:03
  Speaker 2: was pretty similar to his. At the end of the
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: three days there, I was more than ready to go
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: back home. I really needed a shower, plus I needed
• 17:11
  Speaker 2: to sleep in a real bed. I told Lily that
• 17:14
  Speaker 2: I was glad that I went, but I never wanted
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: to go again. She understood, especially since I didn't meet
• 17:19
  Speaker 2: a guy like she did. So we packed up all
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: our stuff into our little rented RV and got ready
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: to head out. Clay came over and invited us to
• 17:28
  Speaker 2: come visit him sometime. Lily said yes, though I really
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: hope that she was just being polite. A guy like
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: Clay is fun to be around at some random music festival,
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: but he's not the kind of person I want to
• 17:39
  Speaker 2: hang out with in the real world. I would have
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: forgotten about him completely. But about a month later, Lily
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: started getting these really nasty messages from a bunch of
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: anonymous accounts. Someone had found her on Facebook and Instagram
• 17:51
  Speaker 2: and TikTok, pretty much all of social media, and they
• 17:55
  Speaker 2: were saying the nastiest things. She kept reporting the harassing accounts,
• 17:59
  Speaker 2: but as soon as she got those blocked, somebody else
• 18:03
  Speaker 2: popped up. It sounded like it was all coming from
• 18:05
  Speaker 2: the same person. Lily really started to freak out. She
• 18:09
  Speaker 2: didn't want to get the police involved yet, but she
• 18:12
  Speaker 2: knew the messages were becoming more threatening, so it was
• 18:15
  Speaker 2: only a matter of time before things escalated, and that's
• 18:18
  Speaker 2: when she decided to call Clay. At the festival, Clay
• 18:22
  Speaker 2: had explained that part of this job was finding information
• 18:24
  Speaker 2: that no one else could that included tracking down stalkers
• 18:27
  Speaker 2: and harassers. He had a pretty high success rate, at
• 18:31
  Speaker 2: least according to what he told us. Lily and I
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: were home at the time. She had gotten a particularly
• 18:37
  Speaker 2: nasty message on our email, and she finally called Clay.
• 18:41
  Speaker 2: I knew that she hadn't talked to him since the festival,
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: but I don't know if maybe they'd texted each other
• 18:46
  Speaker 2: since then. After all, they did really hit it off.
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: Lily kept everything on our speakerphone so that I could hear.
• 18:53
  Speaker 2: She and Clay talked about the online harassment and the
• 18:55
  Speaker 2: best way to stop it. She read aloud some of
• 18:58
  Speaker 2: the messages she received, and Clay sounded genuinely disgusted. He
• 19:03
  Speaker 2: let her finish. Then he said that he'd finally identify
• 19:06
  Speaker 2: the harasser within the week. He spent a lot of
• 19:09
  Speaker 2: time building online contacts and staying active on the deep web,
• 19:13
  Speaker 2: where his messages couldn't be traced. Honestly, he made himself
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: sound like a hacker or something. He didn't ask for
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: payment or anything. Lily was just so grateful that she
• 19:23
  Speaker 2: promised to come visit him as soon as this craziness
• 19:25
  Speaker 2: was over. After the call, I was nervous that Clay
• 19:29
  Speaker 2: wasn't going to come through. He seemed like the kind
• 19:31
  Speaker 2: of guy who over promised and underdelivered, but Lily seemed
• 19:35
  Speaker 2: one hundred percent confident in him. But the next two days,
• 19:39
  Speaker 2: Lily didn't get a single harassing message. She thought that
• 19:42
  Speaker 2: Clay had done his job, but I warned her not
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: to get her hopes up. She called him for an update,
• 19:47
  Speaker 2: but he didn't answer. I left Lily alone for a
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: couple hours to run some errands, and when I came back,
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: I saw Clay's truck parked in the front of our yard.
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: He'd come to see Lily. I parked on the street
• 20:01
  Speaker 2: since the driveway was blocked, and I started to head inside.
• 20:05
  Speaker 2: When I got to the porch, I froze. Clay and
• 20:08
  Speaker 2: Lily were talking in the living room, and I could
• 20:11
  Speaker 2: hear their voices through the window. They were talking about me.
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: I'm so sorry, he said, but it looks like your
• 20:19
  Speaker 2: sister was the one who was posting about you. I
• 20:22
  Speaker 2: can't believe it. Lily said, why would she do that?
• 20:27
  Speaker 2: Because she's jealous of you. She doesn't want us to
• 20:30
  Speaker 2: be together. Clay was going to say something else, but
• 20:33
  Speaker 2: then he turned and looked right at me. I'd been caught.
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: I slowly walked inside, ready to defend myself against Clay's
• 20:42
  Speaker 2: obvious lies. I was closer to Lily than anyone else.
• 20:46
  Speaker 2: There was no way that she'd believed his story. When
• 20:49
  Speaker 2: I stepped inside, both Clay and Lily looked at me
• 20:52
  Speaker 2: like I was some terrible criminal. Lily even stepped behind
• 20:55
  Speaker 2: Clay so that he could protect her against me. You
• 20:59
  Speaker 2: don't believe leave him, do you, I asked her. Lily
• 21:03
  Speaker 2: looked down at a piece of paper in her hands.
• 21:05
  Speaker 2: I guess Clay had printed out some fake evidence against me.
• 21:09
  Speaker 2: She thought for a long moment and then asked me,
• 21:13
  Speaker 2: why are you doing this? I'm not, I shouted. I
• 21:17
  Speaker 2: stepped forward, ready to grab the bogus evidence in her hands,
• 21:21
  Speaker 2: but Clay stood in front of me, puffing up his chest.
• 21:24
  Speaker 2: I think you should leave. This is my house too.
• 21:28
  Speaker 2: Clay and I started loudly arguing with each other. Lily
• 21:32
  Speaker 2: just watched the whole thing horrified. I looked at Lily
• 21:35
  Speaker 2: my eyes, pleading her to believe me. I told her
• 21:39
  Speaker 2: that he was lying. He was probably the one harassing
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: her all this time. It was some big, twisted plan
• 21:45
  Speaker 2: to stay in her life. For a second, I thought
• 21:48
  Speaker 2: she believed me, but then she stepped forward and pushed
• 21:51
  Speaker 2: me get out before I call the police. I was heartbroken.
• 21:57
  Speaker 2: I couldn't believe my own sister would trust some compute
• 22:00
  Speaker 2: stranger that she met at burning Man over her own blood.
• 22:04
  Speaker 2: I knew Clay was manipulating her, but if I stayed
• 22:07
  Speaker 2: any longer, I'd just make the situation worse. I turned
• 22:11
  Speaker 2: around and left. I knew that I could stay with
• 22:14
  Speaker 2: my friends for a while, but I wanted to help
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: Lily first, so I drove straight to the police station
• 22:20
  Speaker 2: and explain the situation to the police. The man did
• 22:23
  Speaker 2: a quick Google search of Clay. He didn't even need
• 22:26
  Speaker 2: to use the deep wed to find out that Clay
• 22:28
  Speaker 2: had her criminal record for harassment and stalking. He printed
• 22:32
  Speaker 2: out the file and it took a photo of it
• 22:34
  Speaker 2: on my phone to show Lily. She never responded to
• 22:37
  Speaker 2: my message. That afternoon, I came back home. The whole
• 22:41
  Speaker 2: place was empty. Clay and Lily were gone, and most
• 22:45
  Speaker 2: of her stuff was taken too. It's been months now.
• 22:49
  Speaker 2: I'm still working with the police to track down Lily,
• 22:52
  Speaker 2: but I'm slowly losing hope. She made a horrible choice
• 22:57
  Speaker 2: when she decided to trust him, and I'm terrified of
• 23:00
  Speaker 2: what happened to her.
• 23:10
  Speaker 3: My name is James and I recently separated from my wife, Mandy.
• 23:15
  Speaker 3: It came completely out of the blue.
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: One day.
• 23:18
  Speaker 3: She sat me down and said that it wasn't working
• 23:20
  Speaker 3: out between us. It's not you, it's me. I was shocked,
• 23:24
  Speaker 3: and I tried to get more information out of her.
• 23:27
  Speaker 3: There had to be a more specific reason, but we
• 23:30
  Speaker 3: kept going in circles. She said that she hadn't been
• 23:33
  Speaker 3: happy in a long time. I asked if this had
• 23:36
  Speaker 3: anything to do with Derek, her handsome coworker. They'd been
• 23:40
  Speaker 3: spending a lot of time together and I'd always had
• 23:42
  Speaker 3: my suspicions that something was going on between them. I
• 23:45
  Speaker 3: shouldn't have said anything, because she started shouting about how
• 23:48
  Speaker 3: I was accusing her over nothing. The conversation didn't end well, obviously,
• 23:53
  Speaker 3: and I packed my stuff and left. I figured i'd
• 23:56
  Speaker 3: give her time to be alone and think about everything.
• 23:59
  Speaker 3: I loved by so much, and I didn't want to
• 24:02
  Speaker 3: lose her. That night, I went to my brother Parker's
• 24:05
  Speaker 3: house to crash. He told me I could stay with
• 24:08
  Speaker 3: him as long as I needed. But after a week
• 24:10
  Speaker 3: he kicked me out. He said that I was depressing
• 24:13
  Speaker 3: him and that he needed to concentrate on his own marriage.
• 24:17
  Speaker 3: I didn't have a lot of money saved up, and
• 24:19
  Speaker 3: I didn't have anywhere else to go, so I ended
• 24:21
  Speaker 3: up checking into the Rosemont Motel, which was the only
• 24:24
  Speaker 3: motel in my budget where I could stay long term.
• 24:28
  Speaker 3: It was on the shadier side of town, surrounded by
• 24:31
  Speaker 3: old warehouses, and the building was filthy. The only good
• 24:35
  Speaker 3: thing about it was a small swimming pool at the back.
• 24:37
  Speaker 3: I started taking a swim every evening after work. It
• 24:41
  Speaker 3: was the only time when I could relax and stop
• 24:43
  Speaker 3: thinking about Mandy. On my third night there, I met
• 24:47
  Speaker 3: a woman at the pool. She was young and beautiful.
• 24:50
  Speaker 3: She introduced herself as Sarah and asked how long I
• 24:53
  Speaker 3: was staying there. I told her that I didn't know.
• 24:56
  Speaker 3: She seemed pretty friendly, so we got to chatting and
• 25:00
  Speaker 3: explained that my wife had kicked me out, but I
• 25:01
  Speaker 3: was still hoping that we'd get back together. Sarah seemed disappointed.
• 25:06
  Speaker 3: I assumed she was interested in a quick cookup, but
• 25:09
  Speaker 3: she didn't like the fact that I was still technically
• 25:11
  Speaker 3: a married man. I asked her about herself. She said
• 25:15
  Speaker 3: she was working for her brother, but she didn't get
• 25:17
  Speaker 3: into any more specifics. She told me a little about
• 25:20
  Speaker 3: her life, but she kept bringing the conversation back to
• 25:23
  Speaker 3: me and my marriage, and must have really bothered her. Still,
• 25:28
  Speaker 3: we seemed to hit it off, and she invited me
• 25:30
  Speaker 3: to have a drink in her room. I refused at first,
• 25:33
  Speaker 3: but she explained that nothing was going to happen between us.
• 25:36
  Speaker 3: It was purely platonic. I agreed, and after I went
• 25:40
  Speaker 3: upstairs to dry off and change, I knocked on her
• 25:42
  Speaker 3: door Room eighteen. She greeted me wearing loose pajamas. She
• 25:47
  Speaker 3: held a bottle of wine that was already open. I
• 25:50
  Speaker 3: almost changed my mind and was about to leave, but
• 25:52
  Speaker 3: she assured me that nothing was going to happen between us.
• 25:55
  Speaker 3: We sat at her small table and started drinking. She
• 25:58
  Speaker 3: encouraged me to keep drinking, almost like she wanted to
• 26:00
  Speaker 3: get me drunk. I went through several glasses before I
• 26:04
  Speaker 3: noticed that she was still on her first one. It
• 26:06
  Speaker 3: seemed like she wasn't drinking at all, just pretending to.
• 26:10
  Speaker 3: I started to get a really bad feeling, but I
• 26:13
  Speaker 3: guess the alcohol was doing its trick.
• 26:15
  Speaker 2: I didn't leave.
• 26:17
  Speaker 3: We talked about normal stuff like movies and music, but
• 26:20
  Speaker 3: every once in a while she'd asked me a question
• 26:22
  Speaker 3: about Mandy. I don't know what got into me, probably
• 26:26
  Speaker 3: the alcohol, but I mentioned my suspicions that Mandy had
• 26:29
  Speaker 3: cheated on me with her coworker Derek. Her eyes widened.
• 26:33
  Speaker 3: That seemed to really intrigue her, so she started asking
• 26:36
  Speaker 3: me more about him. I started to really trash the guy.
• 26:41
  Speaker 3: I didn't know him that well, and despite my suspicions,
• 26:44
  Speaker 3: I didn't have anything against him. He always acted friendly
• 26:47
  Speaker 3: to my face. But I was so overcome by anger
• 26:50
  Speaker 3: over my separation that I really started laying into the guy.
• 26:54
  Speaker 3: I said that he was an idiot who was terrible
• 26:56
  Speaker 3: at his job. I said he was slimy and unattract
• 27:00
  Speaker 3: I even mentioned his bad breath. Sarah just sat there
• 27:04
  Speaker 3: and listened, face blank. Then she slowly stood up and
• 27:07
  Speaker 3: walked toward her addresser. You shouldn't have said that, she said.
• 27:12
  Speaker 3: I tried to ask her what she meant, but before
• 27:14
  Speaker 3: I could, she spun around with a pocket knife in
• 27:16
  Speaker 3: her hand. She held it towards my face. I jumped
• 27:20
  Speaker 3: out of my chair and backed away, tripping drunkenly over
• 27:23
  Speaker 3: the carpet. Derek is a good man, she said, He's
• 27:26
  Speaker 3: so much better than a loser like you. Sarah was
• 27:30
  Speaker 3: a lot smaller and thinner than me, but she was
• 27:32
  Speaker 3: sober and driven by pure age. She held me down
• 27:38
  Speaker 3: with one hand and used the other to drive the
• 27:39
  Speaker 3: pocket deep into my shoulder. I screamed for help, but
• 27:43
  Speaker 3: at a motel like this, no one was going to
• 27:45
  Speaker 3: come to my rescue. I had to fend her off myself.
• 27:49
  Speaker 3: She used her palm to drive the knife deeper. I
• 27:51
  Speaker 3: guess the pain gave me the encouragement I needed. I
• 27:54
  Speaker 3: pushed her off of me. She slammed against the wall.
• 27:58
  Speaker 3: Before she could get back up, I kicked you're in
• 28:00
  Speaker 3: the side. The dresser was a foot away from her,
• 28:02
  Speaker 3: and the motel's bulky old TV was right on top.
• 28:05
  Speaker 3: I grabbed it and pushed it closer to the edge.
• 28:08
  Speaker 3: I demanded to know who she was and what she wanted.
• 28:11
  Speaker 3: I made it clear that if she didn't answer, I'd
• 28:13
  Speaker 3: push the TV on top of her. Her knife was
• 28:16
  Speaker 3: still sticking out of my shoulder. I was too angry
• 28:19
  Speaker 3: to feel the pain. It should have been easy. She said,
• 28:23
  Speaker 3: why didn't you just keep drinking and keep your opinions
• 28:25
  Speaker 3: to yourself. Who are you, I demanded again. I'm Derek's sister,
• 28:30
  Speaker 3: she screamed from the floor. I worked for him. What
• 28:34
  Speaker 3: did he pay you to do?
• 28:36
  Speaker 2: I asked, nothing, she shouted.
• 28:39
  Speaker 3: I pushed the TV so it was almost halfway off
• 28:41
  Speaker 3: the dresser. If it fell on her, she'd be crushed. Fine,
• 28:46
  Speaker 3: she said, he wanted me to get you drunk and
• 28:48
  Speaker 3: then take some embarrassing photos. That's it. But then you
• 28:51
  Speaker 3: started running your mouth and I couldn't stop myself. But
• 28:54
  Speaker 3: why blackmail?
• 28:56
  Speaker 2: Idiot? She said, So.
• 28:58
  Speaker 3: You'd agree to the divorce. Your wife won't be with
• 29:01
  Speaker 3: them until you sign the papers. It's nothing personal. As
• 29:05
  Speaker 3: soon as she said that, all my anger left me.
• 29:07
  Speaker 3: I felt this overwhelming numbness. I wordlessly walked out of
• 29:12
  Speaker 3: the room, went to my car and drove to the
• 29:14
  Speaker 3: hospital to get the knife removed. On the way, I
• 29:16
  Speaker 3: called the police. Both Sarah and Derek were taken into custody.
• 29:21
  Speaker 3: I don't know exactly what crimes they committed or what
• 29:23
  Speaker 3: the punishment is, and I also don't know if Mandy
• 29:26
  Speaker 3: had any idea about their plan. What I do know
• 29:30
  Speaker 3: is that I'll find out in the trial and I
• 29:33
  Speaker 3: never want to see my wife again.