April 15, 2024 • 9 mins
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Welcome back to Vanishing Shadows. Inthe last episode, the thumb drive in
my bag feels like a bomb,a beacon, a grenade. I must
get rid of it fast, getit out of my possession. But what
I do with it will affect somany people, change their lives forever,
(00:20):
and it will change mine. Becausethere is one thing I have gained clarity
on. There is no one Ican trust. Part four Hazel. When
I walked into the house that dayand saw my husband seated at his desk,
my first feeling was relief. Ihad successfully thwarted Jesse's plan to kill
(00:44):
Benjamin. My lover had arrived atthe back door, found it locked,
and turned away. If he hadforced his way inside, the fact that
I hadn't planted Lee's knife was thefinal clue our plan could not go ahead.
Jesse had left, Benjamin was alive, and I had protected Lee.
(01:07):
But when my husband swivels in hischair and his eyes meet mine, I
see it barely contained rage, hatred, disgust. Hullo, missy. His
tone is oily, where have youbeen? I swallow the fear coating my
(01:27):
mouth at the gem where else?His face is implacable. What are you
wearing. Lee's clothes are shabby,ill fitting. My husband knows I would
never go out like this vintage,I say, giving him a weak smile.
(01:49):
Your friend was here, Oh Lee. My voice comes out high pitched
and strangled, but I press ona faint scent of hope. Yeah.
I was going to lend her somedressy clothes for a job interview. She
borrowed my car. I walked back, not her, he says, his
(02:13):
lips curling into a malicious smile.Your other friend. I cock my head,
feign innocence, but he knows Iwas an idiot to think I could
fool him. Jesse, I thinkhis name was. I'm not sure how
to play this. Do I pretendJesse is a stranger to me, a
(02:37):
simple intruder, maybe a stalker.If I deny our relationship, Benjamin will
know I'm lying and will punish me. If I admit we were lovers,
I am as good as dead.But I have to ask where is he?
Oh he's gone, Hazel. Thesmile is still in play. You'll
(03:01):
never see him again. He doesn'ttell me if Jesse is dead or alive,
only that he got rid of him. Benjamin paid him off. Probably.
I know now that Jesse loved moneymore than he loved me. I
know all about your little plot,my darling. Benjamin stands towering over me.
(03:24):
Did you really think you could killme and get away with it?
No? The word comes out awhisper. I take a step back.
Clearly you did. You and yourso called boyfriend. He smirks. You're
so stupid thinking you could trust him. But he never cared about you,
(03:47):
Hazel. He was only after yourmoney. He's right, But how did
Benjamin know? Had he beaten andinterrogated the truth from Jesse or for it?
You never even knew his real name, Benjamin smiles when he sees me,
Blanche, Your lover's real name wasCarter Sumner. He was a criminal,
(04:15):
a dirt bag, a real pieceof shit. He paces around his
office like he is in court habit. I guess I was his lawyer in
a violent breaking and entering case.One of his criminal associates hired me to
represent him. That's how he foundyou, Hazel. He targeted you.
(04:38):
My head feels thick and foggy,and the information isn't sinking in. I
knew Jesse had a shady past.The signs were there in his home,
and his tattoos, and the easewith which he suggested my husband's murder.
But to think that he was anentirely different person, someone Benjamin knew and
(04:59):
I didn't, makes me wobbly.I reach behind me, hand, scrabbling
for the bookshelf to study myself.Benjamin clocks my obvious distress and smiles.
He used you to get to me, Hazel, to take what I've built
through my skill and talent, becausehe had none. He was a loser
(05:21):
and a user, and you fellfor him. I open my mouth to
deny, or apologize, or begforgiveness, but no words will come.
There is nothing I can say.As my husband continues, he is in
litigator mode, making his closing arguments. Carter Sumner would have moved in with
(05:45):
you, married you, even,and then he would have taken it all.
You were nothing but a means toan end, Hazel, disposable like
garbage. Do I lie, begforgiveness? Yes? And then it strikes
me. I don't need to cringeand cower, because it doesn't matter what
(06:08):
Benjamin does to me. Now.Soon I will escape or I'll be dead,
either by his hand or my own. At least I will be free.
I have nothing left to fear,and so I smile. Well,
it was worth a try. Heslaps me across the face, unusual for
(06:31):
him, but I can safely assumethat he won't allow me out in public
for the next few days. Andhe is shocked by my insolence. It
is entirely brand new. He's hadme under his control for so long.
His voice is a growl, Youdevious bitch. I used Jesse too.
(06:54):
I say a wicked smile on mylips to get rid of you, and
for sex, which was incredible,by the way. I am taunting him,
goading him, and it feels sofucking good. His face is red
with rage of vain bulges in histemple. He's on the verge of losing
(07:15):
control. If he murders me righthere, right now, it will all
be over and he will go tojail for it. Even Benjamin Leval can't
get away with killing his wife inhis own home with his bare hands.
Go to the room. He shovesme forward, and I stumble, but
(07:38):
I don't fall. I glance overmy shoulder another smile. Whatever turns you
on, chief. Casually, Ihead down the stairs. As I lie
on the floor, the thin blanketover me, I think about what my
husband told me about Jesse Carterson.He knew who I was when he approached
(08:03):
me that day at the gym.Knew I had money, a beautiful house,
and that I was under the thumbof a powerful man. Could he
sense my desperation that I would beeasy to use and manipulate and our plan
to escape to Panama? Was itall just a ruse? My husband is
right about one thing. I amstupid, gullible, pathetic. My mind
(08:30):
drifts to Lee, and I praythat she got away safely, that she
didn't go with Jesse. I praythat she took her new identity and her
plane ticket and started over. Leecan live the life I had wanted as
a new person in a new country, the life Jesse had talked me out
of because he wanted more. Hewanted everything, the cash, the mansion,
(08:54):
the prestige. And now he isgone and I am trapped here.
I think about my own escape plan, how difficult it will be to execute.
Now I'll need Benjamin to let meout of his self styled dungeon.
I'll need to earn back his trust, so he'll give me the space I
need to get away, to fakemy death drowning again. It probably makes
(09:18):
the most sense, but my thoughtsare muddled by stress and fatigue. I
feel exhausted, I feel defeated.Only one thought gives me comfort. One
way or another. I will soonbe free. I close my eyes and
(09:39):
fall into an exhausted sleep.
Welcome back to Vanishing Shadows. Inthe last episode, the thumb drive in
my bag feels like a bomb,a beacon, a grenade. I must
get rid of it fast, getit out of my possession. But what
I do with it will affect somany people, change their lives forever,
(00:20):
and it will change mine. Becausethere is one thing I have gained clarity
on. There is no one Ican trust. Part four Hazel. When
I walked into the house that dayand saw my husband seated at his desk,
my first feeling was relief. Ihad successfully thwarted Jesse's plan to kill
(00:44):
Benjamin. My lover had arrived atthe back door, found it locked,
and turned away. If he hadforced his way inside, the fact that
I hadn't planted Lee's knife was thefinal clue our plan could not go ahead.
Jesse had left, Benjamin was alive, and I had protected Lee.
(01:07):
But when my husband swivels in hischair and his eyes meet mine, I
see it barely contained rage, hatred, disgust. Hullo, missy. His
tone is oily, where have youbeen? I swallow the fear coating my
(01:27):
mouth at the gem where else?His face is implacable. What are you
wearing. Lee's clothes are shabby,ill fitting. My husband knows I would
never go out like this vintage,I say, giving him a weak smile.
(01:49):
Your friend was here, Oh Lee. My voice comes out high pitched
and strangled, but I press ona faint scent of hope. Yeah.
I was going to lend her somedressy clothes for a job interview. She
borrowed my car. I walked back, not her, he says, his
(02:13):
lips curling into a malicious smile.Your other friend. I cock my head,
feign innocence, but he knows Iwas an idiot to think I could
fool him. Jesse, I thinkhis name was. I'm not sure how
to play this. Do I pretendJesse is a stranger to me, a
(02:37):
simple intruder, maybe a stalker.If I deny our relationship, Benjamin will
know I'm lying and will punish me. If I admit we were lovers,
I am as good as dead.But I have to ask where is he?
Oh he's gone, Hazel. Thesmile is still in play. You'll
(03:01):
never see him again. He doesn'ttell me if Jesse is dead or alive,
only that he got rid of him. Benjamin paid him off. Probably.
I know now that Jesse loved moneymore than he loved me. I
know all about your little plot,my darling. Benjamin stands towering over me.
(03:24):
Did you really think you could killme and get away with it?
No? The word comes out awhisper. I take a step back.
Clearly you did. You and yourso called boyfriend. He smirks. You're
so stupid thinking you could trust him. But he never cared about you,
(03:47):
Hazel. He was only after yourmoney. He's right, But how did
Benjamin know? Had he beaten andinterrogated the truth from Jesse or for it?
You never even knew his real name, Benjamin smiles when he sees me,
Blanche, Your lover's real name wasCarter Sumner. He was a criminal,
(04:15):
a dirt bag, a real pieceof shit. He paces around his
office like he is in court habit. I guess I was his lawyer in
a violent breaking and entering case.One of his criminal associates hired me to
represent him. That's how he foundyou, Hazel. He targeted you.
(04:38):
My head feels thick and foggy,and the information isn't sinking in. I
knew Jesse had a shady past.The signs were there in his home,
and his tattoos, and the easewith which he suggested my husband's murder.
But to think that he was anentirely different person, someone Benjamin knew and
(04:59):
I didn't, makes me wobbly.I reach behind me, hand, scrabbling
for the bookshelf to study myself.Benjamin clocks my obvious distress and smiles.
He used you to get to me, Hazel, to take what I've built
through my skill and talent, becausehe had none. He was a loser
(05:21):
and a user, and you fellfor him. I open my mouth to
deny, or apologize, or begforgiveness, but no words will come.
There is nothing I can say.As my husband continues, he is in
litigator mode, making his closing arguments. Carter Sumner would have moved in with
(05:45):
you, married you, even,and then he would have taken it all.
You were nothing but a means toan end, Hazel, disposable like
garbage. Do I lie, begforgiveness? Yes? And then it strikes
me. I don't need to cringeand cower, because it doesn't matter what
(06:08):
Benjamin does to me. Now.Soon I will escape or I'll be dead,
either by his hand or my own. At least I will be free.
I have nothing left to fear,and so I smile. Well,
it was worth a try. Heslaps me across the face, unusual for
(06:31):
him, but I can safely assumethat he won't allow me out in public
for the next few days. Andhe is shocked by my insolence. It
is entirely brand new. He's hadme under his control for so long.
His voice is a growl, Youdevious bitch. I used Jesse too.
(06:54):
I say a wicked smile on mylips to get rid of you, and
for sex, which was incredible,by the way. I am taunting him,
goading him, and it feels sofucking good. His face is red
with rage of vain bulges in histemple. He's on the verge of losing
(07:15):
control. If he murders me righthere, right now, it will all
be over and he will go tojail for it. Even Benjamin Leval can't
get away with killing his wife inhis own home with his bare hands.
Go to the room. He shovesme forward, and I stumble, but
(07:38):
I don't fall. I glance overmy shoulder another smile. Whatever turns you
on, chief. Casually, Ihead down the stairs. As I lie
on the floor, the thin blanketover me, I think about what my
husband told me about Jesse Carterson.He knew who I was when he approached
(08:03):
me that day at the gym.Knew I had money, a beautiful house,
and that I was under the thumbof a powerful man. Could he
sense my desperation that I would beeasy to use and manipulate and our plan
to escape to Panama? Was itall just a ruse? My husband is
right about one thing. I amstupid, gullible, pathetic. My mind
(08:30):
drifts to Lee, and I praythat she got away safely, that she
didn't go with Jesse. I praythat she took her new identity and her
plane ticket and started over. Leecan live the life I had wanted as
a new person in a new country, the life Jesse had talked me out
of because he wanted more. Hewanted everything, the cash, the mansion,
(08:54):
the prestige. And now he isgone and I am trapped here.
I think about my own escape plan, how difficult it will be to execute.
Now I'll need Benjamin to let meout of his self styled dungeon.
I'll need to earn back his trust, so he'll give me the space I
need to get away, to fakemy death drowning again. It probably makes
(09:18):
the most sense, but my thoughtsare muddled by stress and fatigue. I
feel exhausted, I feel defeated.Only one thought gives me comfort. One
way or another. I will soonbe free. I close my eyes and
(09:39):
fall into an exhausted sleep.
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