One morning, seven-year-old Adrian woke up to a confusing and upsetting scene at home. As he tries to understand what's happening, we learn about the hidden problems and growing conflicts among the adults in his life. This child's confusion turns into a harsh reality that will have a lasting impact on his world.
Chapter 1: What happened to Adrian's mom?
Sword and Scale contains adult themes and violence and is not intended for all audiences.
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I kind of smirked like the devil inside me. I said, who laughs last?
Who was that weird-sounding woman at the intro? You're about to find out. This is Season 12, Episode 292 of Sword and Scale, a show that reveals that the worst monsters are real and literally all around you. It's fucking terrifying. It's enough to make you want to crawl in a hole and just listen to podcasts. Just a reminder that we don't do this for free.
If you'd like to show and want to support it, head on over to swordandskill.com, download the app on your Android or Apple device and become a plus supporter or a sasshole as we affectionately like to call our fans because we love people so much. In a relationship, it's easy to mix up being needed with being wanted, especially when you're in love. The dependency can feel like a sign of closeness.
But as time goes on, needing someone can become more important than wanting them. And that's when problems begin. The distinction between being needed and being wanted might not seem like a big deal at first, but it can make all the difference in whether a relationship lasts or it falls apart.
When someone depends on the other for their happiness, their self-worth, and even their identity, it's no longer about love. It's about something else entirely. Control. Control. The fear of losing that person isn't because of love, it's because their whole sense of self is tied to them. It's not about wanting a life with them anymore, it's about being scared of a life without them.
When someone feels like they have nothing to lose, they'll do anything to hang on and keep their life from falling apart, even if it means crossing lines they never would have thought to cross. This kind of unhealthy reliance doesn't just hurt feelings, it ruins lives. And the aftermath? It often affects the people who least deserve it.
Outside the police department in Plantation, Florida, the parking lot is still dotted with the harsh orange glow of street lamps. It's a little after 4 a.m. on June 28th, 2018. The sun won't be up for at least another couple of hours. Outside it's balmy 78 degrees with 93% humidity. Oh boy do I not miss that. It's like a sauna every day. The humidity makes it feel even hotter.
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Chapter 2: How did Adrian perceive the chaotic scene?
The Loud House. The Loud House?
Yeah. That's a cool show. I like that.
And also, when I finished The Loud House, I watched SpongeBob SquarePants the movie.
Oh, okay. Who put that movie on for you?
Oh, it just came up randomly when the talent show was over.
Okay, so when The Loud House was over, the SpongeBob movie came on.
Yeah. All by itself? Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Adrian didn't know it yet, but that would be the last carefree evening in front of the TV that he would experience in a long time.
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Chapter 3: What led to the family moving in with Grandma Barb?
At 4 a.m., Adrian woke up because he heard talking in the room. Mark was trying to wake up Anastasia. Adrian thought this was so she could get ready for work. He knew she had just gotten a job.
Was your mom saying anything?
Oh, she didn't say she was sleeping so hard. I'm not sure she was sleeping.
Why do you say that?
Oh, because when Dad was trying to wake her up, she didn't wake up. That's why she had to drag her to the couch. And that's how I saw the blood. OK.
Even a seven-year-old knows what blood is, and that blood outside your body is bad. But Adrian didn't really understand what was happening, so he tried to make sense of it. Adrian thought his dad was just trying to wake up his mom for work, but she wasn't waking up. When Mark dragged her to the couch, Adrian didn't understand the danger.
If any adult had woken up to this scene, they would immediately be filled with fear. But in Adrian's innocence, he just watched with wonder.
Well, I don't know why, but at least I know when my mom got a big booboo on her head, then when... Dad can't wake her. Dad couldn't wake her up since she was snoring. Also, she had never snored before. And Dad was going to wake her up into the couch because she got... She also got the dead dirty with her blood on her head. That's why she couldn't do it. So she was sleeping so hard.
So dad dragged her on the floor and I saw blood.
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Chapter 4: How did Mark's struggles affect the family dynamics?
But Mark couldn't let go of Anastasia's disrespect towards him.
And he was very aggressive. He was screaming and yelling and he was like very agitated and he was very angry. I mean, even I was scared of him.
The argument continued and grew until Mark finally saw only one path forward.
He was the one who started the conversation. Maybe we should get divorced. He started? He started. He started. And she was happy that he was the one who started the conversation. But again, from what I heard from the parents, he took his words back several days later. He changed his mind. But she didn't want to change. I mean, she was determined to get divorced.
Anastasia was secretly thrilled Mark brought up divorce first. And she intended to file even though he changed his mind. there was just one little issue. Adrian.
Her main concern was that she had a child. She was supposed to start working at the hospital. The schedule at the hospital is very specific. You have to be there early and, I mean, you finish very late. So she was very concerned who was going to be taking the kid to school and pick the kid back from school. So she was trying to maintain the friendly relationship with the mother-in-law and maybe...
with the husband so that they in the future, even though she's going to divorce him and move out, they still can try and help her like in some way, maybe.
Right.
Anastasia was about to embark on a successful career as a doctor. She wanted to ditch the dead weight of an unaccomplished husband, but she needed his help for the sake of their son. The long hours that the job demanded conflicted with Adrian's school schedule. So Anastasia tried to maintain a good relationship with Mark and his mom. It just wasn't easy.
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Chapter 5: What was the significance of Anastasia's graduation?
Chapter 6: How did gambling impact Anastasia's family?
Yeah, he saw some of the text messages, but they were very neutral. There was nothing romantic or nothing. One of the text messages said that my husband was arrested again. Online it says that the release date is December 1st. The text messages, of course, infuriated Mark. There was no way he could be in denial now.
The proof of Anastasia's betrayal was in writing right before his eyes. He accused her of having an affair, the ultimate betrayal. She tried to explain it was just a work colleague, but Mark wasn't buying it. Needless to say, Mark's anger sent Anastasia's fear and anxiety through the roof.
So, yeah, she would normally lock herself in the room, especially, like, during the night. The last couple of weeks or maybe a week that he asked her not to lock the door. That he convinced her that he would sleep on the kid's bed. He was, like, he was pressing. He was trying to convince her that he's not going to, like, give any trouble to her. And I don't know why, but she unlocked the door.
Despite her fear, Anastasia unlocked the door and allowed Mark to sleep in the room. She was just tired of arguing and gave in. She would be gone soon anyway after her first paycheck. She would have a place of her own. Besides, she never thought he was capable of, well, anything really, but certainly not hurting her while she slept next to their son.
She always thought that he's a coward. He's not capable of doing it in cold blood. She never thought that he would do it when she's asleep or the child is next to her. She was mistaken.
She was mistaken. You know how they say hindsight is 20-20? Well, after Anastasia's untimely death, the events of the days preceding took on a whole new ominous overtone.
The night before, Mark was pacing in the room and staring at her while she was sleeping. And she said, that was kind of freaky, and she just turned over.
She woke up in the middle of the night, and she saw him standing by her bed, looking at her. And she asked him, why are you here looking at me? And he said that I cannot... I can fall asleep.
You know, because he hasn't been sleeping. And she said, that's kind of strange. He's been staring there watching me sleep. And now I think he must have been planning it.
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