Under Your Scars - Book Report

Holla Smut Squad, we are back again with another dark romance episode. We are talking about a crime fighting vigilante who falls in love. We are diving into Under Your Scars by Ariel N Anderson. This episode contains spoilers. 

This episode deals with troubling matters and suicide, make sure to check your trigger warnings and remember your mental health matters, You matter! 

Suicide Crisis Line 

Canada dial - 988

UK dial - 111 option 2 

US dial - 988 

Live, Laugh, Mortal Trash 

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:07

Hello, Smut Squad, and welcome back to Smut Syndicate. I am Charlie. And I'm Danielle. So many interesting things to discuss today. I am overwhelmed with excitement. So we're gonna try and make sure I don't miss anything. Number one, we are covering a dark, dark, dark romance. Yes. It's got Batman vibes, and there is no happily ever after in sight. That's right. We're covering Under Your Scars by Ariel N. Anderson. Yes. So before we go any further, I want to let everyone know that your mental health is so important that you are important. And if you're ever feeling a certain kind of way, there are numbers that you can call, people you can talk to, and we are going to put a list of those numbers in our show notes. And as always, when reading and even listening to our episodes, go to the book, check the trigger warnings, know your limit, stay within it. Yeah. We try and add comedy to these episodes. This is our coping mechanism for some of the horrible shit in the world. We do not do this to make light of important situations because this is important situations happening, but this is to place a buffer between us and some of the horrible. Okay, so now we've got the heavy out of the way, on to the fun. Something, oh my god, so special. So special. Ariel N. Anderson, the perfect human being that she is, was kind enough to answer some of our questions for today's episode. Now, these are questions that we as readers are curious about. Some of them are about the book, some of them are about her, but so once we finish our review of the book, we're gonna be reading our questions and her answers. Oh no, I am not worthy. I am not worthy. We are not, we are not. And also, because she's not done giving, Ariel is going to be doing a giveaway. She's gonna give away a signed copy of her book under your scars. Are you frickin' kidding me? I'm so excited. I am so excited. I like I just I'm freaking buzzing on this. Um, the draw is going to take place April 3rd, so uh Friday. Head over to our Instagram to enter and to see all the deets on that. Another shout out before we get into the book, Lee Daniels and Joe Wen and Army. Queen and King.

SPEAKER_05 2:29

Oh my god. They absolutely rocked my shit reading or listening to their narration of this book.

SPEAKER_03 2:37

Like they they completely nailed it. Yeah. Like it again, like, don't rob yourself the joy of reading this book, but also don't rob yourself the joy of listening to this.

SPEAKER_05 2:49

Joy is an interesting descriptor. Yeah. Don't rob yourself the experience.

SPEAKER_03 2:57

Experience. There we go. That's the word we're looking for. Um, so so many spoilers ahead. Buckle your seatbelts. Here we go.

SPEAKER_05 3:05

We start this book with Elena Young. She has a shitty boss. His name is Neil. He treats her like shit. He berates her in front of the rest of the staff. She wants to be a lawyer. That's nice. You know, she's got goals. She lives in Meridian City, New Jersey. It is the crime capital, highest murder rate in the country kind of place. So Gotham E.

SPEAKER_04 3:26

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 3:27

Her father is a world-famous plastic surgeon. Mom's a therapist.

SPEAKER_03 3:31

And there's something about her father lost his first family to a man with a gun. Yes.

unknown 3:37

Mmm.

SPEAKER_05 3:39

Foreshadowing. She's heading home. And you know when you just have that like intuition feeling, like somebody's watching you, your girl's intuition is switched on.

SPEAKER_03 3:49

She got it.

SPEAKER_05 3:49

Three men follow her into an alley and attack her. So one of them puts a knife to her neck. All of a sudden there's like three gunshots, and all of her attackers are dead, which is kind of best case scenario for her. Yeah. Um but there's her savior, the Meridian City Silencer. What a fucking badass name. First of all.

SPEAKER_04 4:07

I love it.

SPEAKER_05 4:08

He's a vigilante. Obviously, he's like hot as fuck. He's tall, he wears a mask. He's a serial killer. She like runs home crying and like just goes to sleep, which is like a super appropriate response to witnessing three dudes get fucking clapped in a back alley. Right. But you know, we all handle trauma differently. Yeah. Who am I to judge? Um, when she wakes up and turns on the news, they're like covering the triple homicide that she was the only witness to. Um, there's a one million dollar reward for the capture of the killer, and she goes to check her mail, and there's like a package and a business card for the Hellfire Lounge, which we will get into. And it's basically says, like, there's bartenders wanted and ask for Frank. So, like, she just goes about her day like normally after she like wakes up, she's like, Oh, what a good sleep, Bama. Let me get the mail.

SPEAKER_03 5:00

Yes. Maybe there's some books in there, girl. I feel that. Um, sidebar. Who gave her the business card? Was it the silencer? Like, did was this part of the pat is is that what you got from this, or was this just like a weird coincidence?

SPEAKER_05 5:14

No, I feel like that was not the silencer. Um, not a weird coincidence either. Okay. That's all I'll say.

SPEAKER_04 5:23

Cool.

SPEAKER_05 5:23

So she opens up the package and it's like all the shit she dropped the night before when she was running away from her attacker. So her he's not a bad serial killer, he's a nice serial killer, and he returns all of her treasures to her. She's like, Okay, gotta like continue going about my like regular routine because I only witnessed three people get murdered. Like, I still have to take my garbage out. So she's like tossing her garbage in the bin. She can like hear someone groaning down the alley. So all of her self-preservation is completely lost today, and she goes and she checks it out, and it's him. And he grabs her and she fucking tases him. Um, but then he like forces her to take him to her house.

SPEAKER_03 6:03

Which, like, who's using a taser to take out the garbage? I'm like, okay, she's like the crime capital of this Cardian City. You take your taser everywhere. You know what? Good on you, girl.

SPEAKER_05 6:15

So, like, mid-scuffle with him before she tases him, he's like covered in blood and shit. So they get into her apartment and he like cleans her up because he got blood on her. Um, and then he's just like asking for a first aid kit because, like, you know, he's all banged up. Shit happened, Matt. Again, she just goes to bed. This girl sleeps through everything. She wakes up though, and the silencers passed out in like a pile of first aid supplies. So she's like kind of fighting with herself like, I could go and peel his mask off, and I could be a million dollars richer.

SPEAKER_03 6:47

Or you could take care of him and be one boyfriend richer.

SPEAKER_05 6:51

Well, that's an option. She doesn't pick that option. She goes to, you know, take a little sneak peek. But he obviously wakes up and pins her. Um, when he lets her go, they just have some like casual get-to-know each other conversation, like, you know, who are you? Where do you work? Why do you kill people? Just like the typical get to know.

SPEAKER_04 7:13

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 7:13

Yeah. So she in this conversation spills that like her boss is kind of mean to her. He's like, I'll fucking kill him for you.

SPEAKER_03 7:21

If he wanted to, he would, Matt.

SPEAKER_05 7:23

Yes. We've been saying it every episode. And then he just like jumps out the window and dips.

SPEAKER_03 7:31

Um This is kind of his like calling card. He he just like dips all the time. I love it. I love it.

SPEAKER_05 7:37

He's jumping out windows and she is sleeping all the time. They're a match made in heaven already. So off to work she goes. There is a fucking giant bouquet of flowers on her desk. There's like a card saying for my angel. Love it. Um, so her boss is on a war path. He fires her, she runs away crying. Every time this girl runs away crying in the book, I imagine that like Tina Belcher run where she's like got her hands like dangling behind her in the wind, it's just uh like that sound. She does a lot of sleeping, she does a lot of Tina Belcher running. That's that's what it is, 100%. So while she's like Tina Belcher running down this like giant, she works for like an enterprise company. Yeah. She runs right into a man, Christian Reeves. So this guy basically owns the city. He is the CEO of her place of employment and the richest man on the planet.

SPEAKER_03 8:33

I want him to be my sexy boss.

SPEAKER_05 8:36

You just gotta really want to be a lawyer and you gotta sleep a lot and I cover your cardio.

SPEAKER_03 8:43

It's not great, but I'll start working on it.

SPEAKER_05 8:46

So she literally collides with him and he's like, Why are you leaving? It's the beginning of the day. This is when work starts. Yeah. Like, where are you going? And she's just like, I got fired. Like, okay. And then her boss shows up and he's also like, get this bitch out of here. And Christian's like, No, no, we're actually gonna have a meeting, the three of us. So he demands she's rehired at double her wage, full benefits. And Neil, her boss, implies that like Alina basically asked his D to get her job back. So Christian, being the chivalrous man that he is, just slams this guy's face into the desk and then blackmails him. Neil's like yelling at her, forgetting her, like they're sitting there having this conversation, and he's like, Go make us coffee. She gets his coffee order wrong, so now he starts yelling at her again, and she finally stands up for herself and like yells back. And Christian fires Neil. A little Uno reversal, if you will. Woo! Bye, bitch. Yeah, see ya. So she's gonna get all done up after her first job, and she's gonna go to the Hellfire Lounge because that's where she her little business card told her to go and ask for Frank. Um, she needs that cash. So she's obviously hired on the spot by the world's biggest creep.

SPEAKER_03 9:58

His name is That's the only person who hires on the spot.

SPEAKER_05 10:01

Yeah. The Hellfire Lounge. Yeah. What bad could happen there? Literally nothing. Nothing. Nothing. So she has her first ship, her first shift, not her ship, first shift at the club. Kate is kind of like the mom of the girls at the club, and we learn that all of the girls that work there are afraid of Frank, the boss. But it's her first night there, and of course, Christian shows up and he's just like staring her down, pretends he doesn't know her, and then he like drills her. Like, why are you working here? Do I not pay you enough money? Um obviously you don't. No, she's been like minimum wage in it for the last however long working under Neil, and you didn't even know she existed until she literally faceplanted into your body today. So right? Rude. Yeah, it's fine. Uh she gets home, she showers, and uh her stalker is in her house. Probably just climbed in through the window. He says, You never thanked me for saving your life. So either get naked or s mighty. So she's like, Well, if that's if those are the options, I'll just drop my towel for you. Uh so she like shows him the goods, and then he's just like, Great. And then he climbs out the fucking window again. Nice dance. Bye. That's what I picture. That's exactly what happens. And then she goes to bed. Yeah. Like she's got narcolepsy where she just like drops dead all the time.

unknown 11:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 11:34

She's working two jobs, okay? She's a tired lady. So next day she's at her big girl job, and she literally walks into Christian again, and he like takes her to his office. And this Batman motherfucker, he owns an orphanage. Um it's the size of a small city. Love it. But he owns an orphanage because Christian is also an orphan. His parents were killed when he was six years old, and he was found sitting in a pool of his parents' blood. Oh. His parents were shot. He is Batman.

SPEAKER_03 12:08

Yes, he is Batman. He is Batman, and he is Dexter, and he is like, this is everyone's origin story.

SPEAKER_05 12:19

This is this book is everything I wanted from like the entire Batman franchise. Yes. I wanted this.

SPEAKER_03 12:25

100%. This is what we were waiting for.

SPEAKER_05 12:27

Also, I wonder if that's where the name came from. Like, is Christian Bale her Batman?

SPEAKER_03 12:33

Maybe.

SPEAKER_04 12:34

Maybe.

SPEAKER_05 12:34

Maybe so yeah. Alina has to arrange basically a field trip to the orphanage. Um, because she's also been promoted to his personal assistant. Uh so she but she, you know, it's just not enough for her. She wants her Elwoods moment. She's gonna be a lawyer one day. One condition to her becoming his personal assistant is she has to quit her job at the Hellfire Lounge.

SPEAKER_03 13:01

So and she, of course, does not like because she's like nah. And he's like, ask her for dinner, and she's like, nah. And it's like, girl, just let him love you. Yes. Just let him love you. Just fall rich and hard on the planet. Right. Give it a try. Give it a try. Just try it out. Try it out. Just try to like him. Just for one day.

SPEAKER_05 13:24

One day. See what's up. Yeah. She already knows the silencer is gonna crawl through her fucking window tonight, but uh, she's gonna tell him all about her encryption because you know what? That seems like a reasonable thing to tell the cat who stock sick.

SPEAKER_03 13:39

Yeah, he's it seems like he would take that well and be like, Well, you know, I thought that you and I were gonna work out. The taser really got me to love you, but you have someone, you got a man? Cool. Neat.

SPEAKER_05 13:52

Um, so she's like I said, he's there. She's like, I'm gonna tell you about this guy. Don't hurt him. I think I like him. And the silencer gives her a small bracelet with like a little silver charm on it, and he tells her, it's a panic alarm. And if you push it five times, I will come to you. And then he fucking climbs out the window. So you can basically assume from like now until the end of this episode, every time he is no longer there, he climbed out a window. He could drive, uh, it's like basically the equivalent of driving scar off the road, but but he's like, Yeah, yeah, just jumps, just scurries down the drain pipe, like real knees bent. And it's like the really slow high, squeaky, like you can, you know, he's wearing like a rubber suit. So it's just like all the way down the drain pipe until he hits the bottom floor. Yeah, because he's like this huge jacked guy.

SPEAKER_03 14:42

Yes, like in rubber. I of course he's wearing rubber. You have to. How can you fight crime if you're not in rubber?

SPEAKER_05 14:51

Exactly. So she has to quit her job at the lounge. Frank is not thrilled. Uh, she's serving him and his friends, and they are humiliating her. Yeah. Frank slaps her ass and then he like forces her to her knees and puts a fucking collar and leash on her. He's a bad man. Oh god. So this is about the turning point in the book where I'm like, this is fun too. I'm not happy anymore. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 15:15

I don't know how I feel. Mine doesn't come yet, but I'll tell you when. No, it just wrote it down.

SPEAKER_05 15:20

This is the starting point for me where I'm like, I don't like this anymore. But I I love it, so I'm not gonna start. Like, I'm not gonna stop reading it. Um, so they cut all of her clothes off with a knife and they force her to work naked for the rest of the night.

SPEAKER_03 15:34

They're bad. They like grope her, they assault her all night. Yes. They kind of deserve to get murdered. I agree. Just saying.

SPEAKER_05 15:43

She yeah, she Tina Belcher runs all the way home. Hell yeah. Cries in her room until her stalker comes through the window and checks on her. And we get our first drain pipe. We get our first like who did this to you moment, and I am here for it. I know that we're supposed to be like I love them. I know we're supposed to be like, damn, Christian, the billionaire. The silencer kills people for you.

SPEAKER_03 16:08

Yeah. He he's like, who hurt you? Yeah. Who did why why are you wearing like because she had to go home in just like some random t-shirt? And he's like, What is that? That's not what you left your house in. That's not like this is not your clothes. And she's like, Oh, someone lent it to me. Like, I had to get home. This is what happened. He's like, Okay, well, let me uh, I'm just gonna go take care of something real quick. What are you gonna take care of? Don't worry about it. Yeah, don't worry about it. He straight up tells her, I'm gonna kill Frank and his friends.

SPEAKER_05 16:36

Yeah. And she's like, you know what? Yeah. She kisses him on the mask because we haven't seen his face. And he tells her, like, oh yeah, I had nerve sensors like built into this thing so he can feel it. That's the fucking weirdest thing I've ever read in a book. I love everything about the book except for that. That's weird to me. So you're telling me when he's getting like the shit kicked out of him when he's in a fight, he can feel it. What's the point? Someone just kicked him in the face.

SPEAKER_03 17:03

Yeah. Okay. You do you, Batman. I don't know why you had to point that out because I thought it was great and I kind of like pictured as like a Spider-Man moment, you know, the upside-down kiss. Like, thanks for saving me. And you had to make it weird. So that's on you. You're the weird one. I do that a lot. Not us. You're the weird one.

SPEAKER_05 17:25

So we get a little. I the one thing I really love about this book is we get so many POVs.

SPEAKER_03 17:29

We get Yes.

SPEAKER_05 17:31

We get her POV, we get the silencers, we get Christians.

SPEAKER_03 17:35

We're gonna meet the executioner. Oh, we're gonna meet the executioner. Oh, there's people so good.

SPEAKER_05 17:41

So, Silencer, he is fucking gunning for Frank and his goons. Uh he likes taking his times with his victims, which I find very attractive in a serial killer.

SPEAKER_03 17:52

Okay, what is his what song is on his playlist? What is his The Silencer? Yeah. What does he have while he's doing his murdering? What song, what is what tracks are he listening to? You know what? I feel like tea swizzle. Oh no, I hope not.

SPEAKER_05 18:26

I really think, oh my god, what's hold on Batman theme songs?

SPEAKER_03 18:31

It's just Batman, yeah, right? Like the entire soundtrack to all of the Batman movies.

SPEAKER_05 18:42

It's like the Lost Boys song, The Cry Little Sister. That's it. But it's just that on a on a loop, but it's the Marilyn Manson version. Yeah, yeah. Just something totally not Taylor Swift.

SPEAKER_04 18:58

Okay, good answer. I'll take that.

SPEAKER_05 19:00

Perfect. So one of these guys is basically unloading a gun on him. Um, he's bulletproof, essentially. Like his body armor literally makes him bulletproof. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 19:10

He also like casually drops that he's six five.

SPEAKER_05 19:14

I would climb this man like a tree.

SPEAKER_03 19:17

Yeah, you would have to. That is a tree. Six five? Are you kidding me? Like, I don't even think I've seen a person this year that was six five. Like and he's scaling up the freaking tree.

SPEAKER_05 19:30

Like a tree in rubber, yes. So he ties all these guys up and he lectures them like Helena is mine. Um, and then he tortures, shoots, and murders them all, which is nice. It's nice. Um, so quick side note here Joe motherfucking Arden does crazy better than anyone. Yeah. When you get that like internal monologue when he is fucking spiraling and it's like a full-blown schizophrenic chef's kiss.

SPEAKER_03 19:59

The first time I encountered it was that sick love. And I was like, yeah, whoa. Yeah. It's like, um, is this guy actually crazy? Like, he's also there's like a line. Welcome to the slaughterhouse gentleman. I would shit.

SPEAKER_02 20:14

Six five.

SPEAKER_05 20:16

So welcome to the case.

SPEAKER_03 20:16

Welcome to the slaughterhouse gentleman. I'm done.

SPEAKER_05 20:19

I don't know why like that does it for me. That's a marriage proposal. I am so in. Whew. Anyways, is it really hot in here? Am I just like so? The next day, they're headed to their orphanage field trip. Um, she's like, oh, she just opens up about shit to anyone who will listen to her, which I agree. Uh, she spills about her dad's first family basically getting murdered. Uh, and he tells her like his Batman story about his parents being murdered.

SPEAKER_03 20:57

I can fix him.

SPEAKER_05 20:58

Yeah, you could. I can. Yeah, I can.

SPEAKER_03 21:00

Um, I'm all that he needs in his life.

SPEAKER_05 21:02

Correct. Yes, I agree. So the silencer comes to the club uh and admits that he killed all of Frank's friends.

SPEAKER_03 21:12

That's nice.

SPEAKER_05 21:13

And she's like, okay, cool, but could you please not hurt Christian? I think I really like him. Like, I like him like him.

SPEAKER_03 21:20

Also, like I like him like him.

SPEAKER_05 21:22

And then a little bit later on, like, Christian's in the club and they bang. Oh. And she tells him what a dirty ass club. I know, like, we just did it, but like I have this stalker. You may have heard of him. He's the Meridian City silencer.

SPEAKER_03 21:36

I think she's like over 60 people at this point. And like we kind of have a thing. Like, he slept over at my house, he climbed up my drain pipe. Yeah. It's pretty casual right now, but I think he watches me sleep. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 21:50

Um, and Christian's like, Yeah, okay. She's like, Well, no, like I'm worried that you're in danger. And he's like, Why don't we just make our relationship official and you'd be my girlfriend, girlfriend?

SPEAKER_03 22:00

He says, like, wanna go steady with me? Like, what a 1960s gentleman. I love it so much. It's that like orphan lingo.

SPEAKER_05 22:09

I love it so much.

SPEAKER_03 22:10

Right? No one ever taught me how to adult, so I just learned it from old like 90s fucking movies.

SPEAKER_05 22:17

Like so Christian outs the relationship at work, buys her a diamond bracelet, lets her drive his McLaren. Love. I'm in love, Matt.

SPEAKER_03 22:28

You're letting me drive your car. You like crazy. We don't know what kind of McLaren, but this is still, even if it's a cheapy, we're talking$400,000 car. Oh, there's some that are McLaren.

SPEAKER_04 22:42

Like Jesus Christ.

SPEAKER_03 22:45

You know what? Stop judging me, okay? This is my boyfriend.

SPEAKER_05 22:50

So he also has his office redone to give her half. So like now they get to work side by side. She has her own space in the office. They break it in, and while they like mid P and V, he slips and like says, Oh, Angel. He calls her Angel. So the silencer up until this point also calls her his angel. Um interesting. Suspie. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 23:16

Suspie.

SPEAKER_05 23:17

So Christian sends her in a car with his credit card. She's gotta go shopping, she's gotta get a fit for their first date, like their first date date as boyfriend, girlfriend.

SPEAKER_03 23:27

She gets a pretty woman herself, okay? Yeah. She gets a big mistake. Big mistake. Huge. Like, man. Yes. Man. That's it.

SPEAKER_05 23:35

Because up until now, she was living off of fucking tap water and instant noodles. Okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 23:40

Right? How much are they paying you at this law for?$15 an hour. Right? Yes. That's what she was making at the beginning of the year.

SPEAKER_04 23:48

$15 an hour.

SPEAKER_05 23:50

I imagine it's like New York, where it's like you get four square feet, um, and that'll be seven thousand dollars a month. Yeah. You shit in the parking lot, and uh, if you get caught, well, that's your own problem.

SPEAKER_03 24:03

Yeah, you gotta pay the fine. We're not paying the fine, and we're gonna pretend like we've been taking care of stuff. So good. Enjoy.

SPEAKER_05 24:10

Exactly. Uh so she's getting ready. Her dad calls her. Um, he's in Texas. He hates that she stayed in Meridian City because that's where his first OG family was murdered. Um, but she's getting ready and she tells him a little bit about her new man, and then they go on their date, which is at a bougie restaurant with some rich, fancy people. And when she goes to the washroom, her old boss, Neil, is there and he puts his fucking hands on her and calls her a hoe. Yeah. So Christian, being the gentleman that he is, yeah, steps in and threatens to kill Neil. And then he breaks his fucking arm.

SPEAKER_03 24:49

This this is the requirement. Yes, this is this is the requirement. Yes, that is what you should be doing. If your man won't do this for you, dump him. Yeah, dump him.

SPEAKER_05 25:00

Um so he's freaking out. He's like super unwell. He says it in like a way that's not directed to her, but he says it and she can hear it, and he says that this is a mistake. Drops her off, and he like fucking speeds out of there. He just like takes her home and dumps her outside, and he's like, gotta go bye. Um but the silencer, this man has impeccable timing. He climbs in through her wheel, scurries up, yeah, scurries up the drain pipe. Sees her sitting there like naked, crying, like drinking and eating a tub of ice cream on the floor.

SPEAKER_03 25:30

What flavor is the ice cream?

SPEAKER_05 25:32

Oh, you know what flavor the ice cream is.

SPEAKER_03 25:34

Is it freshly milked cookies and cream?

SPEAKER_05 25:36

There's no other flavor. That's the only flavors now. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 25:41

Nothing else exists now. Whenever anyone says ice cream, it's always freshly milked common cookies.

SPEAKER_05 25:49

Yeah. Thanks, Bryn. This is your fault. She ruined it for us. Yep. So the silencer, we get a little bit of his POV now. She's like telling him what happened, and he's like, nah, girl, he wasn't talking about you. Don't worry about it. Yeah. She is so drunk that now she's like, you know what? Fuck back up. I'm gonna bang you now. Yeah. Um bad girlfriend.

SPEAKER_03 26:10

But he's a go steady.

SPEAKER_05 26:13

Yeah. He's a murderer. He's not a rapist, so he just like tucks her into bed instead because he's like, you know what, you need some sleep. Um, and before she passes out, she asks him to do him do her favor and just punch Christian.

SPEAKER_03 26:27

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 26:28

Bitch! So, again, we're silence or POV right now, and he is losing his fucking mind. He is having a full-blown Mentivi, and he gives us this dialogue while beating the shit out of Christian. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 26:43

I pace around the humid, steamy room, sweat dripping down my brow and temples dripping off my chin and onto my chest. I have problems. Really big fucking problems. Christian Reeves is one of those problems. He's perfect. He's everything Elena could ever want. Handsome, rich, doting. He'd do anything to see her smile, to see the way those subtle golden flecks in the brown of her eyes sparkle when she's happy.

SPEAKER_05 27:06

Joe Arden does crazy like he is actually certifiable.

SPEAKER_03 27:12

Yes. He he can act. Like, this is a man. I I need to understand his process. We gotta start uh we need to talk with him. This is someone who has questions. We got questions. I have so many questions, and there's a few people who do this, like there's a few narrators that I've seen um do this where they'll kind of like record some of their stuff and then post like the videos of it. I want to see this guy recording like this clip of him fighting Christian. Like I want to, I want to see, does he like I just I have so many questions. I need Joe. If somebody knows Joe, we're gonna try and hit you up. Like, man, I just I I have a lot. I have a lot of questions. A lot. I need I need to know. Uh are you in like theater? What kind of training do you have? Like, how does this happen? I don't know. I just it it blows me away. It is uh it's astounding. Honestly, don't rob yourself the joy of listening to this book. Sorry, Joy. Don't rob yourself the experience. Don't rob yourself the Joe of listening to this book. There we go. Don't rob yourself the Joe of listening to this book.

SPEAKER_05 28:24

Yes. So next morning, she's got a flower delivery, a million texts from Christian apologizing. She's got to work at the clerb. And Christian is there, and he has beat the fuck up. Yeah. And she got a text from the silencer saying, I have a clean shot on your boyfriend's head right now. If you want me to pull the trigger, like you just let me know. And Christian waits for her after her shift, and he drives her home and admits that like the silencer beat him up last night at her request, which she was too drunk to remember. Um and then he takes her home to his estate. Not his house, his estate.

SPEAKER_03 29:04

Just is where marriage will happen, right here.

SPEAKER_05 29:08

That's cool. Um, in the estate, uh, Alina makes she meets Edwin. So he is Christian's godfather. He raised Christian after his parents were murdered. Edwin is like super old. I think he's got like a little bit of dementia. He's very rarely lucid. Christian's in a mood. Like this guy is like whiplash moody.

SPEAKER_03 29:28

Okay, this, this for me, this was the part where I was like, what the hell? Where I was like, I'm not having fun anymore. This was my part where I was like, I'm not having fun anymore. And this is the first time where I actually felt the whiplash from the MMC. And like, in hundreds. I have read hundreds of dark romances and just romance books. And this is the first time where I was like, come on, man. Yeah. Come on, like, grow up. Grow up. Grow up.

SPEAKER_05 29:59

Uh, they go to the orphanage. Caroline, which is one of the kids there that is super drawn to Alina, asks if they can go to the park. Um, they take her, and Alina notices that there's like a barcode tattooed on this child, which means she was like in, I'm assuming, some type of human trafficking.

SPEAKER_03 30:17

Yeah. She's like five years old. And like my heart, I'd be like, yeah, look, let's go right now.

SPEAKER_05 30:24

This is the emotional damage equivalency of getting kicked in the dick with steel tote boots.

SPEAKER_03 30:30

Kicked in the tit, man, with steel tote boots. It hurts. It hurts. Like, it it really. This book, this book does it to you, man. Like, you hurt, you hurt. You hurt the whole time. You're gonna hurt, and then you're gonna feel something, and then you're gonna hurt some more.

SPEAKER_05 30:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:46

And that's it.

SPEAKER_05 30:48

Uh, so Christian asks Elena if she would ever consider fostering a kid together. Remember, they just went public land boyfriend, girlfriend, like two weeks ago. So it's zero to ten thousand in four dates. Um, oh, and they're going to Greece. So yeah. Cool. That's nice. Yeah. I mean, I think it's nice. Yeah. So they get to Greece, and Christian's like bombing her with his thoughts about how much he cares for her. She's everything to him. She's not just some woman, she's the woman.

SPEAKER_03 31:20

Oh, I want to be the woman.

SPEAKER_05 31:22

I want to be the woman in Greece.

SPEAKER_03 31:24

Yeah, I also would like to be the woman in Greece, but I would be the woman in wherever. In in someone's house. I just want to be the woman.

SPEAKER_04 31:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 31:34

Maybe not the woman in someone's house. I don't know. There's a woman. The woman is in my house. Maybe I don't want that. Maybe I want to be the woman in Greece. I take it back. I take it all back. I want to be the woman in Greece.

SPEAKER_05 31:48

Um, so the woman in Greece also, he buys her a yacht, names it after her, and then he admits that he's in love with her, and she doesn't say it back.

SPEAKER_03 31:56

That makes me really sad. And like I am the queen of love bombing or love bombed. I would be in love after a minute. If someone's like, I love you, I'd be like, I love you too.

SPEAKER_04 32:08

Like, I yeah.

SPEAKER_03 32:10

Yeah. I mean it's good that it didn't happen to me, and it's also I'm not that I'm not a writer, because it'd be like, she he said I love you, and I'd be like, and I love you back the end.

SPEAKER_05 32:21

Like I would beat the book. That's why you did not choose that true career path. I've like for sure. I would read every book you wrote. Um I'm gonna start writing. And I would lie to your face and be like, wow, this is your calling.

SPEAKER_03 32:35

And then I would I'm gonna do this to you. I right now am deciding that we're going to do a new segment where it's Charlie wrote this book, and I'm gonna take a book, and as soon as it's like I love you, it'd be like, I love you too. The end. And it's gonna be one chapter. They're gonna be like, it's not even a novella, and we'll be like, it's fine. No. He looked at her and I was like, I am the woman. The end. The end.

SPEAKER_05 33:02

It's a postcard.

SPEAKER_03 33:04

Yeah, stay tuned. These postcards are gonna be really good. You're gonna want to buy these.

SPEAKER_05 33:09

Uh so still in Greece, still on a yacht. Uh, the next morning she tells him, like, I'm so sorry I didn't say it. I will tell you one day. Um I'll give myself to you completely, but it has to be when I'm ready. Which, like, yeah, okay. Pop off. Responsible. Sure. Set some boundaries.

SPEAKER_03 33:29

Yeah, fine.

SPEAKER_05 33:30

Her dad calls her again and gives her shit. First of all, she flew to another country, didn't tell anyone. She's hopping on planes everywhere to but but to visit him and her mom.

SPEAKER_03 33:41

Bro, I'm eating ramen noodles. Let me live. I'm working two jobs. I deserve a break. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 33:47

Um, so after she gets a little lecture from Papa, she goes and screams into a pillow like a petulant child because daddy was mad at her.

SPEAKER_04 33:57

Yeah, right? Block him.

SPEAKER_05 33:59

Like hang up the phone and block him like a regular adult. You're an adult. So that's nice. After this lovely Grease trip, uh, she gets home. She gets to her apartment and she's got an eviction notice on her door. And when she gets into her apartment, the silences is the silencer is in there admitting that he's the reason that she was evicted. So she's like, jerk, big mad. So she fucking attacks him with a kitchen knife. Um, but she's not a fighter. So he duct tapes her mouth shut, zip ties her wrists and ankles, and then leaves her like that all night.

SPEAKER_03 34:33

He's like, think about what you've done. And then it's like, see ya. I know you gotta work two jobs tomorrow. Goodbye. I fear this would also do it for me. In a positive way.

SPEAKER_05 34:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 34:51

Damn. Yeah. Damn. Girls. So he cuts written for you.

SPEAKER_05 34:57

Gets her free in the morning. Like it was only for like 10 hours. Wow. Okay. He gets her free in the morning, and then he forces her to look at him, and he's not wearing his contacts this time. And his eyes are blue. It's a little gift. That was her reward for being a good girl tied up all night. Oh, I guess. Yeah. So she fights him, but he's an actual serial killer, so she is no match for this guy. And uh he tells her, You will love me. She's like, God damn it, we're doing this again. I couldn't even say I love you to my in-real life boyfriend. So when he leaves out the window, uh, she calls the police and they just laugh at her. So she calls Christian and he's like, It's not that big of a deal. Like, just move into my mansion. Um, and then she also tells Christian about what happened and that she called the cops, and he's like, What the fuck did you just say? He's not mad about anything other than the fact that she called the cops. Yeah. Another man tied up your girlfriend and left her like that all night, and you're mad that she called the cops, right? Okay. So the guy who broke your boss's arm for touching you is pissed off that you called the cops on your stalker that tied you up all night. Checks out. Yeah. Um, so she gets to she gets to her new mansion and locks herself in a guest room and has a little pity party. Yeah, she kind of wacky.

SPEAKER_03 36:30

She kind of pouts a lot. She's like, she kind of pouts a lot. Like, don't get me wrong, yeah, your life is like some shit is happening, but I don't know if like pouting about it is the solution for a lot of the things that are happening. I don't think it might be, but I don't think so.

SPEAKER_05 36:46

Um she gets bored of pouting and goes to Christian's room and finds him in the bathroom. He is bleeding, he's talking to himself, he's crying, he's covered in scars. Yeah, so shit. Her name is literally carved into his skin.

SPEAKER_04 37:02

That would do it for me. That's that's where it would do it for me. I would be like, ugh, I'm not gonna do it anymore.

SPEAKER_03 37:10

Gross. But when I was like, whoa, does that say Charlie? I'd be like, oh, I'd be like, that's nice. Who did that? That's okay.

SPEAKER_05 37:18

So what about this part then? What if he was like, look, I gotta tell you something. I was gonna kill myself, and the only thing that stopped me was you screaming for help the day that we met.

SPEAKER_04 37:31

It would do it for me.

SPEAKER_03 37:33

But also, that means he's a silence or disaster, he's a silence disaster.

SPEAKER_05 37:40

And she's like, oh no. So she fucking steals one of his cars and uh heads to the police. I would that's an appropriate response for which is weird because none of her responses to anything traumatic have been appropriate up until this point, where she's like, I gotta get me the fuck out of here.

SPEAKER_03 37:55

Why did you leave? He just saw he carved his name, your name into his skin. Yeah. Does it look good? Probably. Does it look good? Does it look like nice scarification? Or does it look like chicken scratch? And you're like, what does that even say?

SPEAKER_05 38:12

He was a trained scarification professional for.

SPEAKER_03 38:16

Hell yeah, I'm staying. But also, he's the fucking silencer.

SPEAKER_05 38:20

He's the silencer. He's the silencer. You remember when she asked the silencer to beat up Christian? He's the silencer. I'm kicking my own ass.

SPEAKER_03 38:33

He fucking liar, liared himself. Yeah, he did. Holy fuck. Jim Carried beat himself up in the fucking bathroom. Yeah. Yeah. So she hops into an expensive car.

SPEAKER_05 38:46

She is screaming, crying, throwing up. Christian's blowing up her phone, and then she gets absolutely plowed through by an SUV. Um, and just when she thinks her day couldn't get any worse, she wakes up in Frank's office in the Hellfire Lounge. I hate when that happens, man. Honestly. I hate when that happens. So Neil and Frank are big mad that Christian and the silencer want Elena. They're like, man, what do you what do you got that's just so enticing? Pooh nanny. Neil is like, I bought a security company when your boss fired me. And I have video of the silencer asking you to help take down Frank. Busted. You know, big time busted. Busted. Uh so they're gonna blackmail the silencer and they're basically gonna use her as like bait or collateral. She's not smart, but she's smart enough to remember that she has a bracelet with a tracking device. And she pushes it, she pushes a charm on it. So like, think thank God for that. Um, we flip over to the silencer's POV. He's drinking, he's smoking, he's in his feelings. Gavin, who is basically like his right-hand man, it's like his security guy, tells him, There is a fucking major collision with your car. Um, and so he like hops into another vehicle, yeah, races to the scene of the collision. His car is totaled but Alina is gone, and the cops are like, nah, there was no one here when we got here. But his phone is going off with the panic alarm, and she is pinging at the Hellfire Lounge. So, to the Batcave, obviously. Um, he has a basement and it is loaded with weapons and explosives. It's not on like any actual record, it's actually a fucking Batcave. It's a Batcave. This is a Batcave. He makes a fake 911 call that there's like bombs planted near a bridge just to get like all the police away from anywhere near the Hellfire Lounge, and then he fucking rips there, kills all the guards, finds Kate, who's the Klerb mama, and she's like, This is where Alina is, and he finds her on stage. There are bitters. She was about to be sold into like the a slave market, I'm assuming, the flesh trade, but he can't get to her because she is in a bulletproof room, which I had a really hard time visualizing this. I imagine she's like in the center, it's like a completely enclosed, bulletproof thing.

SPEAKER_03 41:13

Like a tube that comes down, like as if it was gonna suck you up and like take you somewhere. Yeah, that's what my brain picture.

SPEAKER_05 41:20

Um, so I imagine this tube, but then all of a sudden, like Frank comes out to the stage. So I don't know, maybe he like tubed down. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 41:28

Yeah, he tubed in as well.

SPEAKER_05 41:30

And Christian, the silencer, cannot break the glass. It is bulletproof glass. Remember, this guy's fucking armed to the teeth. He's got like explosives and shit. This scene is horrific. Yeah, the physical reaction I had to reading this, or this time listening to it, it fucking kills me. Frank comes onto the stage, she's like drugged, she's on the ground, she's naked, and he rapes her in front of him.

SPEAKER_03 42:03

In front of him. He can't do anything about it. He can't get to her. It's gonna get worse.

SPEAKER_05 42:11

Yeah, you thought that this was bad, just wait. Um when Frank finishes, he fucking beats her up. Like, beats her up, and then he's taunting the silencer. He can't get into the room. He's freaking out. Christian bought a vial of something on the dark web. It's supposed to like push the human body to its limits. Could be meth, could be adrenaline, who fucking knows. But desperate times and all that. Maybe he's born with it. Maybe it's methamphetamine. Jesus Christ. He stabs himself and becomes superhuman Batman and smashes his way into the room with Elena. Frank runs. Neil, this stupid idiot, is about to get his shit absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 42:58

Yeah, you are. Why are you here? You know that Meth Batman is gonna rock your shit. Yes, he is. The second I saw Meth Batman show up, I'd be like, I'm out. I'm out. Sorry. Well, I'd be out before that.

SPEAKER_05 43:11

But I am leading out a lot of horrible things from this from this chapter. Because it's horrible. It's fucking horrible. Um, Kate comes, helps dress Elena. Kate Silvan has to take her to the hospital because the silencer can't obviously fucking stroll into a hospital. Um also he has to kill Neil and torch the building. So priorities. Um Yeah, I got shit to do. After he does that, he slow motion walks away from the burning building, um, changes into Christian clothing, and gets to the hospital. And Elena is a wild animal. She is like fending off doctors, she's like armed with a needle, and Christian is like the only person that can calm her down. Uh so she tells Christian what they did to her. And she said that it was all because they wanted to know the name of the silencer and she wouldn't give it to them.

SPEAKER_03 44:06

I would trust this bitch with my secrets. Yeah. Like, girl, it's not that deep. He's six five. He's a six a person who is six five this year. I don't think a lot of people were like didn't know that it was him. Like I think. I think a lot of people were looking the other way because of his money. I don't think that there's a lot of people that are 6'5 and like. Yeah. Yeah. Like, you know, it's like size 14 shoes. Like, you know, I feel like it was gonna happen. Also, yeah, he's been out here murdering and crying. I don't know. Like, he could buy his way out of this, or maybe he couldn't. Who cares? Like, get on a jet and fly somewhere with him and be like, stop, stop murdering.

SPEAKER_05 44:58

Like, just could you just please stop murdering? Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 45:01

I I would not, I would crack. Don't trust me with your secrets. I'm I'm not gonna go through this to keep your like secret crush. Like, I'll tell everybody.

SPEAKER_05 45:12

Yeah, no launch codes for you.

SPEAKER_03 45:14

Yeah.

unknown 45:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 45:15

Uh so that is where we end part one of the book. It is broken up into three parts. Um, we get to part two and we meet the executioner. Uh, quick side note the audiobook. Um, so part two, Joe Arden does this like wild Batman modulator voice. Yes. And it has me fucking dying. Like, I know we just finished like one of the most horrific chapters ever written in any book ever. And then this like this bad Batman impression comes on, and I'm like, oh, okay, so we're just back to having a nice time again. You're like, this is enjoyable. I'm happy now. Yeah. Uh so Elena wakes up in the hospital, she's got three broken ribs, a concussion, glass shards stabbed into her leg. Mom and dad are on the way, Christian's in the room. Um, she keeps reliving this essay in her mind, and Christian tells her, like, Neil suffered, but Frank got away. So Dad shows up. He is not happy about Christian. He gives him the like, have we met before? Lots of glaring, lots of like scoffing. Mama shows up. Alina fills her parents in on little bits and pieces of her life from the day that the silencer and her met and how she got this job at this creep club. And uh Alina tells Christian, Christian, she was on her way to sell him out to the cops when she was taken.

SPEAKER_03 46:39

Which, like, god damn, girl, I thought I could trust you. I thought I could trust you, right? You were gonna tell the cops, but then you wouldn't tell these people?

SPEAKER_05 46:50

Like why? Make it make sense because she wants that bag, baby. She wants that million-dollar paycheck. He's a billionaire. He gave you a yacht.

SPEAKER_03 47:00

He's a billionaire, right? Like, duh. He said he loved you. His love's not that fickle. He'll forgive you.

SPEAKER_05 47:06

It's fine. Yeah. So Christian tells her, like, the silencer and I, we are two people. We're stuck in one body, and I cannot escape him, which is honestly so fucking sad.

SPEAKER_04 47:15

It it's so sad.

SPEAKER_05 47:17

Yep. So she gives him like this ultimatum. Give up the silencer.

SPEAKER_03 47:21

He's like, Which, like, girl, you shouldn't give ultimatum.

SPEAKER_05 47:24

No.

SPEAKER_03 47:24

You gotta accept people for who they are. In all serial killers at all. Yeah, yeah. Girl, these are words to live by. Yeah, six five. Say less. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 47:40

Size 14 shoes. Yeah. You know what they say.

SPEAKER_04 47:43

You know what he's packing? I don't know. Some heat.

SPEAKER_05 47:46

Some heat. Okay. It's fine. So Christian brings the in-laws and Elena to the mansion. She asks for the room furthest from him, which is like such a kick in the dick. Uh, he goes to the bathroom and he's self-harming badly. Which, like, it breaks my fucking heart, man. So sad. Yeah. So her dad admits that he briefly knew Christian's dad. And that's all he says. Yeah, I knew your dad. I knew Thomas. Um Elena's losing her mind. She needs Christian, but she absolutely hates that she needs him. She needs therapy. Yeah. Yeah. The longest thing. And her mom's the therapist.

SPEAKER_03 48:22

Yeah. Her mom's the therapist. Like.

SPEAKER_05 48:24

Mm-hmm. Uh, so she she wants to leave with her parents, and Christian's like, no, and she's like, yeah. And he puts a gun to his head and makes her tell him that she will stay. The foundation of a happy, healthy relationship.

SPEAKER_03 48:43

Yeah, it's a bold move. It's a bold move. You gotta really hope for that yes. You gotta really believe you're getting that yes. Because if you're not, I don't know. I uh it's a move. It's a move. It's a choice.

SPEAKER_05 48:59

Um, so Edwin scares the shit out of her in the kitchen. She's she's up late one night, and he's uh he tells her, like, I know you are, and so he's like super coherent this time. And when she asks him if she wants him to get Christian, he's like, no, no, he's probably out shooting people. So obviously she's like, Pardon? What do you mean? You know? And he's like, Yeah, I fucking know. But I usually just pretend not to be lucid around him, so he has someone to talk to, and he has someone to confide in, so he's not like bearing that weight all on himself. Pardon me? Edwin, my heart.

SPEAKER_04 49:38

You should be telling these things to people. Like, yeah. It's so sad.

SPEAKER_05 49:43

Edwin goes on to tell Alina, I found Christian suicide note the night that he saved you. When he came home that night, he told Edwin he found his guardian angel. Which is why the silencer calls her his eighth angel. Oh god. Oh my god. The girl's fired, so she goes to sleep, but she sleeps in Christian's room, so we're making progress. Next day, hell yeah. Christian shows Elena the video. So he has like a camera in his mask, um, and he shows her the video from the night that he was going to kill himself, and now that she's experienced the exact moment that she saved his life. Uh, she's like, Okay, well, I'm still going home with my parents tomorrow. Um, don't hurt yourself. Bye. Tina Belcher runs out of the room.

SPEAKER_01 50:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 50:29

Uh so he writes her this like absolutely heartbreaking letter.

SPEAKER_03 50:34

And uh he's not gonna let her go. A man emitting his feelings, man. I'm weak. All's forgiven. It's cool.

SPEAKER_05 50:41

That's what that's all it takes.

SPEAKER_03 50:43

That's like a man getting into his feelings with you. Yeah. He'd be like, I like you. That's all he writes.

SPEAKER_05 50:49

I you matter, and I'd be like, oh, okay, okay, thank you. So they break it to mom and dad that Elena's not going to be going back home. And Papa tells Christian that what happened to Elena is Christian's fault. Dad is pissed. He tells Christian, I will be damned before I let another Reeves tear apart my family again. You remind me so much of Thomas, and I wonder if you will end up with a bullet in your chest, too. Like, fuck, dad. What the hell?

SPEAKER_03 51:19

It's a little harsh for a first visit. What the hell is even that? It's a little harsh. A little harsh.

SPEAKER_05 51:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 51:27

You could have been nicer. You could have put it a lot nicer.

SPEAKER_05 51:31

No. Just saying. It's not Elliot style, okay? Yeah. Uh so Elena still cannot handle being touched. Fair. Uh, and she decides she's gonna start studying again. She's obviously not like doing anything productive. Um, she's annoying. So she's like, I got all this free time. I'm gonna start studying again. So she's gotten into the study routine, she starts to get back to her normal self, despite everything that she went through. She pops into Christian's private gym where he is getting drugged. Um all his self-harm scars are on full display. And she's like, Wow, that's sad. Would you like to come to Thanksgiving at my family's house? You know. She seems like a really good conversationalist.

SPEAKER_03 52:19

All right. Let's just break the ice. Thanksgiving's coming. Do you want to go to my parents' house? Yeah. Like, okay. Come on. Let's go.

SPEAKER_05 52:28

You got that private jet.

SPEAKER_03 52:30

Right? We could get there, my guy. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 52:32

Could you wear long sleeves though? Like, that's a lot to explain to mom and dad. Um, Frank is still out in the wind. We don't know where the fuck Frank is. He's out.

SPEAKER_03 52:43

They go to their her her pair. It's that her parents'. Oh, yeah. They fly to Texas for Thanksgiving. His parents are not around. They go to her pairs for for Thanksgiving.

SPEAKER_05 52:55

Um they get to mom and dad's. I forget how crazy book wild Americans go for Thanksgiving.

SPEAKER_03 53:03

Okay. Our goal for 2026, we gotta get invited to an American Thanksgiving. I want whatever that sweet potato pie is.

SPEAKER_05 53:13

Oh my god, I think about sweet potato pie like once a week. I've never had this in my life. And me neither. Canadians don't have it.

SPEAKER_03 53:20

But it looks so and I don't know if it's savory or if it's sweet. It's a sweet potato and it's topped with marshmallow, isn't it?

SPEAKER_05 53:29

I think so.

SPEAKER_03 53:30

But I've had sweet potatoes. There's marshmallows on it.

SPEAKER_05 53:36

If you're American and you want two weirdos crashing your family Thanksgiving dinner. Yes, email us at smut syndicate at gmail.com.

SPEAKER_03 53:44

But also if you don't want us at your American Thanksgiving, but you can describe the sweet potato pie to us. Is it sweet or is it savory? Because like meat pie is savory.

SPEAKER_05 53:56

Do you guys eat meat pie in the States? That's another question I have. Do you know what a meat pie is, or are we getting too Canadian? Right?

SPEAKER_03 54:05

Just send me a picture of your Thanksgiving dinner and describe what each item tastes like. Yeah. This we need to know. Inquiring minds want to know. Smudsyndicate at gmail.com. This is really important stuff. This is important stuff.

SPEAKER_05 54:18

Um, so we finally meet her brother Travis. Yeah, I forgot she had a brother. She does, and they're very close. Um, everyone's dicks are blown by the fact that Christian is a billionaire. Like they knew this guy was big money, but billionaire with a B.

SPEAKER_03 54:33

Um I would be blown away if I met a millionaire with an M. Like, who really? I'd be blown away if I met someone who said, I have a thousand dollars. I'd be like, damn, look at this big dog.

unknown 54:46

Like.

SPEAKER_05 54:47

So Papa and Christian are outside having a smoke and a drink together, and Dad gives him a file folder with the fully unredacted version of Diana Young's murder. Which Diana Young is his first wife, his first family. And the first line says, Thomas Reeves admitted to the murder of Diana, Lisa, and Mary Young. He was taken into custody for first degree murder. Okay. So I think it makes sense why her dad fucking hates Christian.

SPEAKER_02 55:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 55:18

Because his dad murdered his whole family.

SPEAKER_03 55:21

The twists just keep on coming, man. Like this book is just twist after twist after twist.

SPEAKER_05 55:27

And it's always in like the most inconspicuous timing, like Thanksgiving dinner.

SPEAKER_03 55:31

Yeah. What a great time for us to relive these beautiful moments in life.

SPEAKER_05 55:37

I feel like this is exactly when these conversations would happen.

SPEAKER_03 55:40

Yeah. This is well, especially for Americans, because from what I've learned from TikTok, so these are facts. Obviously. People seem to have a lot of aggressive, real family conversations at like Christmas and Thanksgiving.

SPEAKER_02 55:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 55:58

Like it seems like a lot of people's lives just blow up right around this. Which is wild. Which again, if you want two Canadians at your family Thanksgiving, smut syndicate at gmail.com. We're we're down to clown, man. I would love to watch your family just hash out old murders and, you know, like really whatever other sneaky secrets you're keeping.

SPEAKER_05 56:23

I love sneaky secrets. Um, so Christian, you know, he doesn't really know what to do with that information, but it does kind of jog something in his memory from when he was a child, and he remembers the night that his parents were murdered and comes to the realization that Elena's dad killed his parents.

SPEAKER_04 56:42

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 56:45

So he does what anyone would do in that situation, and he puts a gun to the guy's head.

SPEAKER_03 56:49

It uh they just don't stop coming, man. They just don't. Every time I think that I know what's going on, I know nothing. You know nothing. You know nothing, Jon Snow. I know nothing. Like, I know nothing.

SPEAKER_05 57:04

Um, Christian knows that Elena would never forgive him if he killed her father, which like yeah. This was the plot twist of all plot twists. Um So her dad says, you can never tell her. Um, and now that they've just had this nice little chat, it's like time to go in and eat dinner with the whole family.

SPEAKER_03 57:23

Sweet potato pie is ready. Let's go get some. Holy shit.

SPEAKER_05 57:27

Holy shit.

unknown 57:30

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 57:32

Elena wakes up the next morning and she's like, oh my god, my left hand is so heavy. So heavy. She's got an engagement ring on her finger, and she says, if you give me time and ask me properly, I'll say yes. And then she like gives back the ring.

SPEAKER_03 57:47

And he like says, like, like, let me, or she says to him, like, let me see under your scars. And number one, it's really great. But I love when the name of the book is in the book. It just that is my crack. That's yeah, oh, get that straight in my veins. It feels mad. That's all my books that I'm writing, that's all it's gonna be. It's just the title, and it's just gonna be 10 pages of the title over and over again. Just straight to my veins. Yeah. Yeah, pretty much. Pretty much. So get ready. These books, they're gonna be hitting shelves like tomorrow. Yeah, because I could uh copy and paste the whole thing, so it's gonna be good.

SPEAKER_05 58:32

Yeah, sounds excellent. Um, so Elena gets into it with her dad, and she's an adult, so honestly, like the most appropriate response for an adult who's arguing with their parent is to Tina Belcher run away into their childhood tree house. I cannot with this fucking girl, man.

SPEAKER_03 58:52

She knew to go to the cops, but anytime she has to have like a hard conversation, she's just like, I gotta go. I gotta go. I'm out of here. Like, girl, your mom's a therapist. She didn't tell you any coping mechanisms.

SPEAKER_05 59:06

Like, okay, number one. So Elena tells her brother about how she thinks that there's more to the history with her dad and Christian's dad.

SPEAKER_04 59:15

There is a lot more.

SPEAKER_05 59:17

You just wait, Elena. You just wait.

SPEAKER_04 59:20

You don't even know.

SPEAKER_05 59:21

Thanksgiving is over. They're gonna head home. On the plane, Elena's like, Christian, what did my dad tell you? Like, tell me about your guys' history. And he's like, nothing, don't worry about it. Um I obviously can't tell her because there's no communication in books.

SPEAKER_03 59:35

Do you know what I went through so that we could like do you know what I went through to keep your secret? And you can't tell me this secret? This relationship is not even, my guy.

SPEAKER_05 59:50

No, and like we do, we think that she's healing because she has these moments of like super normalcy where she's like, Yeah, everything is so great. I'm studying, I'm gonna be a lawyer. And then she runs away. It turns out she like hid in a closet for two days, cut her wrist, had to be hospitalized for a bit, so she's not doing great.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:08

Um, you could say she's doing bad.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:11

That is a that is what I would say.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:12

Yeah, that is what bad looks like.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:15

Yeah. Uh so it's Travis and Travis is a brother, Travis and husband's wedding day. And mama tells Christian she knows everything. I know everything about the history between your dad, between Elliot. I know it all, but I still accept you. That is a good fucking mom. That's a good fucking mom. But also might be the first book we've read where the mom doesn't make you want to eat a bullshit.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:39

Normally the mom is the bad guy. Yeah. So this is a good mom, but also, like, I hate to say, okay, I would be more upset that Elliot killed two people. Like, because at this point, you don't know that Christian, like, she doesn't know that Christian is the silencer, she just knows that he was a six-year-old boy that has parents' murder moment by your husband. I mean, she's like my husband's out here killing people, and he didn't serve any time, or like I accept you. It's why she talked to the husband. Because his whole family was murdered first.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:16

And two runs always make a right.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:18

That you know what? My bad, my bad. That is correct.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:22

It's okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:23

My bad.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:24

So we're at the wedding. Christian tries to just like be the bigger man, make some peace with Elliot, and Elliot's like, fuck you, and throws a drink in his face.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:33

What a bitch.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:34

In front of like everybody in the reception.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:36

At a wedding, I'd be like, hello.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:38

You just throw a drink in a billionaire's face. This guy. He has to like move a chair over to throw the drink in his face. You know what? Every time I picture Elliot, I picture him as like five foot six, long blonde mullet, beard, a red neck.

unknown 1:02:06

What?

SPEAKER_05 1:02:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:08

I picture him as like Mr. Weatherby from like the Archie comics.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:15

Okay, short bulb.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:18

Either way, it's not doing anything for me.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:20

It's not doing good. He pulls the chair over and then climbs up on it, grabs his drink while he steadies the throws in Christian's face. Yes.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:33

Yeah, like that. That's what happens. Which I love. Um Christian waits for his moment, waits until Elliot's out of the room, and then he slams this motherfucker right into a wall and he tells him, I'm not going anywhere, and you gotta back off. And Elliot's like having nom flashbacks. Yeah. And he calls Christian Thomas. So he is like full Looney 2 now. He is fully regressed into his PTSD. He doesn't even know that Christian is Christian. He is fully convinced that Christian is his father. Uh, when they get home, Christian finds out that Edwin also knew the T and didn't say anything.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:06

So, like, yeah, all these fucking boomers who created damn secrets to themselves, leaving us millennials to deal with the problems. Ha. Sounds like familiar. Yeah. Sounds like life. But also, okay, so bro, you're like fully regressing. You know what would be so helpful is if you knew a therapist. Oh, that's right. You've been married to one for decades. Why don't you tell her? You see something, say something. Like, just say something.

SPEAKER_05 1:03:39

Yeah. Uh Elena's blown up her dad's phone. He won't answer her texts, calls, nothing. Like he has fucking ghosted her. He has completely dissociated from the family here.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:49

Yeah. Asshole.

SPEAKER_05 1:03:50

It is now Christmas Eve. Also, I forget that Thanksgiving is a different time in the States than it is in Canada. I'm like, how much time has passed?

SPEAKER_03 1:03:57

Right? How did this jump? It's like, no, they're tight. It's so close together.

SPEAKER_05 1:04:01

It's so close together. Um, so Christian doesn't do gifts. He's an orphan, okay? He has trauma.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:04:06

Uh, but Elena's like, why don't you go put a suit on and then just like come on downstairs? And he's like, what the fuck? Okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:13

So he does, and there's babes.

SPEAKER_05 1:04:15

Okay, there's a trail of roses. She's in a white dress, and she tells him, Ask me properly. They love each other forever. And then he's like, I also got you a gift. It's a McLaren. So I think they're even. Yeah. That's how I think that's how that works. Hello.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:35

I am Worth a McLaren. They are.

SPEAKER_05 1:04:39

Don't you even don't you let anyone tell you otherwise either.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:45

Then we get, now we're in part three. Yeah. So they go get married.

SPEAKER_05 1:04:53

Well, maybe. Maybe. They go to the courthouse. They go to the whorehouse. The whorehouse. The whole house. They go to the whole house. Dad's still screening Alina's calls and text.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:03

Stop calling him. Block him. Fucking reverse Uno him. That's what I think.

SPEAKER_05 1:05:08

They're at the courthouse, not for marriage. For adoption.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:14

Zero to a thousand with these two. We've known each other for four weeks.

SPEAKER_05 1:05:18

Four weeks. So Caroline, the little girl that is obsessed with them from the orphanage, writes a cute little note about how much she loves them, and that's enough to just like solidify an adoption through the court star. Yeah. Right? I feel like it works real quick. Perfect. That's exactly what you're a billionaire. It doesn't matter. Everything, everything you get because you want. So Christian Elena had a courthouse wedding, they adopted a kid, went to Disneyland since Christmas.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:44

This is why I need to not be with someone who's impulsive because all of this would be like, This sounds great. This is good. This is healthy. We should do all of this. Like super normal.

SPEAKER_05 1:05:56

100%. This is how you be an adult. So another part of The uh adoption process was that Christian also had to take in anger management. Um, so Elena and Christian are kind of shit parents. Like, this kid is gonna be so spoiled, there's no rules. She's like also really for dinner.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:14

If her dad's the richest man in the world, who gives a shit?

unknown 1:06:18

Like, who gives a shit?

SPEAKER_03 1:06:19

That's the problem. That's the problem. Who gives a shit? It's awful. I'm also the problem.

SPEAKER_05 1:06:26

It's yeah, yeah. So Alina is like reading the newspaper and she sees like front page. Christian's still murdering people because there was like a silencer killing.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:36

He might not be the best husband because he's been like giving her sleeping pills at night so he can go out and murder.

SPEAKER_05 1:06:44

But I would have bad about eight hours of uninterrupted sleep and a child.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:50

Yeah, sure. And like, I I don't know. I I'd let him do it. I'd let Dexter do this. Like, it really doesn't seem like I might be the problem. I think I don't see a problem.

SPEAKER_05 1:07:00

I don't see a problem either. Um, but this specific murder was not him. He is like, someone is staging murders as the silencer. Christian heads to his office, and there's a really nice surprise waiting for him. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:13

Nice, I don't know. There's a surprise.

SPEAKER_05 1:07:15

Two people dead with paper name tags stapled to their bodies. They're dressed up as his deceased parents. Um, and the name tags on it is Thomas and Elizabeth Reeves. So he goes outside, pukes his fucking guts out, and then calls the cops. Ovi. Ovi. Of course. Um so they're outside. Christian's finished writing his witness statements, and then he gets shot. It is a shit show. Everything about this part happens so fast. Everyone is freaking out. Christian's.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:46

There is so much crazy shit happening. Like, we left a lot of stuff out. Again, don't rob yourself the joy. The excitement, the entertainment, the understanding, the all of the above. Read the book. Like, there is just there is so much that happens at this time. So much. It we could write a whole other book on what happens in these five chapters. Like, it is just hit after hit after hit.

SPEAKER_05 1:08:12

Like, oh yeah. It is it's just, I have no words. It is so fucking well done. Um, Christian's been in the hospital for eight days. He was clinically dead for three minutes. He's in a coma. Elena tells the doctor, Tomorrow's the day. We're gonna pull the plug. Yeah, that was quick.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:30

Like eight days and you give up. She's like, you know what? It's time. It's time. Well, tomorrow comes. I gotta live my life.

SPEAKER_05 1:08:39

Yeah. Tomorrow comes. Elena tells Caroline, okay, say goodbye to daddy. And as the doctor's like reaching for the fucking plug, he's like, surprise.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:50

Gotcha, bitch.

SPEAKER_05 1:08:52

He wakes up.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:54

That would also if I saw someone lean into the plug and I woke up, I'd be like, we're gonna have a very serious conversation when we get home. Like, very serious. I am very upset with you.

SPEAKER_05 1:09:08

Like, uh also, Lee Daniels does like the emotional roller coaster that is Elena so well. So I will punch her 95% of the time, but the other 5%, I'm like, fuck yeah, this girl, she's doing it.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:25

She would know that's when you get someone who like when you get some of these like crazy good narrators, but also incredible words that an author has written, and you get like this frickin' mix stew of soupy book goodness, man, it just makes you so excited. Like you honestly, you feel like you're watching a movie, but it's all in your brain. It's like it's just good. It feels good, it feels real.

SPEAKER_05 1:09:53

It feels so good. So they've been home from the hospital for a few days. Um, it sounds like he just wanted like a little break from life in faked a coma, if I'm being honest.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:02

I'm gonna take a coma.

SPEAKER_05 1:10:03

You should. You should. I hope you don't have to get shot for that, but you should. Um, you know what?

SPEAKER_03 1:10:09

You gotta do, you gotta do what you gotta do.

SPEAKER_05 1:10:11

Of course. Alina hasn't spoken to her father for months. He didn't show up for her wedding, didn't come to meet their adopted child, didn't come to the hospital, and her husband was shot.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:19

Oh, you know what? That's rude. Because when I got married, I only gave my parents two weeks' notice and they still made it happen. So you know what?

unknown 1:10:27

Yeah, you know what?

SPEAKER_04 1:10:28

Unacceptable dick. Yeah. He's a dick.

SPEAKER_05 1:10:32

Yeah. Uh silencer POV here. Christian is big mad that he can't work out after getting shot. Yeah. My brother in Christ. Okay. You were shot.

SPEAKER_04 1:10:42

Right?

SPEAKER_05 1:10:42

Hello. Shot. So Gavin brings up one day, like, hey, do you know uh Catherine McGuinness? And he's like, Oh yeah, that Kate girl. She's uh friends with Alina. They used to jam out with their clams out at the Hellfire Lounge.

SPEAKER_04 1:10:57

And yeah, that's what they did. And yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:11:06

Uh Gavin makes a really good point and says, Didn't you like pay her off before? If she can be bought once, she can be bought again, and she would sell Elena out to Frank in a fucking heartbeat. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:20

He didn't say that. I wouldn't have thought that.

SPEAKER_05 1:11:22

Like, as soon as like reading that, I'm like, Sir, you are correct. I have trust issues. As soon as like there's like a girl that comes and she's like nice, I'm like, that's the villain. Why are you being nice? Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:35

I have trust is in the sense that I trust everyone. That's I'm the trust issues. Someone's like, I want to be your friend, and I'm like, okay, yeah, why wouldn't you? I'm great. Like, I have the opposite. I need to gain some trust in issues.

SPEAKER_05 1:11:51

Yeah, you do. Um, so Christian straight up forbids Elena from seeing Kate. And she slaps him uh and throws this in his face. She says, Did you forget that I let two men rape me to protect you?

unknown 1:12:05

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:12:06

Girl. They fight like gingers.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:09

Like, I don't know how they aren't gingers because they fight like wild fucking animals, and this is ginger stuff.

SPEAKER_05 1:12:18

They're like one comment away from that atomic wenchie.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:24

Like they they just get so vicious, and like the stuff that they say, you almost have to like you wish that you could shake the book and be like, guys, this is not a healthy relationship. I know if you know, but we might not be doing things right. Your mom's a therapist. Your mom's the therapist. Call her up.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:46

Get some problem-coping mechanisms, girl.

unknown 1:12:49

Right?

SPEAKER_05 1:12:50

Throwing that shit into his face. Yeah. He does everything for you. He kills people for you. He supports your entire life. Yeah. I wouldn't be saying that shit. That's mean. He told you he wants to kill himself multiple times. You don't think this guy walks on eggshells every day? He's working a fine line. And you're like, Do you remember that time?

SPEAKER_03 1:13:10

Yeah, do you think that's a good one? Do you remember when that happened? And I did that for you. I don't know if you can say that kind of stuff. You might know. You should get therapy. Yes. Like something. Or read a dark romance book.

SPEAKER_05 1:13:21

Girl, there's things. You got options. Um, so she gets a letter with a mugshot of Christian and a bullseye drawn onto his face. Dark. Um, weird, but like mom and dad show up, and yeah, dad. Dad, the dad who has been ghosting her for months shows up. You didn't come to my wedding. And Caroline is just like, Hi, I'm five and I live here, and this is my mom and dad. I've never met you, but you're my grandpa. We're best friends, right? Yeah. So they go, and Christian's like, yeah, I invited them. You have been working and studying and taking care of the baby and myself, and you need a break.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:56

And I was in a little coma, so I really wasn't doing a lot while I was having my naps.

SPEAKER_05 1:14:01

You said that really mean thing to me the other day, and like I just need some time. So yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:14:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:14:12

So Elliot kind of apologizes, but it's like in a really inauthentic boomer kind of way. And later that day, Christian shows Elena his back cave. She is.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:26

Would you be happy or unhappy if someone showed you their back cave?

SPEAKER_05 1:14:30

Very happy.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:31

Yeah, me too. I'd be like, you know, you know how I was like not sure about us, and then we went through this whole like whirlwind. I want to get divorced to get married again because I need to show you how much I truly love you. Like that, oh, I would be losing my mind. Also, why didn't she ask to see the Bat Cave day one? She didn't know it existed.

SPEAKER_05 1:14:52

It's in a hidden, there's a button in a bookshelf, and then it's like into the cave.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:57

Okay, if I moved into a mansion the first day that he went to work, I would be grabbing everything. I'd be checking stuff.

SPEAKER_05 1:15:06

I'd be this exact thing was written in the book that she tried.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:11

She couldn't find it. Oh, yeah, that's great. Okay. My bad. My bad, bro. My bad, bro.

SPEAKER_05 1:15:16

Yes. They head down to that cave. They're doing some hanging and banging, and she makes him like fully suit up as the silencer.

SPEAKER_04 1:15:24

Hell yeah, I would.

SPEAKER_05 1:15:25

And then he she makes him put a gun to her head while they do it.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:30

Uh, that escalated quickly.

SPEAKER_05 1:15:33

These two give me fucking whiplash. Like they hate each other, but they can't be with anyone else. And they love each other.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:41

It's just it's good for them to be together because they cross each other out for everybody else in the world.

SPEAKER_05 1:15:48

But it's bad for me that they're together. Yeah, it's it's it's a thing.

SPEAKER_04 1:15:53

It's a thing.

SPEAKER_05 1:15:54

Yeah, so they head back to the office since the dead people stages, Christian's parents, um, and Christian getting shot happened. So it's been a while. Uh, but they're back. They are big time behind on billionaire business. So they got some work to do. And then Kate shows up to the office one day and she looks guilty. And she admits, I still work for Frank. Frank. Like, she knows what happened. She knows what Frank did to Elena. Yeah. Because she's the one that took her to the hospital. And you're still working for him. Also, kind of sidebar.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:29

Your friend married a billionaire, and you obviously need money, right? Why wouldn't you ask your friend to like maybe give you some scratch?

SPEAKER_05 1:16:39

Because she just wants to be Frank's girl. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:42

I guess. Like, oh yeah, because that is true. She does kind of tell us about like when she started working for Frank. Yeah. She just Kate, I don't know, everything's exciting.

SPEAKER_05 1:16:53

Everything Kate does, she says is in exchange for her sister's safety.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:16:58

Um, so that's another deal she makes with Christian. Keep my sister safe. And in exchange for that, I will sell out Frank's location. He's been in hiding, but I know where he is.

SPEAKER_04 1:17:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:17:06

He's like, yeah, I'll make that deal any day. Caroline, Bethany, which is Elena's mama, they're all chatting about babies in the kitchen with Gavin, and then three gunshots go off. And one of them hits Gavin. And there's the silencer. But it's not the Christian silencer. It's the man who shot Christian. Damn! So not good.

SPEAKER_03 1:17:33

Not good.

SPEAKER_05 1:17:34

Uh so we pop over to the silencer POV. The real silencer, not this imposter.

SPEAKER_04 1:17:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:17:41

The panic alarm is going off. Uh, Christian Security has been shot. He rents the kitchen. He's still dressed as the silencer. And Elena has been taken by this imposter silencer. Mama's freaking out. Caroline's hiding in a cabinet. Mom is gonna take Caroline. Christian kills Gavin for not keeping Elena safe. This part of the book was like, what do you mean? Oh he goes to Gavin and he says, I'm gonna make this quick for you and fuck him shoots him in the head.

SPEAKER_03 1:18:11

Yeah, he's like, I I told you what would happen if you if like something ever happened to Elena again.

SPEAKER_05 1:18:17

And it's just like the saddest. The saddest part about that is Gavin was in the kitchen talking to the girls about how Christian just sent him, like finalized all of his like paid for vacation for him and his family.

SPEAKER_03 1:18:30

And he's been like the whole time, you know, when he was like, Oh, I could put you on vacation or you know, give you extra money. He's like, sir, I'm just happy to like do this job, bro. You should have quit.

SPEAKER_05 1:18:42

Gavin to Christian is Barry to Kate, and it fucking breaks my heart. It hurts. It does.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:48

It hurts.

SPEAKER_05 1:18:50

Yeah. I think that was like the character I was the saddest of. So Christian, he is on a rampage because this fake silencer took his wife. He tracks down Kate and smashes her fucking face off of the cement, ties her up, punches her in the face, and then stabs her in the leg and breaks her arm. She deserved it. Uh, 100% she did. So the man that dresses up as the silencer is described as being older, he's got gray hair, average build, and that's all she gives him. And then Christian slits her throat. And I have to say, Lee Daniels doing the scene where Kate gets killed. Holy shit. Holy shit.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:34

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:19:36

It's so good. It's good. It's so good. Listening to her like gurgle. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:19:41

Her last words, I was like, oh god, somebody just died.

unknown 1:19:44

Right? Like.

SPEAKER_03 1:19:46

That is acting. Oh man. Like she is so good at what she does. So good. They are so good. Like, uh read the book. Because I the first time that I encountered this book. Sidebar. No. We'll do that sidebar at the end. Okay. This was the second time that I had gone into this book and I listened to it, and it was a whole new experience.

SPEAKER_05 1:20:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:20:11

True new experience.

SPEAKER_05 1:20:12

Yeah. Um, so Elena's been drugged, she's been brought to a hotel room. The silencer that kidnapped her, he comes in and he's like, I did this because I'm gonna save you.

SPEAKER_03 1:20:22

Not good.

SPEAKER_05 1:20:23

Um, and to prove he's a good guy at this point to her, he also brings in Frank. Frank is tied up and the silencer hands her gun, and she doesn't kill either of them. Uh instead, she's like, I'm gonna have a little nap. Okay. Yeah, I'm tired. She wakes up and she like turns the TV on in the hotel. She sees like the city's a war zone, everything's on fire, shit is we've like went full Gotham, and she's waiting for the silencer to come back, and Frank has chewed through his restraints, and he comes at her, and she has to stab him in the head with a glass shard, and that's when the silencer comes in and blows Frank's brains out.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:05

Man, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:21:08

So it's just not a great day for her.

SPEAKER_04 1:21:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:21:11

Um, it's been a full 24 hours since Alina was kidnapped. The silencer's POV here. He's like, fuck, I still have a kid. Like, Christian realizes, like, oh yeah, I adopted that human being.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:24

There's like stuff that I'm supposed to be doing.

SPEAKER_05 1:21:27

Yeah. So he's like, I I don't have time for you. Like, my wife is missing. I gotta find her. He sends her into the kitchen to go eat some ice cream for dinner, and then his guards come running in and they are carrying Alina. She is fucked up, she's all bloody, she's beaten up, but she's alive. And Alina tells Christian, Frank was the one that did this to her, but he is now dead. So that's nice.

unknown 1:21:53

Ooh.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:21:55

So it's been some time. Elliot finally shows up and he looks like shit. Like he's described in the scene. He's like grey, he's all like covered up with layers, and he's he was apparently away dealing with a work emergency, and no one has seen him since the morning Elena was taken.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:13

Sus.

SPEAKER_05 1:22:14

Elliot's like, Oh, it looks like you have a glass wound. Let me stitch that up for you. And she's like, How did you know it was from glass? And he's like, I'm the best plastic surgeon in the world. I just know. And it's also at this time where Elliot admits that he has stage four cancer and it is spread to his brain, and he will probably die in a month.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:33

Like, what? Give this girl a fucking break. I don't know if you know, dad, but like 2026 was supposed to be my year. And you're just a billionaire with a lot of fucking bombs on me. I got married, went to Disneyland, like I've got a child. Like also, you've been avoiding me for months. You couldn't have told, like, we could have we wasted time that we could have spent together. You're a dick. Like, you a dick.

SPEAKER_05 1:23:02

So they talk about what happened when she was taken. She tells him that, like, after Frank, she attacked the silencer, she bit him, she scratched him, she beat him up with like a dress or drawer, and then she stabbed him five times in the gut. And she's like telling him, like, I did this because I knew I was gonna die, and I wanted them to find my DNA on him or his DNA on me. That was fucking dark. And yeah, so she at this point thinks that she killed this imposter. She stabbed him in the gut five times.

unknown 1:23:37

Damn.

SPEAKER_05 1:23:38

Like, oh, I just I don't I think about getting stabbed all the time, and I think that would be awful.

SPEAKER_03 1:23:44

I don't know if you should be thinking about that all the time.

SPEAKER_05 1:23:47

But they had to be so much in the book's weird. I'm like, what if that's me?

SPEAKER_03 1:23:51

I I don't think mine is like la la la la la la. Mine shuts. I'd be like, This is so horrible. And then I just close the book and I'm like la la la la la la.

SPEAKER_05 1:24:04

I'm like, how much would it hurt after the second stab?

SPEAKER_03 1:24:06

I think it would hurt. Well, I think the first one, the first cut is the deepest.

SPEAKER_02 1:24:11

You know, the song says cut is the deep.

SPEAKER_03 1:24:15

So I'm gonna believe that. And the first one's the deepest. After that, you're like, fuck it, man. Sounds good.

SPEAKER_05 1:24:22

Um, so Elena and mom, they're like, everything's gonna be fine. I like your dad's dying, you were just kidnapped, but like, we're gonna make pancakes the next morning. Hell yeah. Let's go put Caroline to bed. Elen goes to the bathroom, and there is a message written in blood on her mirror.

SPEAKER_03 1:24:44

That's nice.

SPEAKER_05 1:24:45

Do you guys have a maid up in this house? Uh probably a couple. So someone clean this shit off. No, no, no. We get the executioner's POV for the last time. He steps into the kitchen. Bethany is making pancake batteries next morning, and they promise Caroline that they would make pancakes, and he questions her on where Christian is, and he lets it slip that it's Elliot. He's doing this because he wants to save Elena. Mama freaks out. Ovi. And he's like, shut the fuck up. I'm doing this to save our daughter. He slams her head off of the ground and then he chokes her to death. He kills his own fucking wife.

SPEAKER_03 1:25:33

For his own fucking anger and rage.

SPEAKER_05 1:25:38

And like PTSD is a real thing.

SPEAKER_04 1:25:42

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 1:25:43

This man had his entire first family killed.

SPEAKER_04 1:25:46

100%.

SPEAKER_05 1:25:47

He is delusional enough to think that the guy who killed his family is the one that his daughter is with. Like, he's not well.

SPEAKER_03 1:25:56

No. So fucking the silencer.

SPEAKER_05 1:26:01

He's putting on his mask and he sees some movement on his cameras in the back cave. It's in the kitchen. And he's like, what the fuck? So he runs and he finds Elena's mom dead. The fake silencer starts shooting him multiple times. But remember, he's literally bulletproof in his body armor. Thank God. Elena comes out, she's like, Holy fuck, what's happening? Pulls a gun off of Christian's holster and like is demanding that this imposter take off his mask. He doesn't, so she shoots him, and while he's falling to the ground, his mask falls off, and it's her fucking dad.

SPEAKER_04 1:26:41

It's her dad. It's her dad.

SPEAKER_05 1:26:46

Okay, and we're just gonna stop it here because I don't want to keep going. I know. So it's her god. So her dad is like bleeding out because she shot him. She's like, oh my god. Oh my god, dad, I'm so sorry. And he reminds her what she said to him the day after she was raped. She asked him to chase the monsters away. And in his mind, that's what he's doing. He just wanted to save her. She is holding her dying father, and he apologizes to her. He turns to Christian and says, How's this for misery? And then he shoots Elena in the fucking head.

SPEAKER_04 1:27:22

Oh my God.

SPEAKER_03 1:27:26

I my whole body right now hurts. My whole body feels uncomfortable. And I know that this is coming, and I've read it. And it like it still doesn't make it any better.

SPEAKER_04 1:27:40

It never gets any better.

SPEAKER_05 1:27:43

So again, top tier narrating. This scene, like listening to it, holy fuck. Christian beats the shit out of Elliot. Literally beats the guy to death. It is described as him being like an unrecognized. Christian beats Elliot to death with his bare hands. Carolyn comes into the kitchen because mommy said that there would be pancakes. And he tells her, turn around and count to a hundred. And then Christian kills himself.

SPEAKER_03 1:28:23

Everyone dies.

SPEAKER_05 1:28:25

Everyone dies.

SPEAKER_03 1:28:28

Everyone dies.

SPEAKER_04 1:28:32

And they don't come back.

SPEAKER_05 1:28:37

Fuck. And it also doesn't get any better because then we get the epilogue.

unknown 1:28:43

Right?

SPEAKER_03 1:28:44

When everyone's one of them's like, oh my god, we get the epilogue. Epilogues are always happy. And I was like, there's gonna be it's it's they're gonna wake up from a dream. Because I've read books where everyone died, and then in the epilogue, it was a dream. No, this is not that. They're dead for real. Edwin is at the funeral of God.

SPEAKER_05 1:29:02

Literally everyone. Everyone. Yeah. Aramis is there. Edwin is blaming himself because he thinks that if he was a better father to Christian, that this would have never happened. Caroline is there holding Edwin's hand and asking when mommy and daddy are coming back. And then it's just done. And then I I remember the first time that I read this book, I like closed my Kindle, I placed it down beside me, I got up, I walked into my backyard, and I screamed at the top of my fucking lungs. Like screamed. And then I went inside and I just sat in silence for like an hour. It okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:29:47

I read this book. This was my side note from before. I read this book maybe three years ago, two years, three, like real close to after it came out. And I remember that you said to me, You're like, hey, there's this book that you have to read, it's dark romance, and it's like very Batman coded. And I was like, Batman code, hell yeah, brother. Yeah. And that was it. That was all that you told me.

SPEAKER_05 1:30:18

Well, I never give you any real context when I tell you to go into it. Because I want you to experience the pain that I experienced.

SPEAKER_03 1:30:28

Oh, I experienced it. And I remember that when I like, you know, you're reading it, you're like, oh my god, there's all this action, and there was like twists and twists and twists. And when the dad fucking looks at her and he goes, like, how's or like looks at Christian and goes, how's this for misery? I was like, uh, huh? What? Pardon? What? What are you saying? Like, what? Oh my god, no, no, what? And it just I I I there were no words. There were no words. Like, it's so good. It's so horrible. It's so, it hurts. It, I don't know if there's been a book that has done the emotional damage to me. Like, this book has done the emotional damage to me. Yeah. But again, there is a place. Like, if this is not your book, man, don't read it. You won't, you know, like it, then it's not for you. That's totally understandable. But there is a place for every book, and there are times when you want to put yourself in the head of someone else and put yourself in the thought process in the brain of someone else. And, you know, I always say, like, a lot of times you couldn't imagine certain things because it's just not in your brain. So, you know, like you said, you think about what it would feel like to be stabbed. I'm like, what? Why would anyone think about that? Because that's never where my brain goes.

SPEAKER_05 1:32:03

Why aren't you thinking about that?

SPEAKER_03 1:32:04

I don't know. Because I don't want to. I'm thinking about accidental pregnancies and you're the problem after. 100%. Like, totally different. But reading this book and putting yourself through this, like it's a journey. It's a it is like this is a plot heavy book. Like, she is there.

SPEAKER_05 1:32:28

Yeah, this book emotionally frailed me.

SPEAKER_03 1:32:31

Like emotional. Oh my god, the emotional. And I like that because it's the equivalent of like, I want to feel something. That that is this book. This is it. It's like, tell me something that's gonna upset me because I want to feel something. And you know, I kinda I felt the same way. Like when I read this book the first time, I was like angry. It was like the first time that I watched Game of Thrones, and you get to the last season and you're like, What? And you're just like pissed because you're like, this was not how it was supposed to end. And then when you take your time and you like pick it apart and you really think about it, you're like, No other ending would have sufficed. No, there was nothing else that would have done this, and there was nothing, and but also she gave us there the breadcrumbs were there the whole time. We just didn't want to see it, and we're so used to, you know, like happily ever after, and everybody goes into the sunset together, and that was not what this book was at all. It was never that. We are just so used to that, and so when this happened, it was like it blew my wig straight off. Like it it shocked me, it still shocks me, and even though I knew it was coming, like this this is finding out the ending to the sixth sense, like you never don't remember that this is what's coming. Like you can't you can't pretend like you don't know, you know, but then when you go into it the second and the third time, it you start to like see little hidden messages, and it just it's incredible. Aerial honestly.

SPEAKER_05 1:34:09

You're a master at your craft, yeah, 10 out of 10.

SPEAKER_03 1:34:13

Absolutely fabulous. Like it it hurts, you're gonna feel something, you're gonna be real upset, but you're also gonna be happy with the journey, and like it there was also a purpose to it, you know. It it puts you in the mind of people that are dealing with things that we don't understand because we're not dealing with those things, like it fabulous. Yes, well, well now we get an even better now. That we've gone through all of that, now that we've dealt with a few. Here's a sweet treat for everybody. There's a freaking, yeah. You succeeded, you made it through, we've had our little cry break, and now you get your like your reward.

SPEAKER_05 1:34:55

It's like a reward.

SPEAKER_03 1:34:56

It's like a reward.

SPEAKER_05 1:34:57

Yes, so we have a few questions, yes, and a few answers, and a few answers.

SPEAKER_03 1:35:03

So Danielle is gonna read the questions. These are the questions that we presented her with. These are just things um that we are really curious about that anytime that we're kind of discussing, we write these down. Um, and I'm going to read the answers. These are the answers that Ariel provided us with. Yes.

SPEAKER_05 1:35:21

So also a quick, very thank you, huge thank you to Ariel. You didn't have to do this, but you doing this like made our entire year. Oh, yeah. We talk about it every day. Yeah. We are fangirls.

SPEAKER_03 1:35:34

Like, we will never get over this. Like, I want to run up to strangers on the street and be like, Did you know that Ariel emailed me back?

SPEAKER_05 1:35:42

Like, I did you feel your medication today?

SPEAKER_03 1:35:46

Can you please leave me alone? And I'll be like, can we talk about it for an hour? Like, I I can't. I can't stop. Like, there is nothing that will ever top this. So, you know, thanks for now making my life all downhill from here. Appreciate that.

SPEAKER_05 1:35:59

All right, let's just uh hop in. So, our first question as the reader, we always picture ourselves as the FMC. Do you, as the writer, picture yourself as the FMC?

SPEAKER_03 1:36:10

So, not intentionally. I think my FMCs carry minor traits from me, but nothing that would make me say, yeah, that's me. I try to make my FMCs distinct from each other while still trying to make them relatable to the average person. In that same vein, I don't think that I'm very strong at writing witty or sassy FMCs because that's just not who I am in real life. So there's definitely a part of my characters that reflect my own lived experience. Which, girl, yeah, they're still sassy. Don't even, don't even with me.

SPEAKER_04 1:36:45

Oh, I know.

SPEAKER_03 1:36:46

She's just we are not worthy. I literally I'm I've already read these questions and answers a hundred times. I'm like, okay, but one more time. So can I get them tattooed on my skin or your diary? Ariel told me. This is just my whole book. This is the book that I'm publishing. It's just this over and over on repeat.

SPEAKER_05 1:37:06

Yeah. Um, so where do you get the idea for the characters? Uh, personality specifically, are they based off of people you know, spouse, friends, yourself?

SPEAKER_03 1:37:15

It depends on the book. For example, the MMC and his friends in Venus were based on my husband and his time in the firefighter academy. But some like Valtheris from my upcoming book, The End Unseen, is based on characters from Warhammer 40k. Are you kidding? The scream I scrumped, girls. Yes, right? And Lord of the Rings. Come on! Come on, she's a nerd just like us! Yes! I think that there's a place for taking inspiration from your real life friends, family, or acquaintances. But since I write romance, that seems like it could easily cross a line into the uncomfortable facts. A lot of the time my character's vibes are based on music, songs that spark some inspiration and not necessarily real life. I need to know what music and songs. Yes. I love that so much because I remember back in the day. Well, actually, even now, I read a lot while um listening to music because I try and train my brain to have this song like trigger a memory with this, or I try and find like the right kind of vibe. And I remember explaining that to someone, and they acted like I was the problem and like I was crazy, and I was like, Well, I thought everybody did this, and you know what? Ariel does it too.

SPEAKER_05 1:38:36

So, yes, she's it. Um, I have only just started in Tombed, and it is a it is wild how much your writing transforms between fantasy to contemporary romance. Which one do you prefer? Do you plan to continue writing both genres? And do you have a different process for writing the different genres?

SPEAKER_03 1:38:55

I think I am a stronger writing in third person, and that fits a lot better with fantasy, in my opinion, but I also acknowledge that a large majority of romance readers prefer first person, so it's a balance of trying to write a strong story versus writing a strong writing a story that is marketable to my audience. I don't think I have a preference for which genre I pre- for one genre over the other. I'm still early in my career and continually experimenting with genres, tropes, and themes. I can say that I do have a lot of contemporary romances in the works right now. And that's where my creativity is leaning currently. The only thing I'm not really into right now is dark romance. I don't really intend on ever writing one again.

SPEAKER_05 1:39:42

Which is wild. Wild. Because this is probably one of my favorite books of all time. But it also makes me so excited to like deep dive everything else that she's doing.

SPEAKER_03 1:39:56

I know, because I I didn't realize how many like fantasy like books she had written and like how like in-depth they were. And if she's writing this for a dark romance, if she just went, here's a little treat. What are her romantic books? I know. What is her fantasy? If she's pulling from Warhammer and Lord of the Rings, bro. I know.

SPEAKER_05 1:40:21

Sign me the fuck up.

SPEAKER_03 1:40:22

Oh, yeah. Fabulous, I'll take 14 of them. Like I'm I'm into it.

SPEAKER_05 1:40:27

Yeah. Uh, did you always know that Under Your Scars would end this way? Was there ever a plan for a happy ever after?

SPEAKER_03 1:40:34

Under your scars always had a tragic ending. It was never intended to have a happily ever after. That would do a disservice to the characters and the story, and I feel very strongly about it. Yes. Like I said, the first time I was like, eh. But after you really, really think about it, no. Nothing else would suffice. Yeah. She did it absolutely perfect.

SPEAKER_05 1:40:57

Uh, if you weren't an author, what would you be doing? How did you know you wanted to be an author?

SPEAKER_03 1:41:03

I have a degree in criminal justice focusing on forensics and law. Badass. So badass. So smart. So I probably would still be pursuing that side of my career. I never intended to be a full-time author, but I grew so fast that I took a risk, made a decision to step away from my normal job to focus on my writing career. I'm glad I did that, but this is a very volatile and unpredictable path I am on. So it is incredibly scary to commit myself to it full-time. I'm very aware that all of this could be on borrowed time, and so I try to make sure I'm smart and deliberate about the choices I make in this career so that it sustains me and my family for the foreseeable future. God, she is smart. So smart. She is just so smart and like so perfectly spoken because it really we discuss this all the time. You know, you see these authors and they're pushing a book, and you read it, and it's incredible, and then by next week they're already pushing a different book, and we're like, hey, what about this one? Like we just started. We just got this, but it does go so fast and it's like changing so quickly, and you know, it's hard to like remember like, sure, we've been reading for the last 30 years, but not everybody else has. Exactly. Not everybody else is always doing this. Exactly. What's something you're proud of, but never get an excuse to talk about? Behind the scenes, I do a lot of advocacy work for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. That's obviously a big part of my platform, but people may not know that I also have a blossoming, blossoming relationship with the AFSP team, and we have discussed some really exciting opportunities to highlight each other's platforms. While those things are still in the works, I'm really proud and honored to be able to regularly support the cause. I was recently inducted into their North Star Society, which is a wonderful honor and a huge surprise when I received my pin in the mail.

SPEAKER_04 1:43:02

An angel.

SPEAKER_03 1:43:03

An angel. No, she is doing the Lord's work. Like this stuff is so important. And it's also, you know, like this is why I I really like love reading these books, but I also love snooping into the lives of authors because they're actually doing so much good with the platforms that they have. Yeah. And you know, instead of just being like, get that money, get that bag, they're actually using it for good. And a lot of times that voice, you can hear it throughout the books when you read them.

SPEAKER_05 1:43:32

Oh, for sure you can. Uh favorite book, a series is also an acceptable answer.

SPEAKER_03 1:43:38

I think my favorite book of all time is Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. For me, it's a book that I would give anything to experience for the first time again. Such a great answer. Right? I know. Great answer. I love it. I love it so much.

SPEAKER_05 1:43:55

Favorite book that you've written, who is the favorite character you've created?

SPEAKER_03 1:44:00

I think my favorite book that I've written is The End Unseen, with my favorite character being Valtharis. This is the MMC in that book. Some people might have expected me to say Christian or The Silencer, but while I think that those are the most complex characters I've written, Valtharis and his story just hold a special place in my heart. Well, I don't want to spoil too much since the book is not out yet. When I'm writing this, Valthuris is a very relatable character in the sense that he wants to do good in the world, but recognizes the very real challenges he faces trying to hold together a country on his back. I think it really highlights how important action is over words, which can be very relevant discussion in today's world. I cannot wait for this. I need this book. I need it. I am so excited. Like I I know I need to just like deep dive and read like everything that she's ever written. Like, I want notes that she wrote on a cocktail napkin. Like I need, I need it all. What's your grocery list? Let me see.

SPEAKER_05 1:45:06

Like I know. I'm so excited. Uh, what does the future hold for you? Do you plan your moves out or just rate the characters in books when they speak to you?

SPEAKER_03 1:45:16

I work on at least five books at once, sometimes more. Crazy. If one is giving right, she's so crazy. She's so smart. If one is giving me a hard time, I move on to a different story so that I always feel productive and not bogged down by writer's block. I currently have 28 books that are considered works in progress, but I don't work on them all at once, just a handful that are inspiring me at the most at that particular time. Twenty eight books. How smart are you? Are you shellberry?

SPEAKER_05 1:46:02

Like very smart.

SPEAKER_03 1:46:08

Okay, number 10. Oh, there's more to that one. Oh, oh, my goodness. Wow. Hi, it's my first day on Planet Earth. When when we're back. I hope to have at least two more books out by the end of 2026. So four total this year. Oh my god. That makes me so happy. In one year. It is 2026. This is our year, which means that she's probably going to put out the end unseen.

SPEAKER_05 1:46:38

I'm so excited.

SPEAKER_03 1:46:39

Okay, now it's your turn.

SPEAKER_05 1:46:42

What are some goals that you really want to accomplish? A book that you're really hoping to write, TV, movie adaptations.

SPEAKER_03 1:46:49

I tend to work better with realistic goals. Well, I I would love to have a movie adaptation for under your scars. Oh my god, I would die. The standard for what appeals to the mass market audience needed to make excuse me. The standard for what appeals to the mass market audience needed to make a movie successful is very different than a reader-based audience. I don't really see that happening for me, but of course, anything is possible. If I had to say my top goal that I would love to achieve in this writing career, I'd like to win an Audi Award for one of my titles alongside the narrators. Which blows my mind that that has not happened. Right? Especially for this book. I know. Who slept on this one? Everyone. Who slept on this one? It was so good. So good. So again, Ariel, thank you so much. So much. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Oh my god. It has just really it is so incredible that you took the time to answer these questions, that you took us seriously when we don't even really take ourselves seriously. So we super appreciate um you letting us adult with you and doing this book giveaway for someone else to try and get a chance to win this signed copy. That is so awesome. And you know, I'm hoping that other people, after listening to this, that they're gonna check out some of your other books because the end unseen, man, I really need I gotta get my hands on that book. I need to read it. It is my new hyperfixation. Um, thank you guys so much for listening. You can check us out on all socials. We're really active on Instagram. You can also email us any of your questions, comments, anything, even if you have book recommendations or questions that we should try and reach out to authors or narrators and see if we can get some of those answers for you. You can hit us up at smut syndicate at gmail.com. And I think that is about it. Live laugh moral trash.