The Scapegoat | EP 2 | The Confidante

This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human. It all sounds fucking crazy. It was happening all the time, all hours of the night, into the morning, and it was so nerve-wracking, it is enough to make anybody go crazy. It is enough to make anybody sick. I'm a Dre Gunning, and this is betrayal season 6 episode 2, the scapegoat. In our last episode, we introduced you to Carl Bryan. Yeah, I'm a nerd. That's such a nerd. He's a queer man from Kenosha, Wisconsin, with a big laugh and a big heart. His first relationship was rocky. Alcohol became an everyday struggle for his boyfriend, Adam Mahia. Like many people who love addicts, Carl didn't know how to handle it. I had a nervous breakdown on the carpet, like I laid on the floor just having a breakdown because he was completely wasted. Their life together quickly fell apart. And I said, this is that there's no saving this relationship. But just after the breakup, Adam got into a serious drunk driving accident. He was sentenced to 15 months behind bars. While he sat in jail, he spoke to Carl on the phone. He said it quite frequently that like, yeah, he was upset that I didn't call an Uber. Carl replayed that night in his head, wishing he could have stopped Adam from getting in that car. It was just like immense guilt, immense guilt that I was feeling. I should have called an Uber. Carl thought, maybe if he had called an Uber, Adam wouldn't have gotten his fourth DUI. He wouldn't have caused a major accident. He wouldn't have gone to prison. Along with the guilt, Carl had another feeling. Anxiety. Was Adam's doing behind bars over what happened, blaming Carl for it all? And what would happen when Adam got out? I don't know what his intentions are, like that was kind of what was going through my mind at that time. That's when Carl turned to an old friend, a source of levity and humor. His name is Paul Augustine. You met Paul in the last episode. As you can hear, he was a lot of fun. They hadn't spent much time together over the last year. Carl's ex never liked Paul. And during that time, Paul had been going through his own grief. His boyfriend died unexpectedly at the age of 33. I know it was a difficult time for him, too, because his boyfriend had passed away. And he was having a hard time of it himself. Paul's boyfriend also struggled with substance abuse. I think that shared experience of being two axes of individuals that have had significant alcohol problems, trying to make sense of a really traumatic fallout. Paul was there, you know. He was somebody I could lean on. So Carl and Paul reconnected. They started doing the same things they used to do. Going to the movie theater, catching cubs games, and trying out new restaurants and bars. We'd go up for drinks and just be innocent, fun, lighthearted time. Being together less than the burden of what they were both going through. When Carl first met Paul nine years earlier, Paul friends owned him right away. To Carl, it seemed to be because of his weight. Since then, Carl's body had changed significantly. He'd lost 150 pounds. And that summer of 2022, suddenly, Paul seemed interested. They hooked up a few times. But for Carl, it was empty. My heart was not there. I tried to assure him, like, hey, you know, this is no reflection about how I see us in terms of our friendship. I still care about you as a person. I still want to be your friend. And he's like, I understand. That's fine. He and Paul went back to being friends as if nothing had changed all the while. Carl kept dating. I was checking Facebook, dating. And I wasn't talking to anybody. But, you know, I'm still socializing. What the hell? Keep in your eye out. Keep in my eye out. He decided to take a few days off to go see one of the Cubs minor league baseball teams, the Iowa Cubs. So I was out in Des Moines. I was doing the vacation. I was enjoying myself. But after the trip, even though I gone back to Kenosha, Facebook, dating, still thought I was an Iowa for some reason. And I matched with Drew. Drew looked like someone Carl could get along with. He was unassuming with dark hair in glasses. Drew was a little bit younger than Carl, but he seemed mature. And there was just this lightness about him. In his photos, it was him and his sister's wedding. And it seemed like he had a solid family. But I saw that he loved baseball. And I was like, yeah, I'm going to swipe right on this guy. He swiped right on me. And I don't think he was thinking much of it because we obviously lived five hours apart from each other or whatever. It was just like, let's talk and see what happens, kind of thing. He and this new guy, Drew, agreed to meet in the middle in Madison, Wisconsin, a city Carl, knew well. I showed him my favorite places when I lived there and just had a blast. He likes Harry Potter and Nintendo. And definitely gives off a little bit of a dorky vibe, admittedly, some of that was refreshing to be able to find another gay man that was willing to get into some of those things too. And very quickly, I could tell I didn't just want casual with this guy. Immediately, Carl could tell Drew was relationship material. That summer, they spent weekends together, meeting halfway, or going to each other's cities. It was amazing to just find a guy that was like, hey, I like you, let's date, let's build this thing. It was like, wow, I actually didn't have to chase somebody to get their approval. And everything about it just felt natural. I mean, this felt like it was coming home to somebody. One night in November 2022, Carl and Drew were just sitting in bed together when Drew asked to make it official. And I was like, yes, of course, yes, I will be your boyfriend. I want to be your boyfriend. It was remarkable because it was unremarkable. And I don't say that in a way that was like, this is a boring relationship or whatever, but I say this because it was like, wow, this was just amazing. Carl was moving forward. It seemed like everyone was. In February of 2023, he got word that Adam was released from prison. But Carl tried not to dwell on it. He just hoped that the drama for everyone was in the past. Not long after that, Drew decided to move to Kenosha to be closer to Carl. He could live on his own and have his own space and I could be in my own space and have my own time, but still be close enough for us to develop our relationship further. Carl helped him find an apartment. The day Drew moved to Kenosha was supposed to be a happy occasion for both of them, the start of a new chapter. But on that very day, something unsettling happened. We were getting a couch in the garage and that was just when I was looking down at my phone. He had a text from his best friend Paul. And Paul was telling me he got a message on Grindr from Adam. Carl's heart sank. He hadn't heard from his ex-boyfriend Adam since his first few months in jail. Carl thought their relationship was in the past. We got into it on the phone over his jail calls. He didn't want to talk to me anymore. I didn't want to talk to him and at some point we ceased contact and I think for my own sanity it was probably what was best. But now Adam was back and it looked like he had quite a lot to say. This was the very thing Carl had been worried about, except his ex wasn't reaching out to him directly. Adam had gone to his friend Paul. Paul sent Carl the screenshots and there it was. Adam's Grindr profile picture above a long paragraph of text. Paul said he'd gotten this message out of the blue. We've had a voice actor read that first message. Just realize that Carl's attempts to lie to you or whatever dude he's involved with at this point in his life is so beyond ridiculous. To be honest, I don't know if that's you or someone else, but if he's with you, you should know that we have seen each other recently. I stopped following up on any type of plans with him because he's a pathological liar and a sex addict that switches up his boys on the daily. Carl stopped cold. He had no idea what Adam was talking about. He hadn't met up with Adam or even spoken to him recently. So what he'd written was completely false. It looked like Adam was just trying to create problems in Carl's life. But it was strange that Adam reached out to his best friend Paul, a third party. Adam never liked Paul. He never even wanted to meatball. But as Karl kept reading, he realized by his ex was reaching out to Paul of all people. Being sober has given me the insight to see his true colors, see his lies for what they really are. I'm sure this is shitty for you to read, but you deserve to know the truth about who he is. Instead of blocking this after you read it, think about it, and do yourself a favor and never say I didn't warn you or whatever boy he's using now. I never hated you by the way. Just was suspicious about Carl cheating with you at the time. Never meant to attack you in the past. A lot has changed for me after being sober for the past year and a half. For a brief moment, Carl wondered if this was a prank, if this was just someone messing with him. But there was one line that made him certain this message was written by his ex-boyfriend Adam. How badly does Carl want this hat back? I could drop it off by you. The hat. When Adam moved out of the apartment they shared, some of Carl's things went missing, including a baseball hat that Carl loved. My producer, Caitlin asked Carl about it. You'll hear her pop in throughout the series. Spring training every year. I got my souvenirs. Those memories are very near and dear to me and the hats that I have and whatever. I would never give away that hat. And I was always wondering where that hat went. Somehow it stumbled upon a picture of Adam with a friend of his where he was outdoors like hiking or whatever and I saw he was wearing it. And is this picture from after he's out of jail? Yeah. And I looked at the picture and I'm like, that's where that hat went. The hat was such a specific detail from their breakup. Something only Adam would know about. Clearly, he was using the hat as bait to make Carl interact with him or so Carl thought. It stung the most about this message was hearing Adam's version of their breakup. One where Carl had cheated and lied. Carl knew that was a complete fabrication, but that was the kind of lie that could damage his reputation for good. I was thinking Adam is probably just acting out and this is what he's doing to get attention. He wants to start drama like he would always do. Carl didn't want to reach out to Adam directly, but they did still have a mutual friend. Carl told her about the messages. And showed her these screenshots and was like, look at what Adam's doing. Their friend went right to Adam and told him to knock it off. My friend actually confronted him and was like, Carl's moved on, like leave Carl alone. And Adam denied it. And told their friend, he never sent that message. He said, I've moved on, I'm working on my sobriety, I just started a new relationship myself, I moved up north, I just hoped the best for Carl, I hope he's doing well, but I have not said anything bad about him. And that mutual friend got back to me with that and my immediate reaction was I don't believe any of this. With that, no one heard from Adam for a while. For Carl, the silence was welcome. His new boyfriend Drew had just moved to town. He was Carl's priority now. But about a month later, Adam resurfaced. This time, he texted Carl directly, and his tone had shifted completely. This message was an apology. Adam texted him again, acknowledging the baseball hat he'd taken, and offering to return it. I'll mail the hat if you want, since you probably don't want to see me ever again. It was a nice gesture. But then, just a few days later, Adam was back to causing drama. Carl received another text. Your new boyfriend should know the truth about what you did to me. The lies, the cheating, all of it. Why is it okay for you to just move on and shove shit in my face and walk away? Honestly, I was dumbfounded. It was a complete mind-fuck, emotional whiplash. Carl didn't know what to make of it. Over the course of that summer, texts from Adam kept coming in. You will have hell to pay. And all I can wait for is the shit storm that is about to wreak havoc on your life. Carl tried to ignore the texts. In fact, he blocked Adam, but his messages kept coming from new numbers. He blocked those two, but the next day, a new number would text him. The contents of the messages really got under Carl's skin. He had somebody in jail make a Valentine card and was able to mail it to me. White castle is still nasty as fuck. That was in reference to a time that Adam and I went to White Castle and we both hated it. The text oscillated between Bid's fur attention and searing criticism. And oftentimes they would come back to the car accident. How hard was it to call me an uber that night? Almost like you're glad that it went the way it did. I was immediately activated when I got that text because I mean, that was kind of validating that sense of guilt that I had built up and there was definitely a lot of anxiety because I didn't know what he was going to do next, I didn't know what he was capable of. Then Carl got a call from his family. Carl has an uncle with intellectual disabilities. He lives with Carl's parents and needs a lot of support. It turned out that uncle had just received a disturbing text from an unknown number. Your nephew Carl wishes you would stop being an embarrassment to him and the rest of the family. He says you bother him and thinks you're the dumbest person ever. His boyfriend Drew hates you too. My uncle was reading this off to me and I was angry. I was really mad because now you're bringing my uncle into this who has a mental disability that he has no control over. There was some time that needed to be spent for me to be able to explain to him like I'm being harassed right now. I hope you know that this is not me and this does not reflect how I see you. I was extremely angry when I heard about that text message. Across another line, dragging a family member into the harassment, someone who couldn't defend himself. It showed just how low Adam was willing to go. I was thinking Adam is probably back to drinking right now. But the truth wasn't that simple. This was only the beginning of an orchestrated plot. I was outraged. I was like what the fuck? What the absolute fuck? Like who does he think he is doing this? In the summer of 2023, Carl Bryan was beginning a new chapter. After months of long-distance dating, his boyfriend Drew moved to Kenosha to be with him. And Carl welcomed another member into his family, Lambo, a rescue dog from a local shelter. Now Carl and Drew were hanging out almost every night, cooking dinner, playing with Carl's dogs. I was riding a high for a while because I had what felt like a normal relationship. Drew's in the picture and we're all going to be a happy family. But on the very day Drew moved to Kenosha, Carl's ex-boyfriend re-emerged. The timing was uncanny. It was supposed to be a happy new chapter for Carl. But that summer, the disturbing text from Adam escalated. I'm trying to go into this hopeful new future with somebody else. Like this is my life now. Leave me be. Leave me alone. And it was like are you kidding me? I want a way to start the next phase of our relationship. At first, Carl tried to keep his new boyfriend Drew away from the drama. He even blocked Adam's number. But the text kept coming from new numbers. And other people in Carl's circle started getting messages too. Increasingly, they were about Drew. Carl's boyfriend is hella fucking ugly dude. He's so nasty looking. Why would he pick someone so hideous? It was the kind of petty insult that made Carl roll his eyes. Earlier that summer, a mutual friend asked Adam to stop. Adam continued to deny he was behind the text, but Carl didn't believe him. At the time, Carl was starting a Ph.D. program. And his new boyfriend Drew got a job at a local convenience store called Quick Trip. We didn't really have a lot of money, but you know, we were making it work and he was always over and we were doing a couple of things. It was awesome. Then on September 2nd, 2023, Carl got a text from a random number. This one felt different. It was way too close to home. Saw your new boyfriend at the Kenosha Quick Trip, laughing my ass off. And then later that day, Carl got another text. KCA 0124, better stay safe. Carl stared at the numbers and letters. It was Drew's license plate. It's entering our sense of safety. I was outraged. I was like, what the fuck? Like, who does he think he is doing this? Suddenly, the threat felt much closer. Was Drew being followed, stalked? Carl and Drew began scanning parking lots, checking their mirrors, wondering who might be watching. A few days later, Drew came home from work, looking like a different person. This wasn't the Drew that Carl was used to. The calm, happy guy. There were tears in his eyes. He was shaking. Apparently, somebody had called the gas station, explaining they wanted to speak to a regional manager because one of their employees drew. He was apparently harassing kids and the harassment was sexual in nature. These were kids who'd stopped by the store to get snacks and drinks after school. Drew was being accused of sexual misconduct with minors. He could lose his job or worse. His boss and co-workers confronted him about the allegations. There was a couple of people that had sat down with Drew and was like, is this true? And of course, the answer was no. The online harassment was making its way into the real world. And now, Carl wasn't the only target. Adam was determined to make both his and Drew's lives a living hell. Drew's boss believed him and let him keep his job. But that day, something broke and drew. The anxiety and the fear didn't just land for me anymore. It was also for him. It was honestly a turning point for Drew in that he was very much anxious. He was very much paranoid and just concerned about his safety in general. For Carl, it became harder and harder to think about anything else. It was always, when is the next bomb going to drop? What percentage of your brain at this point is focused on the harassment? 75% at least. I don't know how I was getting through the work down. I don't know how I was getting through anything. But Carl and Drew weren't the only targets. There was someone else who was now getting threatening messages. Carl's friend, Paul Augustine. Knowing that Paul was also being targeted was proof to me that it has to be Adam. Adam never trusted Paul. He didn't like Paul. So this was totally believable that Paul was also being targeted in the same way that everybody else was. You may recall that when Adam got out of prison, Paul was the one who got the message from him first. That message was a kind of warning. Like, you should know who your friend Carl really is. Then, there were messages about the baseball hat. I'm fucking dead, dude. I wanted to give him the hat back, but I get blocked every time. But over time, the messages Paul received shifted in tone. They became more mean-spirited, criticizing his appearance, questioning why he would stay friends with Carl. Then, Carl received this text from an unknown number. Your twink or friend, Paul, should honestly be scared at this point, warn him if you got the chance. This is no longer just some annoying message. This is clearly a threat. This is Adam clearly building a vendetta against me and my group of friends. And it was like, okay, we all really need to look out now. After this message and what happened to Drew at QuickTrip, Carl could no longer pretend that this was just some internet prank. The harassment had gone from annoying texts to threatening Drew's job to an ominous threat against Paul. And worse was coming. It was time to get law enforcement involved. Because Adam had recently been released from prison, he was still on probation. So, Carl reached out to the Department of Corrections. They referred me to his probation officer, and I explained that I was getting these text messages. Drew and my friend, Paul, were getting these text messages. And I wanted it to stop. The probation officer agreed to put in no contact order in place. And yet, just stays later. You don't deserve a boyfriend. You are selfish. You are abusive. I can't stand you, and you do not deserve happiness. I promise you that it won't last much longer. Carl fortified his home with cameras. Every night he tripled checked the locks on his doors. But that still wasn't enough to make him feel secure. The text didn't stop. So, Carl filed an official complaint with the Kenosha County Sheriff's Office. After that, nothing changed. There were nowadays he was getting about two dozen calls from random numbers. That's when Carl decided to take another step. I had approached Drew about this idea of a restraining order, and I was like, "We have to do something." We went over to the clerk of courts, and we filled out that paperwork. Carl finally understood that the harassment would never stop on its own. And on September 11th of 2023, "We were granted the temporary restraining order. Adam was served with the paperwork, and then we were going to have a hearing in two weeks." A temporary restraining order is a short term thing used to provide protection in urgent cases. It's only in place until a judge can hold an official hearing and weigh both sides. In Carl's case, the hearing was scheduled for two weeks' time. Carl's best friend Paul wholeheartedly supported his decision to file for a restraining order. As a joke, he sent Carl one of his famous voice demos. In it, he fantasized about what it would be like to testify against Adam at the restraining order hearing. So, your honor is that okay if I. can I speak? All right, perfect. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. I would say that a lot of the behavior really just points back to substance abuse if you think about it. I think that some form of facility is probably the best route to take, whether that's jail or whether it's some rehabilitation of some sort or a camp, not entirely sure, but food for thought. At the time, this voice memo made Carl laugh. It was just Paul being Paul, bringing the levity in the darkest of situations. Carl needed that. After Carl filed the restraining order, Kenosha Sheriff's looked more deeply into the case. Try as they might, they found nothing to tie Adam Carl's ex-boyfriend to the harassment. There was only circumstantial evidence like the Cubs hat, but there wasn't enough to charge Adam. I was even more outraged because it was like, "How can you tell me I don't have enough to prove that this is Adam?" That none of these numbers can exactly be traced to him, yet all the text messages I got up to this point were fully acknowledging my past relationship with him. Without more proof, Carl and Drew realized their chances of getting a restraining order were slim. It'd be a waste of time, it was going to be a waste of money. There was no other choice than to just drop it, and keep going through the process and continuing to report what we were getting. The day after the restraining order was dropped, Carl received a message gloating about it. Good choice for getting about things, because you know, it just be a loss before even getting started. Are you ready for it? Calls and texts are fun, but wait until it hits the fan you piece of shit. Carl was frustrated. Here was another threat, another piece of evidence that Adam wasn't going to stop. On top of that, Adam was on probation, and still, the cops wouldn't do anything. I knew it was going on around me, but like these systems that I was relying upon to get the bad guy and to stop the harassment from happening couldn't be reliable. Well, Carl didn't know, is that there was a reason the Sheriff's Department couldn't find evidence on Adam. There was something else, something much darker going on, and things were about to escalate even further. Hello, Mr. Deathbatches, Unit 422. Hi, I'm just wondering if I can have a police officer clear out to my address. First name? Carl. In your left hand, Carl. Ryan. Sheriff's couldn't find hard evidence linking Adam to the harassment. So Carl dropped his restraining order. But he was frustrated with how long the investigation was taking. I wanted Adam arrested. I wanted him arrested. I want this to be done, you know, because at this point there was no other option other than to see him behind bars again because clearly this is not a stable person. The sheriff's assured Carl they were actively investigating. So Carl kept reporting incidents to law enforcement as they happened. It was now late September 2023, four months since everything started. One afternoon Carl and Drew went to a beer garden to unwind. We're just relaxing and I think at one point Drew needed to get back to my house for something. And I checked my phone and saw that I got a voicemail from a different number. Hi, this is Noah from Floyd Selling. I'm here due to the Hyundai Sonata. The Hyundai Sonata was Drew's car and it was parked at Carl's house. According to the tow truck driver, Carl had called them asking for Drew's car to be towed. The driver had his name and his number. And I'm like, what the fuck? So I called Drew right away and I won't forget this phone call because I said Drew a tow truck is coming to the house right now. You need to get ready and tell them it's not you, somehow my number is being impersonated. He's like, what? And just as I'm having the phone conversation with him, he's looking outside the window and here comes the tow truck. Drew ran out into the driveway. He told the tow truck driver that it was a fake call. And then the tow truck takes off. Carl rushed back to his apartment. He found Drew on the couch visibly shaken. Drew just sits with me for a minute or two and he's just like in complete silence breathing very heavily and trying to calm himself down and I'm just seething. I'm like, what the fuck do we do? I'm scared. I don't know what's going on right now. Someone was now pretending to be Carl. He didn't understand how that was possible. So he started doing some research of his own and he found out there's a term for this kind of harassment. It's called spoofing. I'm being targeted by spoof calls. I'm being targeted by spoof texts. Spoofing is a common tool in scams, fraud schemes and harassment campaigns. Someone disguises their real number and makes it appear as though a call or text is coming from a different caller. They could use a random phone number or they could make it look like they were calling as someone specific. That's how the tow company received a call that looked like it was from Carl himself. Over the next few months, these spoof calls became a part of Carl's everyday life. He started receiving calls from other tow truck companies, locksmiths, heating and cooling technicians, plumbers. I'm talking like the emergency vets. I'm talking about a limo service. I'm talking about a carpet company was somewhere in there. I'm just about anybody that you could possibly think of. These people are coming to the door and they're probably like, what the hell is going on here? And we're not talking like corporate people. We're talking about small local mom and pop own businesses with very limited means, traveling all of that way to come to Kenosha to respond to a service request. It was happening all the time, all hours of the night, into the morning. I would get waking up and it was so nerve racking. There was one day in particular, there was probably three people that showed up and it was so exhausting that I literally had a sign on my door now that said, if you're a plumber, if you're tow truck, if you're a locksmith, I am being impersonated. If I need services, I'll call from a different number. Sorry for the inconvenience. It is enough to make anybody go crazy. I mean, it is enough to make anybody sick. The constant harassment impacted Carl's relationship with Drew. They were both on edge. Drew for his role in all of this because he didn't have to stay at all. He wanted to be there to support me. He loved me, you know? But it was helpless for him, too, because it's like he himself had no answers. The only thing he could possibly offer was just to be another person there for me. And it was comforting, at least, to that degree, but in many ways it was hard for us to really develop our relationship further because survival was at the top of my mind at all times. Carl self-medicated to deal with distress. I was drinking heavily and making an ass of myself everywhere we went. There was one night he peeled me off the floor because I was drunk and I'd fallen over and hit my head on the air conditioner and was laying down on the floor and he had to pick me up when he got home from work. He came home to find you on the floor. Yeah, yeah. If I wasn't constantly hung over, I was drinking to kill the hang over and you know, I was just going through the entire day. And that definitely had a strain on our relationship. Carl became more reliant on alcohol. He couldn't find peace. He was a spectator in his own life spinning out of control. His best friend Paul was there for him through it all, as a shoulder to cry on. Carl felt grateful to have a confidant like Paul. I had somebody that I could lean on because he was experiencing what I was experiencing. He knew exactly how it felt to get a text message that was threatening in nature. To get blown up with spoof calls, it was somebody that I could feel safe with. As nobody else in the world really could relate to what it was that I was going through. Despite battling all of this, Carl and Drew made it to a year of being together on November 4th, 2023. A pretty amazing milestone. All things considered. We decided we were going to take a drive to Chicago to celebrate our anniversary. Sure enough, their night out was interrupted. Once again, a towing company said they received a call from a Carl Bryan. This was the 19th spoofed service call he received in the span of about a month. What a way for us to spend our one-year anniversary by dealing with this headache of a tow truck. But the night wasn't over. By now, Carl was spending most nights at Drew's apartment. The only thing I could really do to like keep myself sane was try to remove myself from my house as much as possible just like on the off-chance of some random service providers showed up. So, after dealing with the tow truck, they settled in at Drew's for the night. Turned off my phone. The dogs were in bed with me and Drew and just went to bed and I was probably the first normal sleeping a long time. But in the morning, when he turned on his phone, Carl also saw that he had an alert from his security camera app. There was activity recorded the night before. He hit play and you could see Sheriff's at his front door. They have the flashlights open and they're checking in the windows and they're knocking on the door and they're ringing the bell and I'm like what is going on? Carl slept at Drew's place that night, which is why he didn't hear the police bang on his door. So, Carl ran the Sheriff's Department. They said that just after midnight, they received a concerning call for service from Carl's phone number. They said that apparently Drew was abusing my dogs. And I'm like what? The dogs are with us. They are well taken care of, you know, and I said that's not the truth. I haven't even been home. Do you have audio of this phone call? Hello, this is the unit 422. Hi, I was wondering if I could have a police call to clear out to my address. My boyfriend was like caught hitting my dog and we just kind of got into like a little dispute. And then what is your address? Space. And then your first name? Carl. And your left name, Carl? Brian. All right, and then exactly what happened earlier today? I just saw something on my boyfriend hitting my dog and like snacking on and I told him to stop and then it kind of just gotten to like a little argument between us. My one is in the lead, but he wanted. Okay. I'm scared. I don't know if he's going to do it again or not. Yeah, no, absolutely. All right. And it was only verbal, not physical at all between you two. Between us, but yeah, it's a verbal. Okay, is he still there right now? Yes, he is. Okay, what's your boyfriend saying? Andrew, condom. Okay. We'll get somebody out there to take a report and kind of stay with going on, okay? Okay, thank you so much. Yes, you're welcome. It was deeply concerning to me. Not only was my phone number being used to call tow trucks and all of that. that, but now also police this batch. Like, who knows what the hell the caller is going to be capable of at this point? Like, what kind of calls are going to be making? Carl was at a loss about what to do next. In his time of need, he found himself relying more and more on his best friend Paul. We're communicating just about every day, multiple times a day. More often than not, the conversations would center on what we could do to get ahead of whatever harassment it was that we were experiencing just to try to feel some semblance of safety. Although Paul was also a target of the harassment, he was there for Carl, and he warned Carl. Boni calls to police could go very wrong. When I was talking to Paul about this, you know, he's telling me like, I've heard stories about fake bomb threats and people getting killed over them. And, of course, immediately I'm like, oh my God, like, is this going to happen to me? Is there going to be a fake bomb threat placed in my name? And is it going to result in somebody getting killed? I am scared out of my mind. It felt like the threat of Adam was everywhere. Carl and his whole community felt like they were under attack. Carl couldn't see how this would end. And then the next message arrived. It was sent to Paul. Someone's not going to make it out of this alive. And if you're stupid and show him this message, it just might be you. He called me up, very shaken, crying on the phone and fearing for his own safety. And when I heard him upset, it did deeply affect me. This was a direct threat. Carl was terrified. Every new attack seemed to make the case against Adam stronger. And it was clear, no one around Carl was safe. But here's the thing. The timing of the harassment, the number of texts, the threatening tone, were almost too perfect. And it would be months before Carl learned the truth that the person behind it all wasn't his ex-boyfriend Adam. It was his best friend and confidant of 10 years. Paul Augustine. On the next episode of Betrayal. If you would like to reach out to the Betrayal team or want to tell us your Betrayal story, tell us at [email protected]. That is Betrayal P-O-D at gmail.com. Or follow us on Instagram @betrayalpod or me @it'sundraygunning. To access our newsletter and additional content and to connect with the Betrayal community, join our substack at betrayal.substack.com. We're grateful for your support. One way to show support is by subscribing to our show on Apple Podcasts. And don't forget to rate and review. Five star reviews go a long way. A big thank you to all of our listeners. Betrayal is a production of Glass Podcasts, a division of Glass Entertainment Group and partnership with iHeart Podcasts. The show was executive produced by Nancy Glass, hosted and produced by me @it'sundraygunning. Written and produced by Carrie Hartman and Caitlin Golden. Our story editor is Monique LeBourd, also produced by Ben Fetterman. Our production manager is Kristen Mulcuri. Our associate producer is Leah Jablow, additional support by Carrie Richman and Olivia Hewitt. Our iHeart team is Ali Perry and Jessica Crinchak, audio editing and voice acting by Tanner Robbins, mixing and mastering by Matt Delvecchio. And special thanks to Carl Bryan, Adam Mejia, Matt Roelsey, and their communities. Betrayal's theme composed by Oliver Baines, music library provided by my music. And for more podcasts from iHeart, visit the iHeart radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.