This is the 13th step. I'm Lauren Chulgin, and the episode you are about to hear, the epilogue.

It was not in our original plan. We were all pretty confident that we were going to wrap things up in six episodes.

But that all changed, because I had a conversation recently that I really wasn't expecting to have, but I'm really glad I did.

One of the last things I had to do before we published was reach out to all my sources

to let them know that the podcast was coming so they could prepare.

And when I reached out to Employee A, she texted back, and she said she wanted to talk.

Employee A, you'll remember, used to work for Eric Spofford at Granite Recovery Centers.

The first time she and I talked was December of 2020, a lifetime ago.

That's when she told me that her boss, Eric, sent her sexually explicit messages on Snapchat

and that he sexually assaulted her in his office in the middle of the workday.

Did you want that to happen?

No.

But I also didn't know how to tell him no.

I corroborated what employee

told me with other sources,

but Eric denies that it happened.

I first published a story about employee A

in March of 2022,

and since then, we've been in touch on and off,

but it would totally make sense

if she never wanted to talk to me again.

First of all, Eric's lawyers have made life hard for her. They've sent her intimidating letters threatening to sue her.

...