Spotlight on the Mirror

Chapter Twenty-Four

A week later, Natasha was detoxing while suffering from night terrors. Holliday and Madison had purchased her a night light but she only felt comfortable sleeping in the living room with the TV on. Natasha explained that she felt trapped being in the back bedroom. She had started therapy but hated taking the prescribed pills. She claimed that she was tired of always feeling numb so she battled her anxiety and depression with self control and a lot of will power. Natasha refused to give up but it was painfully clear of the damage that Wanda had caused.

Holliday and Madison took it slow with Natasha and continued to not touch her. They tried to pretend like everything was ok but Natasha was in a constant battle with her demons everyday. Even though Wanda was in jail, Natasha was still very fearful that she would take her away and punish her. Surprisedly, Wanda was arrested on that same day. She had boarded a plane to head back to Diecedue once she saw them looking through her home office. Her mobile alert was triggered when Natasha put in the security code on the alarm system. Since Wanda had to turn her cell off, she didn't know that Mendall and the Police Commissioner were also present until she landed. Upon seeing her home being searched, she tried to board another flight going overseas but was arrested on the spot. Wanda claimed her innocence and tried to turned everything around on Natasha but nobody listened. Since Natasha's case was labeled as high profile, Wanda was currently being held on a $100 million dollar bond and was considered a flight risk.

Wanda was the first piece in the domino effect. Once the pictures and what turned out to be recordings on DVDs were reviewed, the others followed. Along with Wanda's arrest was Carmen Cylla, notable people around town, and a lot of city officials. Mayor Kaan had to hold a press conference since he was going to have to replace many local employees. Major news stations around the world picked up the story which cause Enzo Martin to be arrested along with others just like him. Due to the national exposure, the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force stepped in to investigate the case as well.

Even though Natasha's identify was being held from the press due to her abuse starting when she was underage, most people around the city knew it was about her especially after seeing Wanda's arrest aired on TV. Surprisingly, many former dancers of Ms. Cylla also stepped forward with their own tales of sexual abuse. They were held in silence by Ms. Cylla's connections and knew they would be blackballed if they ever told anyone. Most of their parents didn't even know and that was the saddest part. The last person that most families would ever suspect of molesting and exploiting their children would be the highly reputable dance teacher.

Just as with Ms. Cylla, other girls made allegations against the city officials as well. The city was in shambles because policemen were arresting their own. The corruption was definitely being exposed and while others faced their despicable crimes, a few took the cowardly way out and committed suicide. The pictures and recordings in Wanda's possession incriminated so many adults but also helped to identify many of the victims.

Most of the female dancers in Enzo's play filed a lawsuit against him as well as former acquaintances. The heartbreaking story for that day is when his own two daughters reported abuse against him. But with Enzo going down, so did his colleagues. Many like him were also caught in the fire by accusations of sexual misconduct. Without a single doubt in anyone's mind, the dance world would forever be changed.

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Natasha openly expressed her feelings of regret. The world that she knew was crashing down and she had never experience anything else. Sadly, she didn't know how to live without Wanda and didn't know where to begin to even build her life from all the broken pieces that surrounded her. Holliday and Madison tried desperately to help Natasha to not feel guilty but she blamed herself for the trouble that she felt she was causing. The Conservatory of CC was temporarily closed down and even after the latest confessions, they all still felt a tiny bit of sadness. CC's was one of the greatest achievements for any dancer but now, that name would always be associated with shame. While Holliday and Madison shared the normal experience of a dance school, Natasha experienced the dark underworld of it.