My boyfriend was in a true crime podcast, you wont believe what happened next.

The Podcast and the Pursuit

I heard my boyfriend’s name in a true crime podcast. 20 minutes later, everyone I loved was in danger. I was listening to a podcast about an unsolved case from 15 years ago. The host was describing a home invasion where an entire family was killed except for one person who disappeared that night.

The only survivor was a teenage boy named Ethan Crawford who fled the scene and was never found, the host said. Then they cut to an interview with someone who claimed to have new information.

I actually think I saw him about 2 years ago.

He was going by the name Danny Gillespo and living in Portland, Oregon. I recognized him from the old photos. I froze because my boyfriend’s name was Danny Gillespo and we lived in Portland. I walked into the living room where Danny was sitting on the couch.

Babe, someone on this podcast just said they saw the missing person using your exact name in Portland.

I thought he’d laugh about what a weird coincidence it was, but instead all the color drained from his face. He was already grabbing his keys and wallet. My heart started racing because his voice was completely different.

We need to leave right now. Pack a bag with only essentials. We have maybe 20 minutes before they get here. Danny, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?

He grabbed my shoulders.

My real name is Ethan Crawford and I was at that house 15 years ago when my family was killed.

I’ve been hiding ever since. And if that podcast just broadcast my current name and location, the people who did it are going to find me. I felt like the floor disappeared.

That’s insane. You work in tech. I’ve been to your childhood home.

He ran into the bedroom. He pulled a duffel bag from the closet. Inside were stacks of cash, three different IDs, and a weapon.

That’s all fake. I’ve been running for 15 years. How long have you been lying to me?

My job isn’t real. My past isn’t real. He handed me a backpack. I started packing on autopilot. He stopped. I only survived because I wasn’t home that night.

About everything. Even my feelings for you started as something else. Put clothes and documents in here. No phone, no laptop. Why did they kill your family? My father was going to testify. They killed everyone to send a message.

My phone buzzed and Danny grabbed it. He looked at the screen and went paler. He showed me a photo of our apartment building taken from across the street.

They’re already here.

He threw my phone against the wall. These people have been looking for me for 15 years. The second that woman said my name and this city, they probably had people mobilizing. He pulled a second weapon from under the mattress.

Do you know how to use this? I shook my head. Then stay behind me and if I tell you to run, you run.

We went to the front door and he looked through the peephole, then pulled back. My entire body went cold. He shook his head.

There’s someone in the hallway. Is there another way out?

Fire escape ends in an alley where they’ll be waiting. Danny Gillespo, we just want to talk.

Dany pushed me toward the bathroom. The door exploded inward and Danny fired twice. I heard someone fall and more footsteps coming up the stairs. He grabbed my arm.

Get in the tub and stay down no matter what you hear.

We climbed onto the fire escape and I could hear shouting from inside. We made it down one level before someone started shooting from below.

Dany fired back and pulled me toward a ladder to the next building’s roof. We ran across two rooftops before climbing down into a different alley.

It’s me. Get in.

Dany shoved me into the back and jumped in. The man drove away fast as people came running around the corner.

Who are you?

The man looked at me in the mirror.

I’m James. I’ve been helping Ethan hide for 15 years, moving money around, creating new identities.

Dany was breathing hard. I couldn’t process any of this. Dany turned to me and his whole face was different. Your father was supposed to testify with my father 15 years ago.

How did they find me so fast? James looked grim. That podcast went viral in the last hour. Someone screenshot the part about Portland and your name.

He went into hiding at the last minute. The organization has been looking for both our families. I found you to protect you and find your father.

I need to tell you something else. The reason I approached you wasn’t random.

Everything stopped. James spoke up. His real name is Michael Bane. They both witnessed the same crime. Then I remembered something from the podcast. Danny’s face went white.

My father sells insurance in Denver. Your father’s been using the name Richard Hayes for 15 years. He was my father’s business partner. They mentioned another name. They said they were looking for Michael Bane and thought he might be in Colorado. Did they say anything else? My mind raced. They said someone claimed to have seen him recently.

James hit the steering wheel. James took a sharp left turn and I gripped the seat as we sped through narrow streets I didn’t recognize. My boyfriend wasn’t my boyfriend and my father wasn’t dead and people were actively trying to kill us right now.

If they mentioned Colorado, they’re already on their way to your father.

I kept looking at the back of Ethan’s head while he twisted around every few seconds to check behind us. He’d been doing this for 15 years, living like prey, and I’d had no idea. James cut through an alley and came out on a different street.

He’d had no idea because I was too busy believing his lies about working in tech and growing up in Seattle. Then made three more random turns before heading toward what looked like the industrial district. My hands were shaking.

I realized I was still holding the backpack I’d packed in maybe 30 seconds before our apartment exploded with gunfire. Everything I owned was back there.

My laptop with all my photos, my clothes, the jewelry my mom gave me for graduation just sitting there while strangers with weapons went through it looking for clues about where we went.

We pulled into an underground parking garage beneath some kind of warehouse. James drove to the back corner where another car was waiting. He got out fast and started transferring bags between vehicles.

Ethan finally turned to look at me directly. His face was different now, harder somehow, like he dropped a mask I didn’t even know he was wearing. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but James interrupted.

We needed to move now. Switch vehicles every few hours so they couldn’t track us.