Chapter 15 - KARA’S STORY
Kara and Dennis began a sexual relationship after she turned nineteen.
That was Kara’s language.
Not romance.
Not affair.
Relationship.
She described the beginning as coercive.
Dennis controlled transportation.
Helped manage money Trisha withheld during family conflicts.
Told Kara she was mature.
Told her Trisha would never understand.
Kara said:
“I said yes sometimes.”
Then:
“I also learned that saying no changed where I was allowed to sleep.”
The legal system would later struggle with what could be charged years afterward and what evidence remained.
I did not need a criminal verdict to understand the betrayal.
Kara became pregnant.
Dennis begged her not to tell Trisha.
He paid for an apartment in Spokane.
After Sophie’s birth, Kara developed severe postpartum depression.
Then misused prescription sedatives.
She entered treatment voluntarily.
Dennis offered to care for Sophie temporarily.
Marlene Pierce was hired through Michael Bennett’s trust.
A temporary guardianship order gave Dennis authority during Kara’s treatment.
Six months.
Then extension.
After that, things became murky.
Dennis claimed Kara abandoned contact.
May you like
Kara said Dennis blocked it.
The records would decide.
