The Promise

At around 4 o’clock in the morning, STACEY AND PAUL JOHNSON woke to the blaring sound of the house alarm.  They immediately run to their daughter PHOEBE JOHNSONS’, 16, bedroom.  Her sheets were still warm from where she had slept, but she was nowhere in sight.  Terror ran through Stacey and Paul’s minds as they helplessly called out their only child’s name. Unfortunately their calls would be answered by the terrifying sound of two cars crashing outside. 

Stacey could not believe what she saw when she opened the door.  Phoebe stood at the end of the driveway shaking in the freezing cold as a neighbor held her tightly.  A chaotic car crash framed the background.  As Stacey yelled out her daughter’s name, the frightened teenager turned revealing ghastly wounds on her arms and legs.  Neither Stacey nor Paul could understand the source of the blood that had stained their daughter’s pajamas. 

They would learn from DR. MILLER that Phoebe was suffering from a condition called Somnambulism, or sleepwalking, which is usually caused by trauma. “Has Phoebe ever been abused before?  Physical?  Sexual?”  The doctor asked.  The words hit Stacey and Paul like a ton of bricks. Paul quickly brushes off the question, insulted by the implication.  Stacey shares his reaction, until her mind starts to wander.

When she discovers the shocking statistics for girls who are molested by family members, she commits to doing whatever it takes to uncover the truth, even if she hurts her husband of sixteen years in the process.