A Lie to Die For (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE)

**MrBallen** (0:00)
Today, I'm going to tell three stories about people who tried really hard to be something that they were not. And not only do they get caught, but they also face just extreme repercussions. But before we get into today's stories, if you're a fan of the Strange, Dark & Mysterious delivered in story format, then you've come to the right place because that's all we do, and we upload two, three, even four times every week. So if that's of interest to you, the next time the follow button is really excited to see a newly released movie, go to the movie with them, but the instant it starts, spoil it for them. Okay, let's get into our first story called Safe House.
Around 1 a.m. on December 3rd, 1999, a 67-year-old billionaire banker named Edmund Safra sat up in bed inside of his penthouse apartment in the country of Monaco. Edmund's wife, Lily Safra, didn't sleep in the same bedroom as him, in part because Edmund, he had a lot of medical issues, and he needed to get medication throughout the night, and so Lily was sleeping down the hallway in a separate bedroom. And in fact, right now, the reason Edmund was awake was to get his medication. His overnight nurse had come into the bedroom to give it to him. So Edmund had Parkinson's disease, which is a serious nervous system disorder that causes movement problems amongst other things, and as a result, he required around-the-clock care. But money was no object to Edmund. I mean, he's a billionaire. So he had hired four doctors and eight nurses to work exclusively for him. And actually, about a month earlier, he'd convinced all of these medical providers to move with him and his wife from New York City to this enormous, luxurious apartment in Monaco.
There were tons of police. The crime rate was very low. And the building he was in, in particular, was known to have extremely high security, which was very important to Edmund. Because he's one of the richest people in the world. And so he knew he was a prime target for robbers. Plus, he was more vulnerable now than ever, since his disease made it pretty difficult to move around without help. And he just knew he would not be able to defend himself if somebody broke in. And so by moving to Monaco, Edmund really felt like he had heightened his security tenfold. But remember, money's not an issue for Edmund. And so once he was in Monaco, he actually continued taking further measures to really ensure his house was as safe as possible. He'd replaced all the doors in this apartment with heavy reinforced steel, and the windows had been fitted with this very expensive, thick bulletproof glass, and also steel shutters that were literally impossible to open from the outside. He'd also hired a 25-person security detail made up of highly trained intelligence officers. I mean, even one of his night nurses, Ted Marr, who was actually the guy coming in right now to give him medication, was a former Green Beret, Army Special Forces. And so with all these people and all these measures in place, Edmund really felt secure. He felt like, you know what, I'm safe. And so now Edmund took his nightly pills, and then after he swallowed them, Edmund closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, content in knowing that, just like every night, at least now in Monaco, he was as safe as he could be. However, just a few hours later, Edmund woke up again, but now to the sound of an alarm blaring across his apartment, and he smelled smoke. He opened his eyes and he saw one of his other nurses, a woman named Vivian Tarente, running over to his bed. And Ted, the Green Beret, was standing in the doorway behind her, and he was clutching his stomach, which was soaked in blood. And so Edmund's frantic, he's asking what's going on, but Vivian, she's very calm and she helps Edmund sit up. And she told him calmly but urgently that right now they have to go into his bathroom and wait because there's an intruder in the house. And when he heard this, it's like Edmund's mind went blank with panic. I mean, this was literally his worst fear. It's the thing he had spent so much money and put so much energy in to mitigating against. How could this be happening? But he really didn't have any time to freak out or ask any questions before Vivian had hoisted him up onto her shoulder and carried him into his nearby enormous bathroom where she gently put him down and then she shut the door and locked it with her in there with him. And then as soon as they got settled, Edmund, he turned to Vivian and he's like, what is going on? What happened? What do you mean there's an intruder? And Vivian said she didn't really know. But from what she had heard from the staff and from Ted is that someone somehow broke into this apartment and they set a fire. And they also stabbed Ted repeatedly. And they didn't know if they were even still on the premises. Like the staff was in overdrive trying to find them and getting in touch with police. And so for right now, we just need to stay put. We're safe in the bathroom and we just need to wait. And so Edmund, I mean, at this point, he was much calmer being behind a locked door and he's with Vivian. And he knows he's got dozens of staff that are on the case here. You know, so he's worried, but he's thinking, okay, like this is going to be handled. Like I'm safe, my staff is on it. Everything's going to be fine.