Bethany, Shona and Mel - What lies ahead?

Just like everyone else, I was delighted to hear the guilty verdicts for Nathan, Neil and crew. I did though want to hear for how long they were sentenced and to hear the words, ‘Take them down.’ Still, there was a beautifully touching moment, after the verdict, when Bethany and Sarah hugged each other for a long time, because, with Nathan and crew locked away, their involvement in her life is over. The relief was palpable and justice was done. Nathan, Neil and the crew will endure long sentences and, for now, the girls they might have captured and abused are safe, at least from them. A vacuum has been created though, and it won’t and can’t be long before it’s filled. That’s life, sadly.

Bethany over time, will hopefully recover. It won’t be easy and it won’t be quick When Bethany said she was ‘lucky’ in court and the barrister tried to distort her meaning, we know what she meant. She was lucky in the sense that she had a supportive family. Mel doesn’t have a supportive family and Nathan was quick to point out, that whereas Bethany did have a family who love her, that was not the case for Mel. Hardened as she seems, she was still in thrall to Nathan: obedient to him, terrified of him and totally used by him, believing herself to be in love with him.

Mel’s circumstances are nowhere near as favourable as Bethany’s. Will we hear about her again? Will we find out if Mel can recover? In time, might she and Bethany gain strength from each other? Of the three girls, Mel is the least fortunate. We have heard nothing of any family ties. Our last sighting of her was when she had a change of heart and let Bethany out of the car in which she’d tried to kidnap her, in order to prevent her giving evidence in court against Nathan, Neil and co. So, what now for Mel? Where will she go? How will she earn a living? Does she have friends she can turn to? She is the most damaged of the three girls and it’s my sense that she will take a long time to recover. She’ll surely come to realise just how much she has been abused and used and perhaps those people who work with abused women will help her – but, first of all, Mel will have to have the courage to present herself. I don’t believe she is a bad person – just someone who was absorbed into Nathan’s sick world. She believed that the manipulative, exploitative Nathan actually loved her, rather than seeing the reality that Nathan loved just 2 things – money and himself.

And what of Shona? Shona seems to me to be a different kind of female. She and David seem to be going well. That Shona is Clayton’s mother, is not something either of them can forget. David’s feelings for Shona seem strong; strong enough to overcome the fact that she is Clayton’s mother. They seem well suited. Shona makes an effort with Max and Lily, which must warm David’s heart. Perhaps because she is older than Bethany and more aware of how the world works, as well as having given birth aged 13, Shona appears to be made of tough stuff. She showed her good heartedness when she tried to rescue Bethany, and was in no doubt what the consequences would be if found out – namely, a good beating by 2 of Nathan’s henchmen. There is though the threat of Clayton’s father hanging over her and his knowledge that she won a reasonable amount of money. He does seem a threatening individual, and I’m certain we’ll see more of him. I can’t leave this post without a mention of Lara. !4 years old – exploited and abused. Nathan had made her life so unbearable, that at her tender age, she can bear life no more, and jumps in front of a train.

By Ruth Owen, Twitter: @ruth1722