‘Scared to Death’ resumed the broadcast, noticeably avoiding any image from the camera of a person lying under a bridge. To the audience, the suggestion was obvious; the show thought Cynthia was dead. Many of the young viewers called their friends and told them to tune in to the show. The ball was rolling and gaining momentum as word-of-mouth spread.

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They wondered who would die next.

A very few of the viewers called their local television stations to register a complaint about the show and demand a prognosis for the fallen woman. Those complaints soon made their way to the parent station.

It had not yet dawned on any of the viewers that they were watching the deliberate destruction of a family in real time.