Want to get more from American Scandal?

Subscribe to Wondry Plus for early access to new episodes,

add free listening, and exclusive content you can't find anywhere else.

Join Wondery Plus in the Wondry app or on Apple Podcasts.

A listener note, this episode contains depictions of child abuse

and is not suitable for all audiences.

To protect their privacy, we have changed the names of some children involved in this story.

It's June 1946 in an affluent neighborhood of Memphis, Tennessee.

55-year-old Georgia-Tan stands by the stove in the kitchen of her large two-story home.

She's taken the day off of work. She's feeling tired lately and hasn't wanted to leave the house.

Things she chalked up to the cancer diagnosis she got last year.

But she doesn't just like sitting around doing nothing,

so she's decided to make a batch of blackberry jam.

Tang glances up from the fruit bubbling on the stove, and through the open doorway,

she hears her maids muffled footsteps cross the hallway to the front door.

A few moments later, her lawyer, Abe Waldauer, walks into the kitchen.

Oh, that smells good. Blackberry jam. There's a jar on the counter for you.

Waldauer isn't just Tan's lawyer. He also represents the Tennessee Children's Home Society and is a member of the organization's board.

He spent years making sure no one can ever lay a hand on Georgia Tan or the TCHS in court.

How are you feeling today? Oh, a little tired, but otherwise I'm fine. These pills are marvelous.

She taps the pocket of her apron, rattling the prescription bottle inside.

After her cancer diagnosis, Tan decided not to proceed with surgery or other treatments.

...