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Because she had lost contact with her father, Rachelle says she didn't know the details of the adoption. For years, she thought her father had adopted a boy, who she thought would be safe from harm. A chance encounter with a family friend informed Rachelle of the truth. She says her "heart dropped" when she found out Mancuso had a daughter. Still, she says fear and shame prevented her from alerting authorities. "I didn't know what to do," says a tearful Rachelle. "I had never told my secret to anybody and I didn't plan on telling my secret to anybody ever. It was something I was going to take with me to the grave."
Meeting Masha for the first time was a gut-wrenching experience for Rachelle. "I want to tell Masha I'm very sorry," says Rachelle. "I really wish that I had said something when I was a kid because maybe Masha would have been spared this hell of a life that she had to go through."
Oprah commends Rachelle for admitting her feelings. "I want you to let go of the guilt of it," Oprah tells Rachelle. "But I really do think that it's good that you're here saying this, because I want every child out there who is being molested to know that whoever is molesting you is going to molest somebody else."
"Not only when you speak up do you save yourself, you get to save a whole lot of other people, too," says Oprah.
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