“What is it?”
“Not much on the corporation. Ownership is obscured, but it was registered with the state about three years ago. Hold on.” Another pause. “Well, Eden’s Children is run by one Adam Eden.”
“So that’s who Maxwell is working with.” The pieces were starting to come together.
“Calder ...” I could hear his heavy exhale through the line. “The wilderness retreat was one thing, but this—Eden’s Children—is giving me cult vibes.”
Fuck. There was the c-word.
“What did you find?”
“The usual bare-bones markers. Plain website and stock photos advertising sexual confidence and well-being. No contact information. No address. Nothing but a few blog articles written by Maxwell, though she’s only referenced as Dr. Julia.”
In my experience with cults, which thankfully wasn’t too much, their online footprint was hardly even an outline. It was for show. A house of cards. Just like their foundational belief system. The only thing that was real was how they sought to take advantage of people.
“There’s an online form anyone who stumbles onto the website can fill out for more information, but I doubt it’s ever been used,” Callum continued. “The website didn’t show up in my regular search, so they’re probably using a program to stop search bots from crawling the site and sorting it into a search feed.”
“Not surprising,” I murmured. The few cases I’d taken involving a missing loved one who’d been recruited to join a cult had followed this same kind of online framework; they had enough of a presence to appear legitimate, but they didn’t want cold leads or law enforcement to be able to find them easily. “And Adam Eden?”
“His bio is sparse, just a big quote about his feminine-empowerment philosophy and why he created Eden’s Children.”
Most cults fell into one of two categories: those containing a religious element and those that didn’t. Almost all wielded a kind of self-improvement, “better life” fantasy as their main selling point, which could make it hard to distinguish between legitimate businesses with altruistic motives ... and those that stepped over the line and abused the basic instinct of humans to want to be better.
“His photo is useless. I can already tell it’s been run through one of those AI-enhancement programs, judging by that jawline. It’s going to take me a while to figure out what he really looks like.”
I grunted.
“I’ll keep digging into him.”
“Focus on finding a location.” Finding the cult’s base—“the Garden”—was my only priority right now. “I’ll text you if we learn anything else.”
“Another storm’s hitting your area tonight.”
“Thanks,” I said, though even I could already see the dark clouds blotting out the mountain peaks in the not-so-very-far distance, towing a promise of thunderous tumult in their wake.
By the time I returned to the tent, I’d caught Ben and Matthew weaving through the woods with the dinner trays. Tonight, dinner was cut short for Maxwell’s evening lecture; even she was worried about the reliability of the broadcast due to the arriving storm. The change in schedule meant that hours passed between when I’d talked to Callum and when I finally had the chance to reveal what he’d found.
“A cult?” Lara stared at me.
“Yes,” I grunted. There was no easy way to share our suspicions, so I didn’t sugarcoat it; it was better to rip off the Band-Aid and move on. “We can’t say for certain—”
“But you think she was recruited to a cult—excuse me, a sex cult,” she said in that stern doctor voice, the one that feigned calm even when she was unsteady inside.
I nodded slowly, watching every shade of green cascade through her eyes as she continued to metabolize the idea.
She paced the tent, worrying her bottom lip until all I could think about was kissing her to make it stop.
Looking at me over her shoulder, she finally spoke again. “We have to find her.”
“We will. Just remember, right now, we have nothing to suggest Rachel is in danger—physical or life-threatening danger.” Lara glared at me. “Think about what Sarah told you. It appears everyone who joins, joins willingly.” Aside from one incident in Maxwell’s former life, there was no indication that Eden’s Children was harming anyone.
“So, you think there is a chance, in this world, that this sex cultisn’texploitative? That they aren’t taking advantage of her?”
I gritted my teeth. I’d always made it a point to not argue possibilities. Decisions could only be made with what wasknown, not what was possible. But I couldn’t argue with her. I couldn’t beobjectivewith her.
“No,” I admitted roughly.
Lara flinched and then steeled her shoulders. “We can’t let Sarah go.”
