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“Weare.”
Lenna keeps reading.I didn’t know what to do. I left anyway. She never sent the video,the post goes on.But I felt traumatized. And here’s the thing—I think a lot of people there are traumatized. It wasn’t just Marjorie—I think there were quite a few bad apples. Or maybe not bad—maybe that’s the wrong word. Damaged. They needed help, and they were expected just to be “better” by working hard and doing chores and feeling the “magic” of the land. I wish something that simple could heal us. But in the end, I didn’t notice it healing anyone.
Lenna reads the last few sentences aloud. “How many people have left Halcyon?” Sarah asks. “Do we even know?”
“And does Marjorie know aboutus,somehow? Is this…ammunition to keep us here?” Lenna stares into the distance. “Marjorie threatened to use Carina’s secrets against her unless she stayed.Maybe she intends to do the same with us—she already kind of has, simply by putting us together. And shealreadydid that to Rhiannon—and whatever she knows about the baby.”
Sarah looks puzzled. “So you think Marjorie brought us here specifically because she knew we have secrets? Like, she targeted us to fund her community?”
“You said you sank a lot of money into this place. It’s a strange sort of fundraising, but who knows? But I still can’t figure out how Marjorie knew about what happened. With me…with you…with Gillian…” What is Lenna not seeing clearly? Does Marjorie have a connection toCity Gossip?IsRhiannon a spy, somehow in on the whole thing? But why would Rhiannon be missing, then?
Dust swirls in the sky. Lenna considers the people in that house with Marjorie. Innocents. Trapped there under the weight of their secrets. She and Sarah need to climb higher. Call 911.
Her phone buzzes, and she looks down, startled. A call is coming through. Lenna doesn’t recognize the number on the screen.
“Who is it?” Sarah cries.
Lenna just stares. It can’t be someone from the outside. It must be someone from inside the house. Finally, Sarah reaches over and presses the green button, putting the call on speaker.
“Lenna?” a voice crackles. “I-Is that you?”
“Who is this?” Lenna screams.
“Lenna. Jesus. I’ve been calling and calling. It’s Marjorie. Tell me where you are. It’s not safe out there. I’m coming to find you.”
30
Rhiannon
August
Two years before
The quiet and desolation of southern Arizona was a comfort to Rhiannon after she ran off with Teddy. And there was really something maternal about Marjorie, the woman who’d brought her there. Halcyon hadn’t even been one of the communities Rhiannon reached out to. It was like Marjorie justknew.
She picked her up at the turnoff, took the baby in her arms, and comforted Rhiannon when she burst into tears.
“There, there,” Marjorie cooed. “It’s okay. It’s all going to be okay. We’ve all been through this. We all know pain. And you’ve come home, my love. We’re going to help you. You’re safe.”
It wasn’t that Rhiannon feared her mother finding her. That was part of what made her cry so hard—she knew shewouldn’t.Even more troubling, if Rhiannonhadn’treturned to Joanna’s hospital room, where would the baby be now?
She sobbed as Marjorie drove up the dusty road and unlocked the cattle gate. She sobbed as Marjorie took Teddy and carried himtoward the rambling house with the bizarrely painted exterior. A few children stared, wide-eyed. Rhiannon took in the cluttered room. There were books everywhere, food scraps, dusty corners.
Rhiannon was led into a tiny bedroom, and sat on the bed. She cried more. So did the baby. He screamed all night. The other residents seemed unnerved; they kept their distance. Rhiannon paced back and forth in the room that first night, shushing Teddy, coaxing him to take bottles, weeping with relief when he finally drifted off to fitful sleep.
But as time wore on, the women grew kind. They took turns holding Teddy. They taught Rhiannon how to burp him and treat his cradle cap. They said nothing at how clueless she seemed, how tentative. She learned their names: Melissa, Naomi, Amy. Ann. Gia. They all seemed a little broken, too. Maybe it was why they never asked her for details—they didn’t want to share their own. The favor went both ways.
Rhiannon never told anyone the truth. Surely they’d report a kidnapping—only,wasthat what she’d done? Her mother gave her permission to take Teddy. It was possible the hospital didn’t report the baby being gone because the parents had left, too. Maybe they let the incident go.
The fact that Halcyon dissuaded others from prying into someone’s past acted as a protection. If people suspected there was something off about Rhiannon and her baby, they didn’t question it, nor did she feel they were gossiping about it when she wasn’t around.
Within a few days of coming to the ranch, Teddy was crying much less and feeding well. Rhiannon was grateful for the respite. The community grew on her. The food was good, the people were kind, the world was quiet and secluded. She feltsafehere.
When she told Marjorie she wanted to stay permanently, she figured Marjorie would be welcoming. But instead, she wascautious. “I’m all for you joining the family. But do you think you can come up with the funds for the buy-in fees?”
Rhiannon shifted. When she asked Marjorie how much the fees were, the amount was staggering. She had no idea how she’d come up with that kind of money.
“Do you have any, like, scholarships?”
