with broken dreams. Only the toughest, the best, the ones with the most self-belief and the most luck break through.’
‘I know that.’
‘Do you? Do you really? You’re talented. You’ve got charisma. And maybe you have the self-belief, though you hide it well. But luck – that’s something you can’t control. And that’s where we come in.’
‘But what does that mean? What exactly do you do?’
Eden got up from the bed. ‘It’s simple. We’re a network. We have money. Vast amounts of money. We have connections. We have power. We can make things happen for you. And we can teach you as well. Teach you to be stronger. Teach you to believe in yourself.’
‘I do . . .’
‘Really? I’m talking absolute confidence. We can turn you into a person who glides through life. Who gets everything she ever wanted. We can make you happy. And you’ll belong. You’ll have friends better than any family.’
It sounded so good. Eden was telling Ruth everything she had ever longed to hear, offering all the things she’d been looking for throughout her life. But surely it was too good. Too easy. Ruth had fought for everything she had gained in her life so far. Fought to survive the care system she’d grown up in. Refused to believe all the people who told her acting was too hard, that she would never make it. Nothing had ever been handed to her on a plate – yet here was someone offering to do just that.
Her instincts told her to mistrust. That nothing in her life could ever be this easy.
But what if this was the fork in the road? The moment where her life could go one way or the other? Success or failure. Ambitions fulfilled or crushed.
Eden was offering her what sounded like a magic pill. Would it be insane to turn it down? To try it at least?
She didn’t know what to do.
‘I was a wreck when I met Gabriel,’ Eden continued. ‘A shaking, weak, self-loathing creature. A drug addict.’
‘You never told me that.’
‘I know. Because that’s the old me. The me I try to forget. And unlike you, I did have a family, but wished I didn’t. My dad . . . My dad is an asshole. One of the worst human beings to ever walk this planet. I had been taught that I deserved nothing but misery and poverty and abuse.’ Her eyes filled with tears. ‘And then I met Gabriel and he showed me the way things should be. Could be. He taught me to be strong, to believe in myself. He gave me protection against both the wolves and the sheep. He saved me, Ruth. And he can save you too.’
Eden took hold of Ruth’s wrists, holding on tight. Her eyes shone not just with tears but with a religious fervour. An ecstasy.
‘Join us,’ Eden said. ‘And he will give you the world.’
The temptation was almost unbearable; it was like she was being torn in two. Once again, she felt the way she had when Gabriel had been talking to her, caressing her ego, soothing her fears away. She was thrown into an imagined future, one in which she was adored and respected; a world of luxury and security. She pictured herself cradled and loved.
‘Do it,’ Eden said, ‘and he’ll give you everything. All of himself.’
The way Eden said it, with a hint of lasciviousness, made Ruth snap out of the dreamy state she had been falling into. ‘What does that mean?’
Eden didn’t respond straight away.
Ruth pressed. ‘What do you mean, all of himself ?’
‘Just your loyalty. Like I said, it’s a network. We all help each other. When you’re in a position to help another member, you’ll do so.’ But she sounded uncertain, like she was backtracking.
‘He won’t want to sleep with me?’
Eden hesitated again.
‘He will, won’t he?’ Ruth said. A memory had come back to her. That first night after she woke up, meeting Marie. What had Emilio said? That she belonged to another? ‘Do you belong to him, Eden? Do you have to sleep with him too? Do all the women here?’
She thought Eden would deny it, but instead she said, ‘Sometimes. But only because we want to. He doesn’t make us.’
‘Oh my God. But it’s expected, isn’t it?’
Eden tried to take hold of Ruth’s hand. ‘You’ll enjoy it. He’s a skilful lover. He’s a teacher in the bedroom too.’
Ruth snatched her hand away. ‘I’m actually going to be sick. He was going on and on about loving