All language subtitles for Stolen.Youth.Inside.the.Cult.at.Sarah.Lawrence.S01E03.Webrip

[siren wails]

REPORTER: Stunning allegations
against a New York dad.

He's accused
of orchestrating a sex cult

made up of his daughter's
college classmates.

DA: Today we announce
criminal charges

against this man, Lawrence Ray

who, for nearly a decade,
exploited and abused

young women and men

emotionally, physically,
and sexually

for his own financial gain.

REPORTER: Authorities
say he moved his victims

to Piscataway, New Jersey

where he allegedly restricted
their access to food and sleep

and forced victims to work
in the middle of the night

and to sleep outside.

DA:
Ray was arrested this morning.

Two of the female victims
in the indictment

were in the residence
at the time.

REPORTER:
Do you have any comments?

Any comments?
[camera shutter snapping]

ANCHOR: That raid has people
around here wondering

what was going on
inside this house.

REPORTER: If found guilty,
he faces a maximum sentence

of life in prison.

- [speaking Spanish]

[sighs, sniffles]

[soft melancholy music]

[sniffles]

♪ ♪

Felicia. Felicia.
[tapping at window]

♪ ♪

CYNDI: I've writ Isabella
a couple of letters,

but she doesn't reply.

The police say
that if she doesn't want

to see you,
she does not have to see you.

Yeah, I miss her.

I miss her every day.

What was it about her
that he had to keep her?

And he has Felicia, too.

♪ ♪

[birds chirping]

FELICIA: I definitely want us
to get a dog.

FELICIA: A stress dog? Yeah.
[laughs]

Especially now.

Do you think we could have
a basset hound?

Or, like--

FELICIA: Oh, really?
Well, what if we adopt one?

- A pure basset hound?

FELICIA: Or--I don't know.

I-I--this is how much
I know about dogs.

FELICIA: A therapy dog.

ISABELLA: I love animals.
FELICIA: Yeah.

All right, so this is
the living room.

This is where we worked,
hung out, ate.

Larry sat over there.

Um, and then Izzy and I
would either be--

Izzy mostly would be
on that couch

and then I would be over here.

And we had to pull up
all of the carpet.

Um, so that's why
there's plastic on the floor.

Um, and there were huge spots
of black mold everywhere.

And we had to bleach
all of the floors

multiple times, actually.

These are our medical shelves

where we keep
all of our medical materials.

There's
a blood pressure monitor.

And then these are to help

with the muscle spasms
that we get

from-from having been poisoned.

I haven't worked
as a practicing doctor

since 2012

because I was poisoned.

I'm sure that they're trying
to blame me

not practicing as a doctor
on Larry.

But, really, he was
always my support system.

[chuckles weakly]

Yay!

LARRY: Hey, happy birthday.
FELICIA: Thank you.

Thank you so much.
ISABELLA: You're welcome.

Happy birthday.
FELICIA: Thank you. [chuckles]

ISABELLA: Cool.
- Oh, this is great.

Aw. [giggles]

ISABELLA: Kiko and me
dropped the cake before.

[Larry makes kiss sound]

FELICIA: So over here,
this is the kitchen.

And this is
our Viking refrigerator.

And there is this lock
that we had--we have on it

to keep our food safe
from strangers.

This is the trommel.

And it's, uh, clearly
an industrial-grade

dirt screener.

[trommel rumbling]

The grass was taken up
multiple times

because it wasn't put down
correctly.

Izzy and I had worked
with Larry for a long time.

Like, worked through the day

and then worked
through the night

in-into the morning.

If it wasn't done correctly,

he would take it all
back up again.

But he always has
a can-do attitude.

That's why the Marine Corps
called on him routinely.

That's why NATO called on him
ro-routinely.

Or, like, that's why
Gorbachev...[chuckles]

That's part of why
they were so close

and they worked--
they worked together so well

because, well, Larry's, like,

"Okay, you need something done?
I'll figure it out."

He's always very encouraging.

Had it not been for Larry,
my husband,

I don't know
where I would have been.

JAMES: Do you consider him
your husband?

- Yeah. He is my husband.

Like, I do consider him
my husband.

Like, he's-he's my honey bunny.
That's what I call him.

That's what we call each other.
[giggles]

I'm his honey bunny lady
and he's my honey bunny man.

[laughs]

Um...and, yeah, no.
I-I definitely

consider him my husband.

Like, we're-we're, you know,
"common law married"

'cause we've been living--

living together for howev--

you know, however many years
that we've been together.

Um, and that's what we--
that's what we call each other.

We say--we say
we're husband and wife.

I love him very, very much.
[giggles]

He's the best.

No matter what people say.
I don't care.

They don't know him. I do.
[giggles]

- Fel?
FELICIA: Yeah? Be right there.

JAMES: So where was Larry

the morning of the FBI raid?

- Uh, in the room.
In my bedroom.

FELICIA: They were pounding
on the door.

"FBI! FBI! Open the door."

And then they stormed in.

They took me
back into my room.

Then they questioned me.

It was six hours.

They're assuming
that we were abused

and mistreated and manipulated

and extorted and...

used by Lawrence.

And that couldn't be
further from the truth.

They asked about
how much did I sleep.

Did I eat?

ISABELLA: I wasn't asked
about how many hours I slept.

- Oh yeah.
- At least not that I remember.

- [giggles] Yeah.
- Lucky duck.

No, I was asked about--
mainly about prostitution...

FELICIA: Yeah.
- And finances.

It was mostly things
related to sex and money.

FELICIA: Yeah. Sex and money.

ISABELLA: When I think
about Lawrence,

it's like my heart's breaking

because he's in prison
innocently.

It feels like a Twilight Zone.

Really.

The prostitution--
they're telling me

this is what occurred
even though I know it didn't.

JAMES: What are they saying
you're a victim of?

ISABELLA: Of Lawrence.

Sexual abuse, physical abuse,
emotional abuse.

- That's very frustrating

because then I'm just, like,
this person

that Larry Ray, like,
did something to,

brainwashed, whatever it is
that they're gonna say.

Like, they asked my parents.

And, like, I haven't spoken
to them in years.

Like, many, many years.
And for good reason.

Like, they participated
in poisoning me.

They participated
in hurting me--

in hurting me and my family.

Which is--
like, this is my family.

- Yeah.
- I am a victim of poisoning

and Claudia, and Santos,
and Yali, and Kerik,

and my parents.

That's who I'm a victim of.

I'm not a victim of Lawrence.

- Right.
FELICIA: I'm prepared

to do everything I can
to make sure

that the right thing
happens here.

Like, I will not stop

until everyone knows the truth

and justice is served.

[moody music]

♪ ♪

[dog barking]

[water running]

ISABELLA:
Felicia, on a Friday,

she told me,
"Hey, can we talk tomorrow?"

I said, "Sure."

[timer clicking]

She tells me on the advice
of her attorneys

she thinks it's better

if we don't live
together anymore.

I don't know why.

But I think she's doing it

because it looks better
for her.

I mean, I've always been,

regardless
of what anybody wants to say,

independent.

Um...

So this is just another version
of that, I guess.

You know?

So, like, this shirt I got him,

I have for a couple
different reasons.

One, this is what
I just associate

with Lawrence wearing the most.

You know,
I guess it makes me feel

a little less sad
at how fucked up

the situation is.

I think it just is, like,

a symbol
of a certain type of hope

that, you know,
it's gonna be okay.

And, two, if he does get bail,

this could be
one of his shirts.

And it's gonna
really wrinkle it

if it's folded.

[door hinges creak]

[stream burbling]

[geese honking]

Early this morning,
my attorneys and I

had a meeting
with the prosecution.

And the prosecution
made it clear to me

that there's nothing
stopping them

from bringing charges
against me.

They do believe
I was victimized by Lawrence,

but also I was
a willing participant

in his illicit activities.

So then I'm faced
with the decision

either cooperate
with the prosecution's effort,

which is...based on these
completely false allegations,

or risk being charged

along with Lawrence
as a co-conspirator

and risk myself

up to life in prison
if convicted.

I believe it could happen.

Do I believe it will happen?
I don't know.

I definitely believe
it could happen.

But...

Okay...

So what? I don't know.

Then my mind
kind of stops there.

[heavy music]

♪ ♪

[wipers thudding]

FELICIA: I was advised
by my attorneys

that it would be better
to live on my own.

[lock clicks]

I am in charge of my own time,

my space, my food.

JAMES: And there's no lock
on the fridge.

FELICIA: Yeah, no.
And I can open it myself.

And I don't have to be worried

about somebody coming in
and doing something.

For so long, I had Larry

in my ear or in my face

telling me what was real
what was not,

what was me, what was not.

I have no idea what's true.

Other than what I saw myself

that I can remember
right now in this moment,

sitting here talking to you,

I don't eve--I mean, you know,
even part of that--

How much was--of that was real
or true

or was it, you know--

JAMES:
Can I ask you one question?

- Yes.
JAMES: Do you remember

meeting Bernie Kerik?

- When I was little, yeah.

'Cause they knew my family.
Yeah. Mm-hmm.

JAMES: Okay, so you remember
meeting Bernie Kerik.

But is there any way

that that could not be true?

- That's very unlikely.

[chuckles]

So--but you see--
JAMES: But it's possible.

- Right. But you see
where I am now.

JAMES: Yeah.
- What's real?

What's-what's the truth?

I don't know. [chuckles weakly]

FELICIA: So I just put these
out last week.

They were in a box,
and they've been here, but...

I wasn't ready yet.

So this is me dipping
my toe in the water.

It's been over five years
since I've seen my family.

In Larryland, these were
all the bad people in my life.

It's very hard to undo
what he did.

So I'm still very scared
of my parents.

My brother, my sister,
I want to talk to.

I just don't know how
I'm gonna do that right now.

Um...

According to Larry,
they had also tried to kill me.

But...so it's-it's--

It's a process.

♪ ♪

With a picture,
the whole memory comes back.

I'd see the picture and think
about how sad I was.

We were poor,

living in a one-bedroom
apartment, ten people,

in the basement of a house
in the Bronx.

Every year
there was some chaos,

some crisis
that we had to deal with.

Then I think
about the Christmas

that my parents
went to Venezuela.

They brought me back
this really pretty dress.

I was going to show the dress
to both of my parents,

but I'm most excited

about showing the dress
to my dad.

And...I come out,

and my dad's not there.

And, um...

actually, I want to change
what I'm saying.

[lightly edgy music]

This is Larry brain.

So because the story
with that picture...

Is that...

This whole drama about me
showing my dad the dress

may have happened
or may not have happened.

Larry was using
my own memories,

but then he twisted it,

and then he turned it into...

whatever-whatever
was gonna suit him.

♪ ♪

JAMES: [chuckles] Oh, my God.
- [chuckles]

Yeah. Yup.
That's what happened.

JAMES:
How did you figure that out?

- I couldn't--because it wasn't
coming naturally.

It was com--it was--

I was hearing
Larry's narrative.

Look--like, Larry telling
the story.

And he told it so many times,
that I learned--

I mean, I "learned" it, right?

JAMES:
What was Larry's version?

FELICIA: That I was so sad
and that this crushed me

and, like, ruined
my relationships with men

for the rest of my life.

That this was the moment
where...

Felicia is, like, broken.

It's starting to build
a foundation

for the concept
that I'm alone.

But Larry will be there for me.
But Larry will take care of me.

But Larry loves me.

♪ ♪

ISABELLA:
Oh, these were in storage

in one of, like, some random
box or bag of mine.

I threw myself
the birthday party.

I forget how old I turned.
Maybe ten?

I baked my cake and everything.

Did the invitations.

It was Scooby-Doo.

My mother sure as hell
wasn't gonna throw one.

She just, like, completely
at a certain point--

really, after she had me--

went off the deep end
with, like,

medication abuse and et cetera.

So...

JAMES: Were there ever
good times with your mom?

ISABELLA: Of course.

It was never all bad.

I have good memories for sure.

But I also have
a lot of shitty ones.

And...that's that.

JAMES: You don't wish
you still had,

like, family in your life?

- I do have family in my life.

JAMES: Blood relatives?

- What difference
does blood make?

JAMES: Okay, you don't miss
your family from Texas?

- No.

♪ ♪

CYNDI: There's certain things
that I coulda done more,

but I-I can't change the past.

Sometimes at home it wasn't
the best of environments.

It was chaotic at times.

Isabella was, like, three
when we divorced.

There was a-a lot of stress

'cause half the time he didn't
wanna pay child support.

Half the time he didn't pick
'em up when he's supposed--

you know,
just the same old same old

that every, just about,
divorced woman in America

has gone through.
That's all I can tell you.

♪ ♪

JAMES: Was drugs for you
just, like, a--

CYNDI: Escape.

I thought
it made me feel better

is all I can say,
but it really didn't,

but I thought it did.

And that's why it was
kind of easy

to give it up
before Isabella was born.

JAMES:
And what about drinking?

CYNDI:
Yeah, till she was seven.

She's never seen me drunk
since she was seven.

Next month'll be 22 years.

♪ ♪

ISABELLA: People often
described me as shy

when I was little.
I-I would never talk a lot.

I was always very quiet.

Like, I felt like everyone
was a part

of an inside joke except me.

Like, everyone just knew
something I didn't.

It was always kind of there
on the periphery

that I want to just, like,
get away from here

and start my life.

Like, a clean slate almost.

I had never left Texas before.

I was very hopeful
going to Sarah Lawrence.

But I felt very quickly

just so...out of tune
with everyone.

I just--I shut down.

♪ ♪

It's like, "This was
supposed to be different,"

I thought to myself.
But it wasn't.

JAMES: How did things
start to change?

♪ ♪

ISABELLA: Oh, shit.

So this was September 25, 2010.

So the week he got out.

JAMES: A receipt?
ISABELLA: Yeah.

'Cause this was
the first grocery store trip.

I went with Lawrence.

[moody music]

♪ ♪

I'd never seen anybody

buy that many groceries
in my life ever.

♪ ♪

When I pick something up
and then he's like,

"Oh, you like that?"

You know, like, a chips
or something.

I'm like, "Yeah."

He's like,
"Oh, well, put it in."

I grew up where you went
grocery shopping,

you very much,
with food stamps especially,

couldn't buy
seemingly whatever you wanted.

You know, it-it caught me
off-guard.

It was crazy to me.

♪ ♪

JAMES:
When people ask you to describe

the nature
of your relationship,

how do you even do that?

- He's someone--
Lawrence is somebody I've--

I trust...completely

in all different contexts--

personally, sexually--

just in whatever context
you can think of.

I trust him.

And I care for him very deeply.

JAMES: You ever do things
that you regret

as a result
of trusting Lawrence?

- No.

JAMES: Or to compromise
your integrity...

- I've never compromised
anything for Lawrence.

CYNDI: The last time
I talked to her was 2010.

When you say it out loud
it sounds like so long.

I just--
it's just so overwhelming.

[heavy music]

♪ ♪

FELICIA:
If you had told me one year ago

that I would be in the Bronx
looking for my parents...

I would have been like,
you're crazy.

Like, there is now way
I would ever talk--

Like, what are you talking
about?

I would never talk
to those people again.

I was thinking about...

kind of being excited
about maybe seeing them.

And then Larry comes back
like a default thought

that I'm doing something bad.

That I'm--
that I'm betraying Larry.

I don't want
anyone to recognize me.

Oh, my God, that's them.

That's my dad
and that's my mom.

That's them.
That's both of them.

[groans, sighs]

[whimpers]

Oh, my God.

They're so close.

Like, they're right there...

But so far.

I mean, I'm scared now,
right now...

[sighs]

Just thinking about, like,
spending time with them

or, like, going to talk to them

or even sitting down with them
anywhere.

Just not ready.

[soft, uneasy music]

♪ ♪

I'm getting
a lot of flashbacks lately.

I get overwhelmed.

My time with Larry--
I don't have a chronology.

It's just like I remember
random things.

One of my goals, now,

is figuring out for myself

what actually happened,
what's actually true...

Giving myself a narrative.

I got file folders

and I labelled them each
with a--with a year.

So I started
with the year that I met Larry.

As I remember things,

I just write it down.

I remember it was
the second year of residency

on in-patient psychiatry.

I lived in LA.
It was gorgeous.

I made tons of friends.

I really liked
my residency program.

I loved my boss.

I'm finally gonna start
living life

as an individual,
as an independent person.

Then...I met Larry.

He was so interesting.

And then I was attracted
to him and his mind.

And I loved
how we were always learning

and he was so inquisitive.

And...it was exciting.

You know, growing up,

everything was falling apart
around us constantly.

As the eldest, I ended up

with a lot more
responsibility--

helping to take care
of my siblings,

helping with their education,

helping to keep them on track.

But I'm allowed to be
vulnerable with Larry.

He's now the one
that takes care of things.

I would come back to New York
for the weekend.

And, of course,
Larry's very extravagant.

So we stayed
at these fancy hotels,

and we had fancy dinners.

[indistinct chatter]

I mean, it was...[sighs]

This, like, balloon
of happiness.

FELICIA: I was weeks away
from taking my exam

that would say that I was

a fully-licensed
medical doctor.

And then...

this is the beginning

of, like, everything
falling apart.

- There is a plot
against Larry.

And I was somebody
that they could come after

in the hopes
of getting to Larry.

FELICIA: He wanted
everything recorded.

"September 2012.

FR..."
Meaning me, Felicia Rosario,

"Threatened, beaten,
and raped in California

"by men
who identified themselves

as associate of her father's."

But it's...

like, it doesn't feel real.

Or, like, I don't know...

I don't know what's true.

- I couldn't believe it.

I was--not that I couldn't
believe--

I'm like, "I guess?"

FELICIA:
He would be so persistent

and so aggressive that until--

Like, he would not leave
me alone

until I told him
some sordid story.

- People were following us.

Then they were trying
to kill him.

Then they were trying
to kill us.

- I was working, like,
ridiculous hours.

You know,
like, 12-, 14-hour days...

Running on, like, no sleep.

I was stressed at work.

And then the only person

that I'm talking to
outside of work is Larry.

[phone buzzes]

And that's, like,
morning, noon, and night.

[pager beeping]

FELICIA: After weeks of this,

I started to believe
what he told me about me.

[tearfully] I'm scared!

I think people are chasing me.

I end up barricading myself
in my apartment.

He has me drag my mattress
into the living room

and buy some webcams.

- It's really that bad?

Larry sent some guy--

he said he was
a former federal agent--

to pick me up at my house

and escort me
all the way back to New York.

[siren wails distantly]

[dramatic music]

I'm a Harvard-,
Columbia-educated physician

who had already started
her psychiatry training,

and I'm living
in this shithole apartment

with these other people's
crap everywhere.

And I'm sleeping with him
and this other woman.

It was the three of us
in the bedroom--

me, Larry, and Isabella.

He did not allow anyone
to sleep with clothes on.

Larry sleeps in the middle,
face up.

And Isabella and I
are each on one side.

Isabella sleeps like this...

With her hand
on Larry's genitals.

So I come in there,

I'm supposed to be
this guy's girlfriend.

And then I'm sleeping

with him and this girl.

And this girl has her hand

all up in his stuff.

And I'm su--and I'm just
supposed to be okay.

He's like, "Oh, she's just
more comfortable that way."

"Like, what's the big deal?

Like, aren't you like
a smart, liberated woman?"

[sighs]

It hurts my head still,
like, thinking about it.

He brought me back here.

I got evicted
from my apartment.

I got dismissed from my job.

He got me

right before I became
a full doctor.

He tore up my documents

from residency,

and he threw them
out the window.

I needed those documents
to be able

to even start trying
to crawl my way back to work.

FELICIA: Then Yalitza
confesses that

she and my mother

had poisoned me with mercury.

My parents wanted me to die.

My mind couldn't take
everything that was going on.

So then I had to
turn it all off.

And I was operating on, like...

like a child.

Aah! Aah!

Aah! Aah!

- Sit.

- I wanna sleep!

[Felicia moaning]

- Please! Please!

FELICIA: It was so shameful.

So embarrassing.
There was so much guilt.

[somber music]

♪ ♪

So much fear....

That I couldn't even try.

And...he left me on the ground.

Then he was the only one
that came over

and picked me up.

[screaming]

No! Aah!

[screaming and moaning]

FELICIA: He took away
my career,

my friends,

my family.

He took every piece of me away,

and that all that was left
was...

Me to him.

There was no, like, Fel.

There was n-no--
like the rest of me just...

[somber music]

♪ ♪

There was no rest of me.

[water splashing]

ISABELLA: Well, I recently
got a job at Amazon,

and I'm just one of
the warehouse workers.

It's not intellectually
stimulating or anything,

but it's a job,
especially during this time

with COVID and my circumstance.

But, yeah, I interact
with people,

and they ask, oh,
do you have Instagram

or do you have, you know,
Facebook?

I'm like, I'm not into
social media, you know, um...

It's hard to really
fully integrate with people

without like kind of
busting open

this huge fucking, um...

I don't know
what you would call it--

kinda is like a
Jack-in-the-box, almost.

[rhythmic sound]

The prosecution,
they're also now

specifically referencing
that I participated

in some of the allegations

that they're accusing
Lawrence of.

That line is now drawn.

I'm Associate-1.

They're saying I participated
in interrogations,

I participated in furthering
the sex trafficking.

Claudia--she termed it as
"she wanted to make repairs."

That's what she called it.

For the damage
she had done to our lives,

and more specifically,
our quality of life.

Because had we not been
poisoned,

I have no doubt Talia would
have gone to law school,

I would have gone
to medical school,

and Lawrence would have
succeeded at any career

he was choosing to go down.

ISABELLA:
She then started escorting.

She said it was
the fastest way

she could make money.

[dark music]

That was her explanation
as to why

she chose prostitution.

FELICIA: At the beginning,
Claudia was applauded

for her efforts
in making reparations.

But then whenever
she stopped paying him,

he started escalating.

[dramatic chords]

[car engine starts]

FELICIA: One night,
Larry was like,

we're gonna go stake out
her apartment.

And we're gonna get my money,

and we're gonna get her
to confess

to all that she's been
doing to us.

We ransacked the apartment.

I was very upset.

I didn't wanna be there doing

what we were doing.

I hated having Claudia
do this video.

She admitted to doing all these
horrible things to him,

so that way he had
more leverage over her.

"Do you want me
to post that on the internet?

You'd better get to work."

LARRY: Everything's going up
on the website--

everything.

Everything's going up
on the website

because it's the truth.

FELICIA: He really
wanted me to help him,

and...I wasn't willing

to blackmail Claudia.

He tried to get me

to give him information
on my sister and my brother

so he could make
websites on them

the same way that he did
on Claudia.

He's like,
"This is the only way

you're gonna redeem
yourself...as a Rosario."

This is the only way you're not
gonna be a Rosario anymore.

That you're not gonna
be part of that, like,

dirty criminal family.

And I just wouldn't do it.

[moody music]

Somehow,
I had enough of me left

to question what was
going on around me...

but I just didn't have any way

to do anything about
what was happening.

[heavy music]

♪ ♪

Well, he doesn't get
anywhere with me,

so that's how Isabella ended up

doing all of this stuff
with Claudia.

ISABELLA: I know my process.
I would meet Claudia

at her hotel,
and just pick it up.

She would say,
"Oh, this is 3,200?"

But, 'cause I didn't
trust her,

I would always count it
and verify.

I even noted that
in my ledgers and notes.

JAMES: Do you remember
how much a year?

ISABELLA: 700,000 and change,

and I forget
what the other year was.

FELICIA: One night,
Larry and Isabella leave

to Manhattan
because Claudia was behind

in her payments.

I go to bed.

They get home
in the morning, and...

start telling me about

the night that they had
with Claudia.

ISABELLA: "On one occasion,
the defendant and Associate-1

"came to female Victim-1's
hotel room.

"During that visit, the
defendant hit Female Victim-1,

"told her to strip
and tied her to a chair,

"placed a plastic bag
over her head

and threatened to kill her."

JAMES: You have zero
memory of this?

- Correct. I have zero memory.

'Cause to my memory and
knowledge, it never occurred.

JAMES: Is this scenario
completely made up,

or is there something
that Claudia is--

- It's completely made up.

It is completely made up.

FELICIA:
When I first met Izzy...

she had a very well-formed
moral compass.

As time went on with Larry,

it wasn't goodness anymore.

Her true north became Larry.

He could say the sky is red,

the sky is purple--

it wouldn't matter.

If he said it, it was true.

It was as if God
had said it himself.

She wanted to be
a psychiatrist.

She wanted to be
a child psychiatrist, no less.

You know?
She wanted to help people.

[somber music]

I would hear her

be like,
"I can't do this anymore."

"I can't do this anymore.

I can't live like this
anymore."

And she would get so sad.

They would have fights.
They would argue.

LARRY: What makes you
think you're getting in here?

Stupid! This is wrong, Izzy,
it's wrong.

And if you're not gonna
behave right,

there's no chance.

Get a grip on yourself!

FELICIA: Then Larry
would talk her through it,

and they would just
go back to how they were.

That's what's so scary, because

someone who's
a truly good person...

Lost their own

sense of self,

their own sense
of right and wrong.

That just speaks to how

evil Larry is.

That he was able to just--

to so fully destroy someone.

[somber music]

♪ ♪

[pounding]

- FBI, open the door!

[pounding]

Isabella Pollok, open the door.
FBI!

[pounding continues]

AGENT: FBI! Open the door!

- I'm coming.

- Come out, come out,
come out.

Come to me. Take my hand.

ISABELLA: Whoa, whoa, whoa!
AGENT: Come out, come out.

[indistinct chatter]

AGENT: FBI!

[melancholy music]

♪ ♪

ISABELLA: I have four charges.

Extortion...

sex trafficking,

money laundering,

and racketeering.

The only one that carries
the mandatory minimum

is the sex trafficking.

That means we-we can be
found not guilty

in every single
other fuckin' charge.

If we're found guilty
in sex trafficking,

bam--mandatory minimum.

No parole, no probation.
15 years in prison.

JAMES: What happened
in the arraignment?

ISABELLA: My lawyer's--
who oddly enough,

called me Ms. Ray.

The court had to correct him.

Um...said that he

had substantial reasons,
or whatever he called it,

to believe
I may not be competent.

There's two aspects
to legal competence--

one, that you're able
to understand

the charges against you,
which he acknowledges I do.

Two, if you're able
to participate

in your own defense,
meaning aid your attorneys

in conducting your defense.

It's the second part,
according to him,

that he has reason to believe
that I may not be competent.

It feels shitty

when somebody,
especially my own attorney,

questions my competency.

The message being the only
reason you think he's innocent

is 'cause he manipulated you
and brainwashed you

and you don't know any better.

That's what they're saying.

Recently,
my aunt and my mother

have reached out to my lawyer.

Oh, they're worried about me.
They're there--

they're here for me, whatever.

I told him please tell them

I do not wish to speak
with them

or any other member
of my family

and to please refrain
from reaching out to me

in the future.

And he did.

[moody music]

♪ ♪

FELICIA: Hair is a big thing
for Dominican women.

My mom has this amazing hair.

It's, like, down to her waist,
it's, like, gorgeous.

Thankfully,
I inherited her hair.

With Larry, I was so out of it

that my hair was...a ball.

Like a bird's nest.

He watched me grow this knot

and did nothing.

And then he was like,
"Okay, now I'll rescue you."

And he combed out
all of the knots himself.

"See how I take care of you?

"I spent a whole week
taking that--

"those knots outta your hair.

That's how much I love you."

That's what he would say to me.

As I get more clarity
about what he did to me,

that has helped me

see my parents more clearly.

[soft, stirring music]

♪ ♪

[line ringing]

MARITZA: Hello?
- Hello?

MARITZA: Hello?

- Mami.
- Huh?

MARITZA: Oh, my gosh!

- [laughing]

[both speaking Spanish]

MARITZA: Oh, my gosh.

- [laughing]

- Si.

[sniffles]

- Um...

- Si, claro, Mami.

- I love you. Bye.

- Con Dios. Bye.

[sniffling, crying]

[melancholy music]

♪ ♪

[footsteps]

FELICIA: Hello.

[Maritza speaking Spanish]

[light laughter]

[both sniffling]

[Felicia crying]

[soft, stirring music]

♪ ♪

[whistling]

JAMES: So you were having
trouble sleeping last night?

ISABELLA:
Well, I woke up at 3:00.

I mean,
potentially it coulda been

'cause of the status
conference today,

but it just happened
seemingly randomly.

JAMES: What happened
at the status conference?

ISABELLA:
A psychiatrist concluded

that I am competent
to stand trial.

But my lawyer filed a motion
to withdraw as my counsel

due to disagreements
in legal strategy.

So...

But I was hoping after this
competency evaluation happened

it would kinda give him
relief in any doubts

that maybe I was being
brainwashed, manipulated,

or whatever.

It didn't.

"Her speech was fluent,
articulate, and precise.

"Ms. Pollok was able to provide
a coherent narrative

"and discuss the pertinent
facts of her case

in a logical
and reality-based manner."

Yes, yes, yes, yes.

[somber music]

♪ ♪

SANTOS: Once I accepted
that I was in a cult

for ten years, effectively,

I had been living
in a shelter system,

I was meeting people at work.

Except I had to become
very, like,

adroit at dodging
any type of personal question

because...
like, how can I, like--

"Why didn't you graduate
school?"

How could I answer that?

Like, "What about your parents,
what about your family?"

Uh...I don't really
talk to them.

They're not--
they're not good people.

♪ ♪

I was just kind of...

existing...
but barely by a thread.

Me and Felicia started
re-engaging as siblings.

Our lawyers had told us both
don't talk about the case.

Even though there was
this elephant in the room,

like, it was still, like...
nice to be able

to talk to each other
and have each other.

SANTOS: Hey, hey.
FELICIA: Hey, dude, what's up?

SANTOS: I'll have a sip,
but I'm on a diet, though.

FELICIA: Oh, diet Coke.
That's right.

It's past 12:00.

[both laughing]

My brother's an incredible
human being.

I've been thinking about
reaching out to Yali.

There's no reason why we
shouldn't be talking anymore.

Larry's in jail.

He can't hurt us anymore.

And...we love each other.

And he tried to break that.

And...I--

I just want my sister back.

[doorbell rings]

[ding-dong]

[knocking]

- Hi!

Hello?

It's Fel.

- Hi!

- How are you?

- I love you.

I miss you.

[sighs]

- I love you more
and I miss you a lot.

- I'm here for you.

- I'm...well...

- I love you so much,

and I'm so happy
to hear your voice.

Like you don't know.

I've been dreaming about you
every night.

I get it if you want to talk
to your lawyers

and ask them if we can talk.

- I just--I love you so much,
and I'm so sorry.

YALITZA: Okay, yeah.

- I'm so sorry!
[Yalitza crying]

I love you.

[melancholy music]

♪ ♪

[Felicia crying]

YALITZA:
I get a knock on the door.

Felicia's
standing right there,

and the fucked up part
is like it triggered me.

By the child-like demeanor,
like the desperation--

like in my head, it was
like, oh, my gosh,

she's still like she was
in Pinehurst.

Oh, my God,
is she still, like...

in-involved with Larry,

is she still, like,
in that mindset?

It's like a war in my head:

can I trust her?

But at the same time,
I really wanted to...

I've been missing her so much.

Like thinking about her
every day

and, like, how much I miss
having my big sister around.

But then th-the shit

that got in the way
of that moment, you know?

And then...

I was afraid.

But then, a few weeks later,
I hear the knock,

I see Felicia and Santos

through the peephole,
both of them.

SANTOS: And then we
just hear a gasp like: Ohh!

And then she opens the door
and she's like, "Oh, my God!"

It was nice. It was very nice.

YALITZA: Are we all doing
the same?

Same-sies? Kay. SANTOS: Yeah.

SANTOS: Do we have aprons?

FELICIA: You know what? Stop!
- No, I'm serious!

It'll be fun.

YALITZA: The uncertainty
of, like,

are they still involved
with Larry?

That didn't really matter,

'cause they're there
in front of me,

and I was like...
I am whole again.

SANTOS: Yo, you talking shit?
Yalitza: No!

Come on! [Felicia laughing]

- The kitchen's too small
for three.

FELICIA: We're talking
about how great you are.

SANTOS: Uh-huh.
YALITZA: You're the best.

Don't forget.
SANTOS: [laughing] Shut up!

YALITZA: Despite all the shit,
like...that doesn't matter.

They love me, ha,
and I love them.

And that's the most
important thing.

And now it's like, okay,
I know who I am,

and I have my people.

Let's go, force.

[stirring music]

♪ ♪

ISABELLA: I don't feel like
myself recently,

and I don't know what it is.

All I know is that
there is something wrong

with me right now.

And I, like, grew up
with a shitty circumstance.

Then Lawrence is indicted.

I'm indicted.

I'm accused of being
incompetent.

How much worse
can it fuckin' get?

But it's like I know
this is not me.

I don't even recognize myself.

I don't know what to do.

[crying] I don't.

[continues crying]

[continues crying]

I'm processing,

to be honest, the terror
of being put in prison.

If I keep sinking into this

discomfort...

You know, will I render myself,

ironically, incompetent to
participate in my own defen--

Like, who knows? Who knows
what the mind's capable of?

I don't wanna find out.

[bird twittering]

JAMES Are you optimistic about

your new lawyer?

- I am, yeah.

It's been limited interaction,
but...

the interactions we have had,
he's...

been very, um...

open, straight-forward.

JAMES: You're hopeful.

- Of course I'm hopeful.

At times I think about
in the future,

if we get through this,

Talia and, like, Lawrence
and me watching, like, TV,

and, like, Talia's with her
kids and I'm with mine.

Things like that.

You know,
it's like a "what if?"

But things like that
make me feel better.

[quiet, moody music]

♪ ♪

FELICIA: Being here now,

I almost can't believe
that I made it out...

And that I'm here,

free...

mostly.

I say mostly because...

The conditioning...

of Larry is still there, so...

Like, he's still there.

So I'm not totally free.

I hope he stays in jail
forever.

JAMES: You want Isabella
to go to jail?

- I don't want her to.

Because she's gonna use jail...

being in jail
and being prosecuted

as a reason to be angry,

as a shield.

And she's not going to...

confront the actual situation.

But if she didn't go,

she has to live with
what she did,

on her own.

But I don't know if she spent
so much time with Larry

that she's just gonna go
spinning on

what he already told her.

I pray that she starts
to care about herself

enough to honor herself

and honor the truth
of what happened.

To her and to the rest of us.

CYNDI: I'm not judging her.
She can tell me anything.

I still love her,
and I want her back.

I know this sounds odd, but

sometimes I think
she, like, walked in

or I think she's, like, on
the other--

like the love seat,
and I'm on the couch.

I know that sounds weird,
but it's--I don't know why.

It's like...
I think she's, like,

when she's gonna come
and tell me somethin'.

[soft, hopeful music]

[indistinct chatter]

♪ ♪

FELICIA:
I feel like a new person.

I have a family. [laughter]

I have...a past.

[singing "Happy Birthday']

I have a future...
which I didn't have before.

ALL: ♪ Happy birthday to you ♪

[all cheering, clapping]

- I had been...trapped

for so long...

Closed off from everyone.

[father speaking Spanish]

It feels like
I'm coming out and...

there's...light.

♪ ♪

[end chords]

♪ ♪

[trilling notes]

♪ ♪

[indistinct chatter]

[laughter]

- And, like, he believed
like the fake names,

and I'm like...really?
[laughter]

[trilling notes]

♪ ♪