01x02 - Part II: The Escape

[bunniefuu]

[mysterious music playing]

[computer bleep]

Oh my gosh!

Hello, everyone.

Hello, beautiful people.

Join in.

A hundred and twenty-five likes, whoa!

Two hundred and twelve people. Oh my gosh!

Miranda never had
very rebellious tendencies.

I just wanted to answer a couple questions
that some of you guys had.

So one of the questions is,
"Are you okay?"

I am great.

[laughs]

She even mentioned that to my mom,

"Just take this as,
like, my rebellious stage."

Are you in a cult? No, I'm not in a cult.

I'm in a house.

[Kelly] Miranda's then posting a lot,

and it's like, she is so brainwashed.

"Wisdom will save you from evil people,

from those whose words are twisted."

[Kelly] When I heard Miranda reading
from the Bible, it was so not my daughter.

"My children,
listen when your father corrects you."

"Pay attention and learn good judgment."

[mysterious music continues]

I don't know who this person is.

This... it's not her.

Things are getting weird.

[Kelly] We were concerned about her.

[Dean] So we flew to California.

[Kelly] We didn't know where she lived.

[Dean] So we went searching for her.

We are going to see Miranda.

On social media, we were able to look at
backgrounds of dances they were in.

We saw one TikTok
that had a water tower in the back.

And so we're like,
"Let's look up these water towers."

There were two water towers,
they were near the same street,

so we went up and down.

[Kelly] We were on streets,
looking at the mountain range

and how far away was it in the video.

- Turn around, we're gonna go back.
- [Dean] We gotta get addresses.

This is the house she danced in front of.

- Where's the green thing?
- [Kelly] There.

We saw RainO dancing
around the corner, he was in the street.

- My heart was going so fast.
- Yeah.

We pull around the corner,
"Oh my God. There she is."

[mysterious music continues]

[electronic music playing]

[music fades]

[Robert] In show business, they say
any publicity is a good publicity.

[woman] It's what they say.

[Robert] Most people... If you're a star
and nobody talks about you,

people get worried,
because you're not in the news.

[woman] Yeah.

- [Robert] We're in the news.
- [people chuckling]

We're really in the news.

[mysterious music playing]

When the Wilkings' video came out,
that's when it all start, like...

[chuckling] Stuff is happening fast.

Robert would say,
"Don't look at everything."

"Don't believe
everything that you hear or see."

Articles started coming out,
and I started reading more into it.

Let me dig in this thing,

'cause there's no way these articles
are saying the same thing

over and over again, there's no way.

We were just on alert.
I don't know what to believe right now.

[Robert] We have now attention from media.

We're on Hollywood Reporter,

New York Post, Daily Beast.

[woman laughing]

We're on Rolling Stone.

[mysterious music continues]

I first heard about 7M

when Miranda Wilking's family
went live on Instagram.

And there was this flurry
of output after it.

There were sleuth accounts popping up,
bringing allegations

that these dancers
were not in control of their finances,

that they were being told
to donate huge portions of their income.

You have to approach it
with healthy suspicion at first.

I started by DMing the dancers...

but none of the dancers replied to me.

So I started trying to reach people
who I saw in the comments section.

Former members were saying people
suffered in his church for decades,

compared to this management company.

[woman] This is not
just the Wilking family.

Apparently, this has happened before
within this community.

And from what we've heard
from former members,

it started out fairly innocuous.

But the control slowly... grew.

[music fades]

[child] One, two, three,

four, five, six...

[Melanie L.] It's been 11 years
since I left Shekinah.

Eleven years,
and I don't think I've ever unpacked it.

- [mock scream]
- [child giggling]

To this point,
I've healed by leaving my past behind.

[indistinct chatter]

I've been focused on moving on

and creating a life
that I've always wanted.

[mysterious music playing]

I have a family now
that I love and loves me back.

I was having less nightmares
about my past, and I was making progress.

Until all this
started coming up on social media.

I honestly thought
I never had to talk about it again.

[child] What are you doing, Mama? I said...

[Melanie L.] Careful, watch your step.

For a while, I didn't believe it, but
the next question that came to mind is,

"Where is my sister?"

If he's running this cult of dancers,

what did he do with all the old members?

I'm calling and texting her.

Zero response.

Where the f*ck is my sister?

[music fades]

[Robert] First John, 2:17 says,
"The world is passing away."

[people] Yeah!

[Robert] "But the one who does
the will of God lives forever."

[people laughing and chattering]

- Amen.
- [tense music playing]

[Priscylla] I spent, like,


[Robert] Is not a very stable...

Sometimes... I miss that place.

Uh, because it was just too painful...

[sniffling]

...to accept the truth.

That that was... [sniffling]

That I actually went through that.

[Robert chattering]

[Priscylla] So what I do,
is I'll listen to the sermon tapes.

[Robert] Some of you may leave Shekinah.

But all their roads lead to hell.

[Priscylla] Robert was teaching
for a long time, if you leave,

you're disobeying God,
and you're gonna be cursed.

[Robert] As long as
I don't have to suffer in hell...

[Priscylla] So I believed
that I'm gonna go to hell.

[Robert] ...because they're cursed by it.
Do they know? Of course they don't.

[Priscylla] Robert... instilled in me
that my sister was cursed.

So I haven't called Melanie.

[Robert] Uh... um... flattering...

[Priscylla] And now I'm confused.

Like...

[Robert chattering indistinctly]

[Priscylla] Where do I begin?

Even after you leave
a place like Shekinah, it's not over.

Because it's been way too long.

And I think certain damages
can't be undone.

[quiet, dramatic music playing]

We only really had each other growing up.

We grew up in Korea.

My mom struggled with alcoholism,
and my parents divorced.

[Priscylla] My dad had left.
He just disappeared.

So we moved here with my mom to America.

She would always work at night.

And she'd sleep during the day.

She would come home
and then she would drink.

And my mom had a gambling addiction.

[Melanie L.] My sister was my caretaker.

She really shielded me from a lot of it.

[Priscylla] My mom was never home.
It started, she would be gone for a month.

Nothing, you know?

No call, nothing. She's just gone.

[Melanie L.] In the midst of all that,
I was really lonely.

So I started going to Shekinah because...

- I mean, it was just, like, a lot of hope.
- [music fades]

[hip-hop music playing]

My sister didn't let me make friends
at school. She thought I'd get into drugs.

- So I started going first.
- [mysterious music playing]

Historically,
Korean immigrants go to church.

Not only because they were Christians,
but because it was a place of community.

It was where you eat Korean food.

It's where you help each other
and support each other.

When you enter a church like that,
you're automatically accepted.

I was really longing for that.

- [girl] Oh my gosh.
- This is Melanie, how she dances.

[girl] How does Melanie dance?

[Melanie L.] You meet your best friends.

You fall in love.

You marry people within your church.

It becomes this very cliquey environment,

where you only end up hanging out
with the people from your church.

But I was allowed to have
one friend from school.

[music fades]

[man] Mel was always quiet.

She seemed kinda like a mystery to me,
like something else was going on.

I knew her life was strict,
and that her parents weren't around.

[electronic music playing]

I don't think her sister thought

that she was going to have to be
the parent in the situation

because she also was a child herself.

You have babies raising babies,
Pri raising Mel.

You need hope.

You need something
that is, like, going to give you

the strength to, like, just live.

With this,
we can come together in his love.

And before I have to...
While you're looking up, um, Psalm 133...

[Melanie L.] It started out
as a regular church.

There were maybe 15 people,
and that included Robert's family,

and his sister Catherine's family.

[laughing]

Catherine's family took me in
as the fourth daughter.

It was such a good feeling,
because I never had that.

Robert and Catherine
started promising all the support and love

that my sister and I
had never really experienced.

A lot of you had problems with your
parents and family when you come here.

But during the time here,
you blossom and we develop a relationship.

I've gotten to know you in a way

that even your own family members
have never gotten to know you.

[Marque] Mel started
to invite me to church.

I felt like it was a friendly invitation,

and I also felt like
I was being recruited.

[bluesy rock song playing]

I remember going to that church
and seeing Robert.

His style seemed like
he went to a Black church,

and then I was like, "I'm gonna do this."

The church felt like a cute,
multicultural organization.

It was like, "Oh, this is nice."

You know? "Good for them."

"God bless."

"I'm not joining the church,
but good for y'all."

Melanie tells me how great the church is.

How well they'd been taking care of her.

My sister was my weak spot.

So...

- So I started attending.
- [song ends]

[people cheering]

[Robert] Hallelujah. [chuckles]

My father doesn't like me
involving him in the service.

I try not to, but I'm gonna
tell on him this time. [laughs]

- He used to speed a lot, right?
- [laughter]

And every time the police come,
you know what he says?

"Pretend you're sick!
Pretend you're sick!"

- [laughing]
- [audience laughs]

So we all learn... how to be sick
on the drop of a hat.

Soon as we hear... [mimics siren]

- ...we're like... [groans]
- [laughter and applause]

[mysterious music playing]

[Melanie L.] Everyone has that moment
where they start to believe

he is a Man of God.

For me, it was when I got baptized.

I was in ninth grade,
I broke out with this terrible rash.

And this rash was so bad that,
like, I would wake up in pain.

[Priscylla] We would get rubbing alcohol,
put it on her head, but nothing worked.

[Melanie L.] People would come over
and pray for me every day. It was so bad.

It was Melanie's turn to get baptized.

He dunks her, she comes up.

[Melanie L.]
Two days later, everything was gone.

I don't know if the combination
of rubbing alcohol with the salt water...

I don't know.

Everybody was crying 'cause they'd thought
they'd witnessed a miracle of God.

Or maybe it was a miracle, I have no idea.

But it happened.

And he would use those things
and get credit for it.

Say like, "Look.
It's because I healed her."

I remember a couple people
coming up to me after that and saying,

"You know what?
Ever since I saw that, I'm in."

[Robert] In the body,
God has built a healing mechanism.

You don't have to go to the doctor.

What are you doing?

You're letting God's design work...

- [people cheering and laughing]
- [Robert] ...to heal thyself.

- [woman] Yes!
- [people cheering and applauding]

[Robert] When I was a medical doctor,
and I wasn't seeking God.

- I was not even thinking about God.
- [mysterious music fades]

And yet the Holy Spirit touched me.

Boom! [echoing]

[ominous music playing]

[Melanie L.] We truly believe
he is a Man of God.

Someone that can impart blessings to you,

and can actually change your life
and turn it around.

You want it to be real.

[Andrea] The people I've spoken to
who have joined cults

often talk about, "My dad had just died"

or "I had just started at a new college."

If you're in a vulnerable position,

like immigrants
and maybe struggling artists,

that seems to be when people
are very susceptible to being

drawn towards someone that says not just
that his religion is the path to heaven,

but he himself is the path to heaven.

- Drink of my blood.
- [Priscylla] Robert would say...

"Even if you accept Jesus Christ as
your Lord and Savior, you're not saved."

"This message of salvation,
nobody else knows."

"I'm the only one
that knows this message."

"You're gonna die, and you'll go to hell."

[indistinct shouting]

They describe hell as an abyss,

and everybody is tortured
by their sins on Earth.

You feel the pain
that you did to other people.

Some people, there's maggots coming
out of you, your skin is getting burned,

and then it re-heals itself
and it starts all over again.

It gave me such a fear of hell.

My mission was never to go there.
That became my mission in life.

Robert was my connection to God.

By getting close to Robert,
I was getting close to God.

[ominous music fades]

The next thing I know,
it all kind of changed, suddenly.

In our apartment complex, we had
other members of the church moving in.

Then we were all moving to another house
with other church members.

This was the first house,
it was called "Glory Girls."

[dreamy music playing]

There were several houses
that Robert and Catherine owned.

So the housing assignments
were also done by Catherine and Robert.

They determine who your roommate is
and where to live.

They would move us around
every six to eight months.

Eventually, they separated
me and my sister.

We slept in different rooms. I was rooming
with some girl I didn't know.

And I wasn't allowed
to go to my sister and talk to her.

Rules were set. There was a house captain.

We weren't allowed to stay up past ten.

We had to get up at five and be at church
by six to pray for an hour.

We couldn't choose what we wanted to eat.

You ate whatever they gave you.

It was weird,
but I was appreciative to God,

but I was also appreciative to Robert

and this new family that God has given me.

[Robert] You don't just come to church,
you're getting closer and closer.

When you do, that's when you can abide
in the great, awesome favor of God.

[Melanie L.] You did not have access
to him 'cause he was, like, the holy man.

You would have to go through
a spiritual mentor for the church.

[ominous music playing]

And if you're a newcomer,

you are automatically assigned
to one of the spiritual mentors.

Robert used to teach,
"Your thoughts are not your own."

When you get a thought,
it's either from the Devil or from God.

Report everything to your mentor.

[Robert]
Faith is a lifestyle of obedience.

[person] Ooh!

[Robert] It's not something that you do
because a mentor or somebody

tells you to do something
and you do it, no, that's not it.

It's how you live.

[people] Amen.

[Robert] Hallelujah!

[people] Hallelujah!

[mysterious music playing]

[Kylie] We would have to get approval
for wherever we go, everything that we do.

[Aubrey] If I wanted to get new shoes
or something like that,

I would have to submit to my mentor.

[Konkrete] Daniel's been with Robert
since he was a child.

[people chattering]

He's been the right-hand man for 30 years.

You submit to them what you want,
what you need,

if they say yes or no,
then that's the answer.

You rely on your spiritual leaders.

You rely on God.

Nobody can do anything behind anyone's
back. Everyone will tell on each other.

So they would say,
"I saw Joy do this wrong."

Or, "I heard Joy
say X, Y, and Z about you."

[Kylie] I'd have to remind myself, "Don't
say too much or else it'll get to Robert."

Sometimes, even with Aubrey,

I don't think I could fully share,
because I didn't know.

[Melanie L.] It was all about pleasing
the Man of God in that sense,

because they think
the more they pleased him,

the holier
or the closer they can get to God.

That was the goal. Everybody wanted
to get close to the Man of God

so we could receive these heavenly
blessings that he's talking about.

[Robert] I can take you financially
from here to there.

- Hallelujah.
- [people] Hallelujah.

[Robert] It doesn't matter
what job you have.

It doesn't matter
what kind of license you have.

It doesn't even matter
whether you have a Green Card or not.

- [man] Yeah.
- [Robert] Amen!

When I was there, he targeted young people
and put them to work.

Welcome to Millionaire's Club. Hallelujah.
Thank you for joining us today.

[Melanie L.] And then the money
they'd make, Robert would keep it all.

They were okay with it
'cause they were never rich to begin with.

These young people had no job experience.

They were hungry for God.

They came from
a low-income immigrant family.

[dreamy music playing]

And he would work their asses off.

Robert had opened several businesses.

A café, two mortgage companies,
two real estate companies,

two flower shops,

and all the church people
were working these companies.

They were getting paid very minimum.

They had me work Monday to Saturday,


And I got paid $100 a week.

[Priscylla] When I joined Shekinah,
I didn't have much money.

I didn't have a car,
I didn't have a cell phone.

So I worked for them.

I ran the mortgage company.

I did a lot of work
on the real estate company as well.

So I worked really hard to...
to be approved by Robert.

[dreamy music continues]

We were starting to make more money.

The mortgage
and the real estate company combined

brought in over a million dollars
in commission in 2021, but I never saw it.

I just saw deposits to my bank account,
which I wasn't supposed to touch.

Hannah had full access to my bank account.

She said I had to do that
to get right with Robert,

which is getting right with God.

So I did.

She goes, "I ordered checks for you.
Sign all of them."

Hannah would write the check, she would
deposit it into my bank account,

and then she would withdraw it

by writing more checks
out of my bank account.

It would be a check to either the church,
a check to Robert,

a check to pay other people's expenses.

Pay somebody's
Home Depot credit card. [chuckles]

[mysterious music playing]

They would give me an allowance.

I only had $80 every two weeks.

With us, it was about blessings.

Just give, give, give,
give, give, give, give, give.

[Robert] If you want to reap something
big, what do you have to sow?

You have to sow something big.

Big sowing, big reaping.
Small sowing, small reaping.

Your giving has to reflect
your receiving desire.

Robert... always wanted more.

[music fades]

- Welcome to the Millionaire's Club.
- [eagle shrieking]

[Melanie L.] His message
was very money-driven,

and he was constantly seeking
financial gains and status.

Take care of your pastor,
um, your pastor's wife.

- Buy her a new dress, or...
- [electronic music playing]

[Melanie L.] And Robert was trying
to break into Hollywood.

- He had made a couple indie films.
- Ow! Ow!

- My God, I'm so sorry!
- Ken, I'll call you back.

[Melanie L.] He was calling himself
"executive producer."

He was sending Daniel
to go audition for roles.

My daughter is missing, Detective.

- [Melanie L.] But that didn't go anywhere.
- [singing]

Kloe was trying to become a singer,
but that didn't work.

So it makes sense
when he found the dancers,

he saw all this opportunity to be a
world-famous social media talent manager.

And his plan worked.

[pop music playing]

[Kylie] He would always share
whenever someone would get a deal,

and the amounts that they were making.

[Robert] And, tomorrow,
we'll have Vik and RainO

appearing on Ellen Show.

[people cheering]

[Robert] Aubrey just did a commercial.
Toilet paper.

He's doing his butt dance
right into the toilet.

Know how much he's getting paid?

- $37,500!
- [people] Whoo!

[people shouting happily]

We wanted to be the person
that was spoke about at services,

and we wanted to be in that seat.

Because if you weren't,

Robert would let you know.

[music stops]

[Melanie L.] If you didn't do
what you're told,

he would call you out
when he's in the pulpit.

Call your name
and call out everything you've done wrong.

Everyone just stares at you.
And so then you feel, like, so small.

And you feel embarrassed

Nobody's talking to you,
they're not saying hi.

My mind was constantly
battling these things.

"God's probably not happy with me."

"My mentor is not happy with me."

"Obviously, Robert is not happy with me."

Like if a coach is getting on a player,
it's because they're important.

That's how I took it.

[dramatic music playing]

"Maybe he sees... the great in me."

This is when the mental w*r comes in.

"Dang, I'm not getting rebuked."

"I don't even know if God
really loves me, bro. I don't know."

Kind of being like
a little puppy, basically, like,

"I want to know,
what can I do to get better?"

You're kind of, like, tiptoeing,
and using him as, like, the guidance.

Robert created a system where he's like,
"You need to fight for my attention."

But, man.

All I know is... when that video came out...

It's really sad because...

...it put a spotlight on him.

[mysterious music playing]

We got the Clipper job
snatched from our hands.

Now people are not wanting
to work with us because of this stuff.

[Robert] When people take shots at me,
I get cranky.

[person] Mm, yeah.

[Robert] I start rebuking
left, right, and center.

[Konkrete] The slanders,
rebuking people, it got worse.

And that's when I seen,
I said, "This man is panicking."

[Robert] I'm not here to defend myself.

Hell no.

You gotta learn how to deal with this
and toughen up.

- [person claps]
- [man] Yeah.

- [Robert] Your either fight through this...
- [woman] Yep.

...or you can leave.

[music fades]

[Konkrete] And then,
out of nowhere, Daniel leaves.

[intriguing music playing]

[Aubrey] Daniel left.

Kloe left. That's Robert's daughter.

[Robert] Some people left Shekinah Church,
Daniel and Kloe, and I was like...

Who gives an F?
Nobody's gonna remember you!

What do we do? 'Cause your right-hand man
just bounced on you.

Do we believe anything you're saying now?

There's no way all these close people
to you are leaving and nothing happened.

There has to be truth
to everything else going on.

Everybody can't be lying.

Some dancers were like, "Okay,
this is a turning point for all of us."

"We need to leave. If we don't move
on this now, it could get way worse."

And now it's settled. I am gone.

[music fades]

I left 7M
because of these damn allegations.

There's too many of 'em. Way too many.

Way too, too many, too many.

[Kylie] I did just see a message
about if I am with 7M.

So, no, I'm not ignoring you.
No, I am no longer with 7M.

[Konkrete] I'm thinking, like,
"We're all out of here, man!"

- But no.
- [dreamy music playing]

Half of 'em stayed.

[Melanie W.]
When dancers started to leave,

we thought Miranda surely
is gonna come out soon.

And when that didn't happen, we were like,

"What is going on?"

Why isn't Nick leaving?

I... I do this on a daily basis.

- I look for things...
- [music fades]

...that I might be able to send to Nick

to help him through
whatever he's going through.

[camera shutter click]

Nick was such a good big brother.

[camera shutter click]

[chuckling] Eating spaghetti.

I try not to be too overwhelming.

[Lawrence] We have not heard from him
in almost six months.

As of January 23rd, everything is green.

We may have been blocked.

He doesn't call.

No text reply.

So we fly out here.

Hey, Nick, open the door.
Come on, we just want to see you.

We just flew 3,000 miles.

We arrived Tuesday.
At the house Tuesday night.

I'm coming back every single day.

I'm not leaving this state
until I see you.

[mysterious music playing]

There were some lights on.
I threw little pebbles.

Nothing. So we're constantly going back.

The message has to get back that,

"Uh-oh, RainO's parents are here. Again."

[Migdalia] We're calling it a night.

But we'll be back. We'll be back tomorrow.

[Priscylla] Robert hated this.

Immediately,
Robert talked about it during service...

[inhaling]...as an attack.

So his strategy changed.

[Robert] This problem,
we handled it all wrong.

Instead of cutting family,
it's exactly the opposite.

You gotta meet with them.
You gotta talk to them.

It takes diligence to be able
to cut your friends and family out

in a way that they don't even know
that they've been cut out.

You gotta be undercover. [echoing]

[alert on cell phone]

[music fades]

[door shuts]

- [Lawrence] Honey.
- You talking to me?

Yeah.

Guess who I just got a text from?

Nick.

Panda Express, 12:30.
There's the location.

[Lawrence] So we just have
to be careful on what we say.

[Migdalia] "No matter what's going on,
we're here for you."

[Lawrence] Right.

"If you want to make
any changes in your life..."

"You're not posting like you used to."

"What's happening?"

Yes.

Mohammad won't come to the mountain,
the mountain has to come to Mohammad.

[ethereal music playing]

[Migdalia crying]

[continues crying]

[Lawrence sighs]

[sniffles]

[Migdalia] Just being able
to look at him and touch him,

my instincts were telling me
that he was being very mistreated.

But we will see him again.

All of a sudden,
we get a phone call from Miranda,

and she said,
"I'd like to meet with you tomorrow."

And I felt like,

"There she is. She's here."

"She has not lost herself."

We would try to say things to her
about the pastor,

about things that we were hearing.

And that's when she said, "You know,

if this is how
these meetings are gonna go,

every time I see you,
if we're gonna be talking about this,

then I'm not gonna want
to meet with you guys anymore."

- Yeah.
- She was emphatic.

"I won't see you anymore."

So we made the promise
not to talk about it,

and we haven't talked about it
with her since.

But...

I don't know, right now...

So far, what we've done,
we've got her back in our life.

[ethereal music continues]

[Melanie W.] Now, I feel like
there's more hope

because she is contacting my mom.

I have seen her a couple times.

But then it's like
this cycle goes back around.

It's like,
"Okay, is she gonna leave us again?"

"Am I gonna have to
go through all that over again?"

I have to take
the present moment for what it is

and at least be happy
that she's in our presence,

but... I think it's more so for the public.

If she has the opportunity,
she's gonna post something.

And I already have people DMing me
on the daily, saying, you know,

"It's so nice to see
Miranda's liking your posts again."

"I'm so glad
you guys are back together again."

It's not even close
to the relationship we had before.

I wouldn't even call it a relationship.

Any encounter we've had with her,
it's so superficial.

There is so much that has happened
since the last time we were truly together

that I want to share with her.

Like, I started dating someone
who I am madly in love with.

And before, I told her everything,
but now I am like,

"No, you don't get
to hear about certain things."

I would want to
ask her to be my maid of honor,

have her be there with me,
because that's what I always dreamed of.

But right now,
I don't trust that she can do that.

I... I want to have a genuine, you know...

like we're moving forward genuinely,
and not just for social media.

[music fades]

Like, what are we doing?

[Kelly] We contacted Melanie,
just to get some advice about what to do.

I don't know.

Do you share about, like,
your collabs and your work with her?

- No? She doesn't ask?
- [Melanie W.] No.

[Melanie L.] So when you get together,
you don't bring up anything about Robert?

[Dean] We're afraid, because we haven't
had the communication for so long

that when it started trickling in,
it was, "Don't talk about it anymore."

[Melanie L.] Mm-hm.
Like, they blow up if you hint...

As soon as you say anything,
she just starts screaming.

[Kelly] I'm just waiting for her
to bring it up, for her to say, like,

"I know that we have our differences,
but I kinda think I'm in trouble."

[Melanie W.] Us not saying anything,
I guess you guys are doing it for Miranda,

but we're really making Robert happy,

- which makes me mad.
- Right.

[Kelly] We're playing this game.

We know it's a game,
but I also know how it felt

to have the alternative,
and not have her in my life,

and that is just...

unbearable.

[voice wavering]
So, I don't know how to navigate it.

[Melanie L.] Yeah.

I kind of disagree with you, Kelly,
because if you continue to be nice to her,

she's gonna think
she's doing nothing wrong,

and she's not gonna miss her family.

I don't know if you guys are aware,
but you guys are driving the meter.

Everybody looks to you guys
to see what's going on.

Speaking out on social media, it's worked.

This is as far as anyone has come
in bringing him down.

And Robert's figured out, "Okay,

as long as she sees them,
they'll stay quiet."

- [Dean] Right.
- Mm-hm.

As long as you guys are not talking,
he can control her.

I would keep being aggressive

because Miranda is not safe.

[ominous music playing]

[Robert] We talked about the power
of agreements, and how powerful it is.

[Melanie L.] One day, I show up to church,

and Robert, he's in the pulpit,

he's beginning to talk,
he's about to make an announcement.

[Robert] A lot of times, a pastor,

because they're afraid
to lose a church member or two or three...

[Melanie L.] And all of a sudden,
half a dozen girls come barging in,

screaming at the top of their lungs.

- [girls bawling]
- They point at Robert.

"You sexually assaulted me."

And they're, like, crying.

- And all you hear is, like, wailing.
- [bawling continues]

Like, as if someone died.

[ominous music continues]

Robert had been soliciting sexual favors
from different women.

And these women were giving it to him

because he was promising
the position of his wife,

which is also called "Woman of God."

But they didn't know
that he had already taken a wife.

And then Catherine, his sister,

assumes the position
of being their spokesperson, and says,

"Look what you've done."

"You need to pay for this.
You are not the Man of God."

So Robert comes up,
and he made it sound like

he was seduced by the women.

And he talks about how he's also human.

And he's a man, and he has temptations,

and he struggles with it,

and asks for forgiveness.

And his approach was so soft.

Some people were so touched

by the fact that the Man of God

was humble enough to admit his weakness,
and fault, and ask for forgiveness...

They stayed,
but most of the girls left with Catherine.

If he did not ask for forgiveness,
everyone would have left.

And I believed everything he said.

[ominous music continues]

[Priscylla] When Catherine left,
Robert lost all the workers.

He really needed me
to recreate the companies.

He was so... considerate of me.

- So... He, like, he just love-bombed me.
- [ominous music fades]

I felt like I needed
to be loyal to Robert and Shekinah.

So I stayed.

[tense music playing]

[Melanie L] Shortly after that,

Robert says,
"I want you to come to my house."

It did not sound good.

[no audible dialogue]

Sure enough,
he started making advances towards me.

He says he's done so much for me.

I need to pay my price.

Everyone has paid a price.

It started out with massages.

Spending one-on-one time.

He tells me he's a Man of God,

and just like King David in the Bible,

he's allowed to have mistresses.

"I want you to be my mistress."

[Marque] Mel told me what was going on,

and it was like, "No."

"This is what...
You know, we... you gotta get out."

"How soon can you get out of there?"

["Devil's Whisper" by Raury playing]

♪ Run from the Devil ♪

We had a date set.
We're like, "Okay, next Thursday."

"We're gonna pick you up."

I coordinated my exit around the time
I was supposed to move to another house.

♪ You better hide ♪

But one day Robert called me,

and he says, "I want you
to sleep with this other member."

So I said... to Robert,

"How many days
do I have to think about this?"

He's like, "How many days do you need?"
And I said, "Ten."

He goes, "You have three days."

I called Marque and said,

"We talked about leaving next Thursday,
forget it. We're leaving tomorrow."

And so I waited until everybody left.

Marque showed up with a van and a bat.

I didn't know what I was gonna do
with that bat, but I knew I would use it

if I needed to.

♪ You better run ♪

My plan was to pack the car up,

and drive to my sister, and pick her up.

Even though she may not want to leave,
I was gonna shove her in the car.

Like, we were gonna, like,
kidnap my sister and take her with me.

But while we're loading the car,
one of the members came back.

[Marque] A car comes and blocks the van.

At that point, I'm thinking,

"Okay. This is when
I'm gonna have to use the bat."

[Melanie L.] She goes,
"What are you doing?"

And Marque goes,
"Get the f*ck out of the way."

But my plan was broken,
'cause now she's already made the call.

Something happened.

And they just moved the car.

They just backed out of,
you know, out of the way.

I said a silent prayer,
like, "Thank you, God."

We got in the van and left.

- ♪ You better hide ♪
- [Melanie L] I call my sister.

"I'm on my way to pick you up.
I'm leaving. Come with me."

She's like, "No. I'm staying."

I worked so hard to get to where I'm at,
where I know we're not gonna go to hell.

And now you leave!

Why is this happening?

["Devil's Whisper" ends]

After that, Robert instilled in me
that Melanie had betrayed him.

She was cursed.

And he said,

"You're the only... one

that can save your sister
from going to hell."

"Because they wronged me."

[eerie music playing]

It started with just massages.

And then he goes, "Go closer to my thigh."

"Closer."

"Closer."

He was desensitizing me.

That it's okay
for women to have sex with him.

So Robert asserted himself
stronger towards me sexually, and...

I hated it.

But I felt... the need

to... repent.

I kept telling myself,

"I just need to not k*ll myself,

and until the day I die,
I just need to do my best."

"My best at everything,

so I can ensure the salvation
of my life and my direct family."

[eerie music continues]

Robert was visiting me consistently,
and I start getting really sick.

My stomach started hurting.

I started having acid reflux.
I couldn't eat.

I used to throw up.

And I would tell him.

And he would make me believe

that spending time with him
was purifying me,

so the evil
was coming out of my body physically.

So then I had to spend more time with him.

But then I would get more sick.

So I'd go, "Oh my God,
I must have so many demons in me...

that I need to, like, really purify me."

- I lived like that for ten years.
- [music fades]

So I turned to the scriptures for healing.

I would print huge, bold letters,
one scripture at a time,

and I would just
plaster it all over my wall.

My room had double curtains
on all of my windows.

- I lived in darkness.
- [mysterious music playing]

I never left my room.

And I'm there whenever Robert comes.

Robert would just show up
in my room out of nowhere.

To do whatever he wanted me to do.

At this point, Hannah is now his wife.

And Hannah started
getting really mean towards me.

I was just working in my room.

I hear... [mimics knocking and thud]
My room opens, Hannah comes.

She starts tearing everything,
rips my room apart.

And she's just kicking me,
pushing me, hitting me.

I'm just sitting there
with my head down, going,

"God, please let this end."

"Please let this end."

- I hear Robert's voice. Open the door.
- [Robert shouting]

He comes in and he says to me,

"Hannah did nothing wrong."

Hannah starts screaming at me.
"This is my house!"

"This is mine!"

"I'm the Woman of God.
I'm the pastor's wife. This is mine."

And Robert would just stand there
and stare at me

the whole time.

And I realized that day

that I'd rather go to hell than stay here.

So I packed my stuff and I left.

[mysterious music playing]

After I left, it took me months
just to see Melanie.

[music fades]

When Priscylla came back,
it wasn't like, "Welcome back!"

You know?

It was, "Hang on."

[doorbell rings]

"What state of mind are you in?"

Hi.

Hi.

Mom's been calling me, but I haven't
had a chance to call her back.

Mmm.

[breathing deeply]

Am I gonna be able to trust her?

Like, who she is right now
is not her real self.

Who's to say she won't go back in?

How many years were you there?

Um...

["Monsters" by Conner Youngblood playing]

[Melanie L.] Even after you leave
a place like Shekinah... it's not over.

The battle you have in your mind,

especially when you're alone,

it's tormenting.

[Kylie] How did I let that happen?

♪ I sh**t down the stars ♪

How did I let myself
get sucked into something like that?

[Melanie L.] You're experiencing
loneliness... self-doubt.

You think, "I should just go back in."

Because where do you start?

♪ There's monsters at home ♪

♪ I feel so alone ♪

[Aubrey] What do I do?

Where do I go from here
after leaving that?

It just feels like emptiness.

[Kailea] Is this gonna
just be stuck with us forever?

Is this gonna be part of Kevin's career?

Or can this just be a chapter
that's closed, and we move forward,

and start really getting, like,
his career going, my career going?

♪ I'm lost out in space ♪

♪ While standing in place ♪

I don't want to say I was in a cult.

It makes me feel embarrassed.

And I'm not an embarrassed person.

Now, I have to walk around
with that shadow.

♪ There's monsters at home ♪

[Melanie L.] You have to learn
how to take back your power,

and learn how to make your own decisions,
and that transition is so hard.

[music fades]

[Robert] A train that's running by itself,
a balloon that flies away,

is not a very stable place.

[man] Yeah.

[tense music playing]

[Robert] We are given a truth
from God that this world

is not a very secure place.

It's not a safe place.

It's not a stable place.

[person chatters]

[Priscylla] When I left,
I couldn't handle it.

And any impulse
or any addiction that I had in the past,

all came at me.

[music swelling]

- And I thought...
- [music stops]

- "Should I just jump?"
- [mysterious music playing]

[Robert] When God says,
"You'll die," you'll die.

- 'Cause let me tell you, you'll all die.
- [woman] Yeah.

[Robert] And I'm gonna die.
I can't avoid that.

Now or later. See, it doesn't matter.

Amen!

[Priscylla] But I can't.

Just not today.

I want to do something with my life.

And take justice upon my hands.

The justice my sister deserves.

That I deserve.

That Robert gets what he deserves.

[mysterious music continues]

"Whatever you sow, you're gonna reap,"
is what he teaches, right?

[music builds to a cl*max]

[music fades]

[instrumental hip-hop music playing]

[music ends]