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Summary
Chapter Forty-Eight
“Step Seven: Try to Escape”: Nina meets with Enzo in his basement apartment to make plans for escape. He speaks English well, with a minimal accent, and she remarks that she thought he couldn’t speak English. He laughs and says it’s easier to pretend he doesn’t speak English, so the housewives leave him alone. He tells her his sister Antonia was married to a powerful, abusive man, until her husband fatally pushed her down the stairs. The man didn’t face any consequences, so Enzo meted out punishment personally, stopping just short of killing him. Enzo says he will get Nina and Cece new passports and birth certificates, and Nina will need to find enough cash to get them started.
A few days later, Cece anxiously asks Nina if she is picking her up from school. She knows that when Andy picks her up, it means her mother has disappeared. Nina promises Cece she’ll be picking her up, and wishes she could tell her that they’ll be gone in a week’s time.
When Nina gets home, she finds Andy waiting for her with her fake passports and birth certificates–he somehow found her safe deposit box. Andy says it’s time to go upstairs, and Nina flees to Enzo, crying that she can’t leave anymore. Enzo offers to kill him, like he should have done for Antonia, but Nina comes up with a different plan.
Chapter Forty-Nine
“Step Eight: Find a Replacement”: When Nina meets Millie Calloway, she knows Millie is the perfect replacement. Millie is young, beautiful, and, thanks to her criminal record, desperate for a decent, high-paying job. Nina’s private investigator finds out she was fired from her job and is living in her car, as well as another bit of information that changes everything. While Enzo is not on board with this plan, Nina tells him Millie doesn’t have children, so she’ll be able to leave whenever she wants.
After she hires Millie and puts her in the attic, Andy is furious. Nina argues that if she were in the guest room, Andy’s parents wouldn’t have anywhere to sleep when they come to visit. Andy wants to fire Millie, but when he comes home, she’s young and beautiful and the house is spotless, so he lets her stay.
Nina knows Millie will only sleep with Andy if she hates Nina, so she deliberately mistreats her. On Millie’s first morning in the house, she destroys the kitchen on purpose. She feels guilty about yelling at Millie, and it pains her to throw perfectly good milk on the floor, but it makes Andy feel sorry for Millie, the same way he felt sorry for Nina when her boss yelled at her over breastmilk.
She also knows Andy is desperate for a baby, so she has her private investigator blackmail a fertility specialist to tell Andy that Nina is barren. After receiving the “news,” Nina purposely picks a fight with Andy and mentions that he should be with someone younger. She manipulates the situation with the Broadway play so Millie will see it with Andy, and when Nina sees on the location tracker that Millie is in Manhattan, she knows she’s won. Andy is Millie’s problem now.
Chapter Fifty
Finally free of Andy and the attic, Nina makes plans to leave with Cece and revert back to her maiden name. She hears a knock at her hotel room, and she’s afraid it’s Andy, but it’s Enzo. She tells him the plan was a success, and he kisses her. Nina is surprised–she has been in survival mode for so long, so she hadn’t thought about him in that way. But she realizes she’s attracted to him, and they sleep together. Afterwards, he says they can’t leave Millie with Andy. Nina says she’s a criminal, but Enzo chastises that she’s a human being. He says that if Nina doesn’t warn her, he will, but Nina says he doesn’t understand.
Analysis: Chapters Forty-Eight—Fifty
These chapters reveal that the parallels between Millie and Nina are not merely coincidental, but serve a strategic purpose in Nina’s escape from Andrew. Millie is a younger, prettier version of Nina and, crucially, can provide Andrew with a child—qualities that Nina knows will appeal to him. Both Millie and Nina find themselves in disempowered positions, and Nina, recognizing these parallels, deliberately uses them to her advantage. Nina makes Millie a victim to evoke Andrew's desire to save her, just as he once wanted to save Nina when she was yelled at by her boss. By setting Millie up as a replacement, she capitalizes on Millie’s desperation and vulnerability, echoing her own experiences.
The narrative cleverly subverts common assumptions about women and their interactions with each other. The dynamic between an older woman and a younger, more attractive woman often plays into a stereotypical competition over a man. However, Nina defies this trope by strategically using it to her advantage. Instead of feeling jealousy toward Millie, Nina orchestrates a situation where Millie becomes a more appealing replacement for Andrew. In doing so, Nina "wins" not by securing the man but by escaping his control. This manipulation hinges on the cultural narrative's familiarity, as it is so ingrained that no one, including Andrew, questions it.
In a cruel twist of fate, Nina is pulled back from the brink of freedom just as she is about to fully achieve it, mirroring Millie's own near-escape. Despite Nina’s meticulous planning and manipulation, she is confronted with a situation she hadn't anticipated: the ethical responsibility to rescue Millie from the same torment she endured. This unexpected turn forces Nina to reconsider her actions, as Enzo’s insistence on doing the right thing compels her to face the reality of leaving another woman in Andrew’s grasp.
These chapters culminate in a cliffhanger, suggesting that a crucial piece of information is still being withheld. Throughout the novel, it has been clear that the story hinges on secrets—unspoken truths and concealed motives driving the narrative forward. As we reach this pivotal moment, it becomes apparent that Millie’s secret, which has been hinted at but not yet fully revealed, is about to play a significant role in the novel's resolution. It serves as a reminder that in this story, nothing is as it seems, and every character harbors a hidden depth that can upend the narrative at any moment.
