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Summary
Chapter Fifty-Six: Nina
Nina picks Cece up at camp, and Cece is overjoyed to see her. Nina packed extra bags for her, so when Cece asks to go to Disneyland, Nina says yes. Cece asks about her father, and when Nina says he’s not coming, Cece is visibly relieved. Nina knows Cece can be a handful, because she has to be perfect around her father and doesn’t trust any adults aside from Nina, but she knows her daughter has a good heart.
Nina receives a call from Enzo, who is concerned about Millie. He left a tracker on her car because he was worried about her safety, and she hasn’t left the house in three days. Nina says they might be taking a trip, but Enzo tells her the light is on in the attic. Nina realizes she didn’t think her plan all the way through, and it makes her sick to think Millie might be enduring the same torture Nina experienced. She asks Enzo to check on her, but Enzo refuses to break into the house when Nina has a key. Nina agrees to come back, but under one condition.
Chapter Fifty-Seven: Millie
When Millie checks the video feed the next morning, she panics. She doesn’t see Andrew, and is afraid he’s gotten out of the attic, but then he moves slightly on the cot.
She watches the video feed and sees that he did, indeed, balance the books on his genitals for five hours. He demands that she let him out, and when she says he still has to do one more thing, he tries to break down the door, but he’s too weak from dehydration. She slides pliers under the door and says she’ll let him out if he pulls one of his own teeth. He punches the door and severely injures his hand, then uses the pliers to pull a tooth. He’s in great pain, bleeding and sobbing piteously. Nina knows he’s close to his breaking point, but for him it’s just the beginning.
Chapter Fifty-Eight: Nina
Nina arrives at the house alone, having left Enzo to protect Cece with his life. Suzanne waylays her and alludes to gossip about Nina’s marriage, but Nina says she was just picking Cece up from camp.
She enters the house and it’s silent. She knows something terrible has happened there. She looks all over the house, but can’t find Andy or Millie. Finally, the only place left to look is the attic. She slowly ascends the staircase and unlocks the door, assuming Millie is inside.
Chapter Fifty-Nine: Nina
When Nina enters the room, she finds Andy’s mangled body. She’s startled to hear someone say her name, and it’s Millie, holding a bottle of pepper spray at her face. Nina thinks it’s like looking in a mirror, except Millie’s eyes are filled with fire.
Nina asks how long he’s been here, and Millie says five or six days. Millie asks if he’s dead, and Nina checks his pulse to confirm. Nina is horrified at the state of his body: his eyes are open, his cheeks are sunken, and there’s dried blood around his mouth and on his shirt. Several teeth are missing.
Millie starts crying that she’s going to go to prison for the rest of her life. Nina thinks she cries just like Cece, and that Millie is ultimately just a girl. Nina says Millie is going to leave, and they’re going to pretend she was never there. Millie asks if Nina was hoping she would kill him. Nina confirms she was, and Millie asks why she didn’t kill him herself. Nina was worried about going to jail, but she also just didn’t have it in her. She tells Millie again to leave, and calls the police.
Chapter Sixty: Nina
Nina says if she leaves this house, it will be in handcuffs. The police suspect her of Andy’s murder. She calls Enzo to check on Cece, and he offers to testify on her behalf, but Nina worries it won’t carry much weight since they slept together. She tells Cece she loves her and will see her soon.
The police interrogate her about the bruising on Andy’s stomach and genitals. She asks if they believe she beat him up, and the police say they don’t know what to think. She says she wasn’t worried about him because she thought he was on a business trip, and because they had separated that week. Detective Connors asks if it’s likely that a grown man would lock himself accidentally in a room without his phone, even though it only locked from the outside, and then pull out several of his own teeth. Nina says he doesn’t know what Andy was capable of, because he didn’t know Andy.
Detective Connors says that’s not entirely true, and Nina is afraid that they were golfing buddies. Instead, he says his daughter Kathleen was engaged to him, and after they broke up, she moved away, changed her name, and hasn’t dated another man since. He says that he always wondered what Andy did to his daughter, and thought it was interesting that no one tried to verify Nina’s story about being locked in the attic. He says Andy had a lot of pull with police officers, but not him. Finally, he says simply that the attic seems like a hazard, and Andy’s death will just have to go down as a cautionary tale. Nina realizes she’s not leaving in handcuffs after all.
Chapter Sixty-One: Nina
Nina attends Andy’s wake, in disbelief that he’s really gone. She accepts disingenuous condolences from mourners, including Suzanne, but only feels relief that her daughter can wear a simple black dress to the funeral. Enzo takes Cece out for some food. Nina had asked him to move far away with them, but he tells her he can’t, and that they should both get a fresh start. She asks him to keep an eye on Millie.
Robert and Evelyn Winchester arrive at the wake. The death was ruled an accident, but Nina is afraid that since they know powerful people, they will know he was murdered. Robert simply says they’ll always be there for her and Cece. When they’re alone, Evelyn pointedly says that an old friend from the police station told her about Andy’s missing teeth. Nina thinks Evelyn is going to accuse her, but instead Evelyn says that teeth are a privilege, and she tried to teach him that when she pulled out one of his baby teeth with pliers. She’s glad Nina taught him a lesson.
Epilogue: Millie
One year later, Millie interviews with Lisa Killefer, a well-kept woman in an expensive, luxurious house. Millie hasn’t worked much since Andy’s death, and has mostly been living off of Nina’s deposit of one year’s salary in her bank account. She remembers the “good luck” text Enzo sent her, which indicates that they are now dating.
Millie is worried that she won’t be hired due to her criminal record, but Lisa says Nina highly recommended her. Millie is surprised, as she hasn’t heard from Nina except one happy beach selfie of her and Cecelia with the caption, “Thank you for this.” While toying with a block of knives, Lisa says Nina is wonderful, then tugs her shirt until Millie can see a finger-shaped bruise on her upper arm. Suddenly, Millie understands why Lisa recommended her for the job. Lisa asks if Millie can help her, and Millie answers that she can.
Analysis: Chapters Fifty-Six—Epilogue
In Chapter Fifty-Six, Nina’s concern for Millie marks a significant change in her character. Initially perceived as a perpetrator of control, Nina’s realization that Millie might be enduring the same torture she did underlines the cycle of abuse perpetuated by Andrew. Her willingness to risk her own safety to check on Millie suggests a newfound solidarity between the women, transcending the earlier power struggle and highlighting the theme of female solidarity against a common abuser. This theme is reinforced when Nina sees herself in Millie’s fiery gaze, indicating a shared rage and trauma. Her decision to protect Millie indicates her growth and rejection of the victim-abuser cycle.
Even as Millie asserts control over Andrew by locking him in the attic and subjecting him to physical punishment, her actions are deeply rooted in fear and desperation rather than sadism. When she checks the video feed and fears that Andrew has escaped, her panic reveals the extent of her terror and the psychological impact of his abuse. This fear-driven reaction highlights that, despite her new role as the enforcer, Millie's motivations are driven by a survival instinct rather than a desire for cruelty.
Andrew's situation in these chapters underscores his ultimate loss of control, as he finds himself powerless against Millie's psychological and physical torment. Despite his attempts to use force to escape the attic, his weakness from dehydration renders him ineffective, illustrating that brute force is no longer his greatest asset. His loss of control is further symbolized by the act of pulling out his own teeth—a stark representation of his diminishing power and autonomy. Teeth often symbolize control, especially in dreams, so forcing Andrew to extract his own teeth is quite literally a nightmare.
Chapter Sixty represents the ultimate recontextualization of the narrative, revealing that the prologue narrator, initially presumed to be Millie, is actually Nina. This shift in perspective underscores the profound solidarity between the two women, highlighting their shared victimization and resilience. The chapter also subverts expectations regarding the male police officers' investigation. Initially, it seemed as though the investigation would be thorough and potentially damning for Nina. However, Detective Connors' insight into Andrew’s history of misogynistic violence becomes crucial in exonerating her. His knowledge of Andrew’s abusive tendencies and his personal connection to the case ensure that the investigation does not fall into the typical patterns of dismissing or overlooking women’s experiences, ultimately saving Nina from prosecution and further underscoring the narrative’s critique of systemic gender biases.
The epilogue expands the novel’s commentary on misogyny and the dynamics of power. The solidarity between Nina and Millie is further cemented, and both women find a semblance of liberation. However, the introduction of Lisa Killefer in the epilogue suggests that the cycle of abuse is ongoing, with Millie now poised to use her experiences to aid another woman trapped in a similar situation. This recurring pattern underscores the pervasiveness of misogynistic violence and the ways in which women can subvert it, though not without cost. The epilogue indicates that Millie has fully accepted her role as an enforcer and defender of abused women, and hints that her story will continue.
