The Housemaid is Watching

Enzo is still in jail, as the family cannot afford bail. Millie tells the kids that Enzo will come home, but she’s not sure when. When Enzo calls from jail, Millie asks him why he confessed. He would do anything for their children. Millie tells him to retract his confession because the police won’t arrest Ada. Then, Enzo reminds her that Jonathan’s throat was slit, which does not fit Ada’s story: When Jonathan was chasing her, Ada must have slit his throat to make sure he was dead, which even Millie finds chilling.

Millie walks the kids to the bus stop. Janice, who is there with Spencer, asks Millie why she is there, given what Enzo supposedly did. Millie says that Janice has it all wrong and needs to mind her own business instead of being such a busybody, which shocks Janice.

Benny picks Millie up in his car so they can attend Enzo’s bail hearing.

In the car, Benny tells Millie he has information to share, but she can’t tell anyone, or he could lose his job at the NYPD. Millie swears to keep it a secret. Benny reveals that when the police searched the room under the Lowells’ stairs, they found Suzette’s fingerprints, meaning she knew about the room. Benny also tells her about the blood on the bed. Millie is disgusted and enraged at Suzette. She asks Benny to take her to Suzette’s hotel so Millie can talk to her before the police do.

When they get to the hotel, Benny asks the concierge for Suzette’s room number. As they go up, Benny is nervous about going behind the other officers’ back, but Millie is certain this is the best course of action. When they get to her room, Suzette lets them in after Benny shows her his badge. Benny then tells Suzette that the officers found the room beneath the stairs in her house. She denies knowing about it, but when Benny reveals they found her fingerprints, along with Braden Lundie’s DNA, and claims the police are digging up her yard, where they will likely find Braden’s body, Suzette breaks down.

Suzette says she didn’t know about Braden until after Jonathan murdered the boy. She justifies not turning Jonathan in, claiming she stayed married to him to protect other children and make sure he never killed anyone again. Millie is disgusted by her actions. She and Benny then offer Suzette a deal: Suzette can confess to Jonathan’s murder, pleading self-defense after discovering what happened to Braden. Otherwise, the NYPD will prosecute her as an accessory to the murder of a child. She asks for time to think about it.

Benny thinks she’ll confess to Jonathan’s murder, but Millie thinks this situation won’t be over for a long time.

Two weeks after Suzette confesses to Jonathan’s murder, the Accardi family eats breakfast together at home. It’s the last week of school; then the family will move. Millie and Enzo agree they cannot stay in the house after everything that happened. They ask the kids where to go on vacation over the summer. Ada and Nico both say Disneyland. Millie knows they can’t afford it, but she doesn’t want to squash their hopes just yet.

Benny comes over and tells Enzo and Millie that he has an upcoming date with Cecelia’s mother Nina, one of the main characters in The Housemaid (see Background). Millie is worried about Ada, but Benny promises that Ada will be fine. Enzo tells Millie not to worry so her blood pressure doesn’t worsen, and Millie tells him for the last two weeks her blood pressure has been healthy. She knows Ada did nothing wrong, but will keep worrying.

The narration switches to Ada’s point of view. During library time, Hunter continues to bother Ada even after she ignores him. Finally, she tells him to go away, but his dad told him that Ada is just playing hard to get. Ada says his dad is wrong, and Hunter retorts that at least his dad isn’t a murderer. This upsets Ada, who then threatens to castrate Hunter in his sleep if he bothers her or any other girls again. When Hunter claims that Ada wouldn’t do that, Ada menacingly asks him if he’s sure. He looks afraid and finally leaves her alone. Ada catches her reflection in the window and realizes that she looks more and more like her mother.

The narration switches to Martha’s point of view.

Martha is staying in a motel far away from Long Island. Her abusive husband Jed hasn’t found her, so she is still safe from his violent threats. She keeps the gun Enzo gave her close for protection. She has a little money she was able to hide from Jed and some money that Enzo gave her. She hopes to work under the table to continue to keep her freedom.

When Martha was younger, she worked for a wealthy family with an entitled teenage son who thought he should be able to get anything he wanted. She once saw a girl leave his room in tears and later found blood on the son’s bed sheets. Three months later, the son was dead, killed by Millie for trying to rape her friend. Martha recognized Millie when she and Enzo looked at the house next door to the Lowells’. She helped them win the bidding war by lying that the house had problems to other potential buyers. When the Accardis moved in, Martha wanted to ask Millie for help, but every time she froze, staring at the woman who could free her.

Martha only stole from Millie to get enough money to leave Jed. Before fleeing, Martha also tried to steal some of Suzette’s jewelry to pawn. She thought no one would be home, but she found Jonathan downstairs, holding his stomach. Jonathan shouted at her for stealing and threatened to have her arrested. Martha knew Jed would murder her if she was arrested for stealing, so she grabbed the letter opener, slashed Jonathan’s throat, and ran. She thought the police would find her, but they never even questioned her. She doesn’t feel bad that Suzette went to jail for Jonathan’s murder, and she finally feels free from Jed.