Opening
In these chapters, Millie Calloway crosses an irrevocable line to save Wendy Garrick from her husband, Douglas Garrick. A tense domestic standoff explodes into violence, and the aftermath reveals a chilling new side of Wendy as Millie stumbles into shock, secrecy, and isolation.
What Happens
Chapter 36: Sleep Tight
Lying awake, Millie replays the moment Wendy revealed the gun and recognizes the danger has peaked—Wendy is at "him or me." She wants to call Enzo Accardi for help but hesitates, worrying he’ll misread a late-night call. Her thoughts loop through her feelings for Enzo and her steady boyfriend, Brock Cunningham: the flutter of joy she feels with Enzo, the comfort—but trap—of Brock’s frequent “I love yous.”
The phone rings. It’s not Brock—it’s Douglas, sounding impeccably polite as he fires her. He says Wendy is "feeling better" and they need privacy, and he offers Mets tickets in thanks. A chill runs through Millie as she realizes she’s wearing a Mets T-shirt in bed. Convinced he’s watching her, she panics and texts Brock to come over.
Chapter 37: A Sickening Crash
On her final day with the Garricks, Millie plans to meet Brock for dinner and confess everything about her past. As she folds laundry, she thinks about the gun and resolves to call Enzo tomorrow to take over. Then a crash shatters the quiet. From behind the guest room door, Douglas’s voice booms as he rages over an $80 lunch charge, accusing Wendy of leaving without permission and meeting another man—the one who drove her upstate.
Millie edges closer. Douglas accuses Wendy of trying to make him look like a monster by letting people see her bruises. Wendy’s frantic denials only inflame him. Another crash, a scream—and then a horrible gurgling sound. Millie understands: he’s choking her. In a flash, one solution blazes in her mind—the gun.
Chapter 38: I Pull the Trigger
Millie sprints to the living room bookcase, pulls a revolver from a hollowed-out dictionary, and runs back. A voice in her head warns her she’s making everything worse, but Wendy is dying. She only means to scare him.
She pushes the door open. Douglas pins Wendy against the wall, hands crushing her throat, her face bluing. Millie shouts at him to let go and points the gun at his chest. He doesn’t react. Wendy goes limp. Negotiation is over. Millie fires.
Chapter 39: He's Really Dead
The shot cracks the room. Douglas collapses, blood spreading across the carpet. Wendy drops to her knees, coughing for air. The gun slips from Millie’s numb hand. Wendy checks for a pulse and whispers, “He’s dead.” Millie insists she only wanted to save Wendy, not kill him. Wendy thanks her and says she knew Millie would save her.
Then Wendy steadies. She outlines a cover story in crisp detail: Millie must leave now. Wendy will wipe the gun, wait a few hours, and call the police, claiming she shot an intruder by accident. It will work—Douglas uses a back entrance without cameras, and the elevator cameras are broken. Wendy will take responsibility; Millie must delete their texts. As Millie leaves, she turns back to see Wendy standing over Douglas’s body, a smile spreading across her face.
Chapter 40: Rain Check
On the subway, Millie shakes uncontrollably. She has killed again. The dinner with Brock—“The Talk”—is impossible now. Missed calls fill her phone.
She calls him back and lies about a sudden stomach bug. He offers to bring soup; she refuses and says she needs to be alone. Kindness hits her like a bruise. The only person she could tell is Enzo, but she shuts that door, too. Alone with her secret, she heads home, hoping the nightmare recedes.
Character Development
Violence rips away facades. Millie acts decisively to save a life, and Wendy’s composure after the shooting reframes her from helpless to formidable, while Douglas’s mask of civility disintegrates. Brock remains a beacon of ordinary care that feels impossibly far from Millie’s reality.
- Millie: Protective instinct overrides self-preservation. She becomes the agent of lethal force, then retreats into secrecy, lying to Brock and refusing to lean on Enzo.
- Wendy: Terror gives way to strategy. She engineers a believable cover-up within minutes and smiles over Douglas’s body, revealing control and potential manipulation.
- Douglas: Polite control curdles into unrestrained violence. His paranoia and cruelty culminate in attempted murder—and death.
- Brock: Steady, caring, and attentive. His kindness highlights the widening gulf between Millie’s desired normalcy and the life she’s actually living.
Themes & Symbols
Millie’s shot crystallizes Justice and Revenge: she acts as judge and executioner in the space of a heartbeat, justifying lethal force to stop an ongoing murder. Wendy’s quiet smile suggests the act functions not only as rescue but as a dark, satisfying conclusion to long-term abuse.
Deception and Manipulation frames every move. Douglas’s “polite” firing call is a threat masked as courtesy. Wendy’s swift cover story shows mastery over narrative, surveillance gaps, and timing. Millie’s lie to Brock deepens her entanglement in secrecy. Meanwhile, Appearance vs. Reality shatters the penthouse’s pristine image as it becomes a crime scene, and it complicates Wendy’s identity: the victim is also the strategist.
- Symbol — The Gun in the Dictionary: A weapon hidden inside a book signals the moment words fail and violence becomes the only language left. It’s an irreversible solution disguised as knowledge and civility.
Key Quotes
“He’s dead.”
Wendy’s confirmation grounds the scene in stark finality. It marks the instant Millie can no longer pretend she merely intervenes; she has ended a life, and everything that follows must account for that fact—morally, legally, psychologically.
The last thing I see when I leave the bedroom is Wendy standing over Douglas’s dead body.
And she’s smiling.
This closing image flips the power dynamic. Wendy is not only saved; she seizes authorship of the aftermath. The smile is both liberation and warning, forcing a reevaluation of her vulnerability and intent.
Why This Matters and Section Significance
This is the novel’s major turning point. The conflict shifts from documenting abuse to surviving its aftermath and concealing a killing. Millie’s action binds her to Wendy through a dangerous secret, distances her from Brock, and invites scrutiny that a cover story may not withstand. Most crucially, Wendy’s poised response and final smile recast her role in the narrative, setting up new questions about trust, motive, and the cost of rescue that drive the story forward.