Laurel Mack continues her investigation into her daughter's disappearance, and the narrative shifts to reveal the perspective of a key figure. A disturbing revelation about a past pregnancy raises new questions, and Laurel uncovers a chilling piece of evidence that confirms her worst fears.
Chapter 26: No Bump
Laurel meets Floyd Dunn's daughter, Sara-Jade Virtue (SJ), for lunch to discuss Ellie Mack and the rucksack. Laurel brings up Ellie's diary entry about Noelle Donnelly being a "bunny boiler" and asks for SJ's opinion of her former stepmother. SJ doesn't hold back, describing Noelle as "fucking vile." She recounts how Noelle treated her with contempt, ignored her, and referred to her only as "the girl," highlighting the theme of The Nature of Family and Motherhood through this dysfunctional dynamic.
SJ then drops a bombshell. She tells Laurel that when she was twelve and Noelle was supposedly eight months pregnant with Poppy Dunn, she saw Noelle naked in her father's bedroom and "there was no bump." SJ admits she has struggled to make sense of this memory, wondering if it was a figment of her imagination fueled by her emotional difficulties at the time. The incident disturbed her so much that she became terrified of Poppy, believing she was a "robot baby" or an "alien baby," and refused to see her until she was almost a year old. This revelation plants a seed of doubt in Laurel’s mind, suggesting a profound layer of Deception and Hidden Truths surrounding Poppy’s birth and Noelle’s pregnancy.
Chapter 27: My Name is Noelle Donnelly
The novel shifts perspective, beginning Part Three with a first-person narration from Noelle Donnelly. She introduces herself as if at an AA meeting, acknowledging she "did something bad." Noelle recounts her cold and difficult upbringing in a large, academically competitive Irish family. She felt invisible, unfavorably compared to her four brothers and her deceased older sister, Michaela. Her parents were emotionally distant, valuing grades over affection, which left Noelle feeling unloved and inadequate.
Noelle describes her move to London, her social awkwardness, and her professional failures before retraining as a maths tutor. She reveals that at age forty-one, she was still a virgin, lonely, and starved for connection. Her life changes when she reads a book called Bad at Maths by Floyd Dunn. She develops an intense fixation on the author, studying his photograph and memorizing his words. This marks the introduction of the theme of Obsession and Psychological Manipulation. Her narrative reveals a calculated plan to meet him, culminating in her attending a book signing where she knows he will be.
Chapter 28: Rice Krispies or Mini Shredded Wheats?
Noelle continues her story, detailing how she engineered her relationship with Floyd. After their initial meeting at the book signing—where she learned they were neighbors—she began "going out a little more than [she] usually tended to," essentially stalking him in their neighborhood. She orchestrates a "chance" encounter at a convenience store. In her retelling, she frames their interactions as a mutual courtship, emphasizing Floyd's charm and his invitation for her to banter about breakfast cereal for his daughter. She insists that he was the one who pursued her, inviting her to dinner and initiating their physical relationship.
She recounts their first night together, where she told him she was a virgin. According to Noelle, Floyd was kind and patient. She acknowledges that their relationship was primarily sexual but argues that a deeper bond formed through the significant amount of time they spent together. Her narration is clearly self-serving, an attempt to rewrite her obsessive pursuit as a genuine romance that Floyd equally desired. She defiantly states, "You saw me, Floyd. You saw me and you wanted me."
Chapter 29: A Difficult Girl
Noelle describes her first meeting with Floyd's then-eight-year-old daughter, Sara-Jade. SJ reacts with fear, running from the room sobbing. Noelle admits she took the rejection personally and "could not bring myself to be kind to that child ever again." She paints SJ as a disturbed and difficult child, prone to violent tantrums, and claims that she and Floyd bonded over their shared frustration with SJ's behavior.
In a key moment of manipulation, Noelle states, "I turned you against her. I did." She claims they "demonized" SJ together and that as Floyd turned against his daughter, he turned more toward Noelle, who became "the normal" and "the sane" one in his life. The chapter ends with a stunning accusation aimed directly at Floyd. Noelle claims that it was Floyd who first suggested they have a child together, quoting him as saying, "Maybe if you and I had a child, maybe it would like me." This assertion casts Floyd in a much more complicit and sinister light, though given Noelle's manipulative nature, its truth is highly questionable.
Chapter 30: The Lip Balm
The narrative returns to Laurel's perspective. Deeply disturbed by SJ's story, she goes to her daughter Hanna Mack's flat and cleans obsessively, a physical manifestation of her need to bring order to the chaos in her mind. Back home, she searches for information on Noelle online but finds little. Rummaging through old belongings, she finds an old address book with Noelle's phone number on a Post-it note. She calls and is surprised to reach Noelle's nephew, Joshua, who now lives in Noelle's old house in Stroud Green.
Laurel immediately goes to the house. Joshua explains that the family has kept the house exactly as Noelle left it, "in case she comes back." He then offers to show Laurel something strange in the basement. The room is chilling: clad in pine, with a sofa bed, a TV, a high window, and multiple locks on the door. Joshua points out a stack of empty hamster cages, explaining that his uncles found them filled with over twenty dead hamsters when they first entered the house. The scene is deeply unsettling, strongly implying a prison. As Laurel takes in the horrific atmosphere, she spots something under the sofa bed: a watermelon-flavored lip balm. She instinctively pockets it. Later, at home, she pulls out a box of Ellie's belongings and finds three other lip balms in different fruit flavors. The one from the basement is the final, missing piece of the set, providing the first concrete proof that Ellie was held in that room.
Character Development
Laurel's investigation intensifies, while Noelle's perspective reveals a disturbing backstory. Floyd's role becomes more ambiguous, and Sara-Jade's childhood trauma comes to light.
- Laurel Mack: Transitions from grieving mother to active investigator, driven by SJ's revelation and culminating in the discovery at Noelle's house.
- Noelle Donnelly: Introduced as the antagonist through her own narration, revealing a woman shaped by loneliness and a desperate need for love, manifesting as obsession.
- Floyd Dunn: His character becomes ambiguous, with Noelle's narration suggesting he was complicit in turning against his daughter and desiring a child with Noelle.
- Sara-Jade Virtue: Reveals the trauma of her childhood relationship with Noelle, with her memory serving as a catalyst for the investigation.
Themes & Symbols
These chapters delve into deception, obsession, and the twisted nature of family, using potent symbols to convey their dark implications.
Themes
Deception and Hidden Truths: SJ’s memory of Noelle’s non-existent pregnancy suggests a massive deception, compounded by Noelle’s self-deceptive narration.
Obsession and Psychological Manipulation: Noelle’s chapters explore her all-consuming fixation on Floyd and her manipulation to get what she wants, including turning Floyd against his own daughter.
The Nature of Family and Motherhood: The chapters explore twisted versions of family, contrasting Noelle’s cold biological family with the dysfunctional step-family she tries to create.
Symbols
The Basement Room: Represents imprisonment, secrecy, and psychological horror, with sparse furnishings suggesting long-term confinement.
The Dead Hamsters: Symbolize Noelle's capacity for cruelty and neglect, foreshadowing her treatment of a human captive.
The Lip Balm: Becomes a talisman of immense significance, providing concrete evidence that connects Ellie to a specific place of captivity.
Key Quotes
You saw me, Floyd. You saw me and you wanted me. You asked me to dinner. You turned up at that dinner on time and smartly dressed. You did not look at me and say, This has been a terrible mistake, and do a runner.
This passage from Noelle's narration exemplifies her need to reframe reality. She casts herself as the desired party, not the pursuer, a defense mechanism that allows her to absolve herself of her obsessive actions. The direct address to Floyd ("You saw me, Floyd") makes her testimony feel like both a confession and an accusation, blurring the lines between victim and perpetrator in her relationship with him.
Maybe if you and I had a child, maybe it would like me.
Noelle attributes this quote to Floyd, suggesting a disturbing motive behind their relationship. If true, it paints Floyd as deeply insecure and willing to manipulate Noelle to fulfill his need for validation. The quote also highlights Noelle's own desire for acceptance and belonging, which she seeks to achieve through having a child.
Significance
This section marks a turning point in the novel, shifting the focus to Noelle Donnelly's actions. The introduction of Noelle’s first-person narration creates intense dramatic irony, heightening the tension as Laurel uncovers clues to a truth we already suspect is monstrous. The discovery of the lip balm confirms Ellie's fate was intertwined with Noelle and that she was held captive near her own home.