The Housemaid is Watching

Millie is late getting home from work; a patient’s family did not want to take them. When she gets home, Enzo’s truck is in the driveway, but she can’t find the children. She looks everywhere, but they aren’t in their rooms or anywhere else in the house, though the praying mantis is still there.

Millie tries not to panic: Enzo’s truck is home so he must be somewhere with the kids. She texts and calls him, but he does not answer. She contemplates calling the police but does not want to overreact. Since the truck is parked, she concludes Enzo and the kids have gone somewhere on foot. She goes to Suzette’s house, where she finds Enzo in the backyard, but not Nico or Ada. Enzo criticizes Millie for arriving home late, but Millie reminds him that he got home first and should have realized she wasn’t there.

Millie, Enzo, and Suzette return to the Accardi house to look for the kids. Enzo notices a rip in the wallpaper that is the size of a small door. When he pushes, it opens, making the scraping sound that Millie has been hearing at night.