The Housemaid

What do you like to read?” “Books.” “What kind of books?” “The kind with words.

He has no idea this is just the beginning.

Then again, plenty of men are idiots.

I initially wanted to hire a maid in hopes that she would become my replacement—that if Andrew fell in love with another woman, he would finally let me go. But that’s not why I hired Millie. That’s not why I gave her a copy of the key to the room. And that’s not why I left a bottle of pepper spray in the blue bucket in the closet. I hired her to kill him. She just doesn’t know it.

If you don't take care of your teeth," she continues, "then you lose the privilege to have teeth

He’s almost perfect. And I hate his guts.

Those are the four most beautiful words in the English language. You can go now.

There’s something about this room that’s making a little ball of dread form in the pit of my stomach.

I could just barely make out the word he said. Pericolo. Whatever that means.

Maybe next time, you should leave the girl you lock in the room with more water, so some will be left for you.

There’s something in his expression that sends a chill down my spine. And then he shakes his head, almost imperceptibly. Almost like he’s trying to warn me. But he doesn’t say a word.

My husband is a monster,” I say aloud. “He tortures me. He holds me hostage in the attic.

As I shut the door, I notice marks in the wood. Long thin lines running down the length of the door at about the level of my shoulder. I run my fingers over the indentations. They almost seem like… Scratches. Like somebody was scraping at the door.

And then he kisses me. And God help me, I kiss him back.

The door isn’t stuck. It’s locked.

As Nina and I exchange details about tomorrow, I wonder if she would feel the same way about me if she knew I spent the last ten years of my life in prison.

I could scream and yell all I wanted, and nobody would hear.

—he holds up the chicken nugget—“you have to first examine the nugget for any deformities. Missing head, missing leg, or missing tail. If the dinosaur nugget has any of these critical defects, it will be rejected.

That will be the end. I’ll die in this room.

I’ll let you out,” I say. “Just not yet.

I have just made a dangerous enemy.

So”—Lisa slides the knife back into the wooden block and straightens up, her blue eyes wide and anxious—“can you help me, Millie?” “Yes,” I say. “I believe I can.

Do you know those movies about the scary cult of, like, creepy kids who can read minds and worship the devil and live in the cornfields or something? Well, if they were casting for one of those movies, this girl would get the part. They wouldn’t even have to audition her. They would take one look at her and be like, Yes, you are creepy girl number three.

Mrs. Winchester is only a few inches taller than I am in my flats, but it feels like she’s much taller.

It’s such a shame,” she says, “that he never really learned. I’m glad you stepped up and taught him a lesson.” My jaw is hanging open as Evelyn makes one last adjustment to her son’s white shirt collar. Then she walks out of the funeral home, leaving me behind.

I feel special. Like maybe I deserve to be here.

You’re not in love with me anymore?” she bursts out. “How can