Chapter 12
Contains spoilersOverview
While cleaning, Millie secretly checks Nina’s medicine cabinet and discovers numerous prescriptions, including haloperidol, an antipsychotic. Nina intrudes to critique Millie’s methods and demand organic cleaners. Millie’s search confirms the medication’s use, intensifying her suspicions and fear about Nina’s mental stability and the risks of living in the house.
Summary
Millie reflects on Nina’s erratic behavior and the chaotic state of the master bathroom as she cleans, disgusted by recent discoveries like a used tampon on the floor. Wondering about Nina’s mental health, Millie debates whether to look in the medicine cabinet, then gives in to curiosity.
She opens the cabinet and sees numerous prescription bottles, noting one for Nina Winchester labeled haloperidol. Nina’s voice calls from the hallway, forcing Millie to shove the bottle back and compose herself just as Nina enters and questions what Millie is doing.
Nina fixates on Millie’s cleaning methods, criticizing the nonorganic sink cleaner and implying Millie slacks when unsupervised. After observing a demonstration and offering backhanded feedback, Nina leaves, having sown doubt and asserting control.
Alone again, Millie resists petty retaliation and instead looks up haloperidol, learning it is an antipsychotic. The discovery validates her concerns, leaving her ashamed of snooping yet increasingly uneasy and fearful about Nina and the household.
Who Appears
- Millie
Housemaid and narrator; snoops Nina’s medicine cabinet, finds haloperidol, and grows uneasy after Nina micromanages her cleaning.
- Nina Winchester
Employer; leaves the bathroom chaotic, criticizes nonorganic cleaners, questions Millie’s work, and has prescriptions including haloperidol.