Arriving in Knoxville, Demon discovers Emmy Peggot living with Aunt June. At Denny’s, Aunt June describes grueling ER work, while Demon is dazzled by the relentless city. Emmy first keeps her distance, then engages the boys with macabre ER tales and strict rules for their living-room “ship.”

Life in Aunt June’s “doom castle” apartment is claustrophobic and closely supervised; Emmy shuffles between school, crafts, and a downstairs sitter. The kids kill time with Game Boy, drawings, and closet conferences where Emmy teases them with a secret stash of gum and cigarettes, setting the pecking order among the trio.

On Aunt June’s days off, she treats them to outings—trampoline park, putt-putt, the zoo—and plans a trip to Gatlinburg’s Undersea Wonders despite Emmy’s shark phobia. One night Demon quietly witnesses Aunt June’s exhaustion after a long shift, noting her unflinching competence and the family contrasts it exposes.

At the aquarium, the Shark Tunnel terrifies Emmy; the moving walkway strands her as the others continue. Demon pushes back through the crowd to reach her and, hand in hand, escorts her through, deepening their bond. In the gift shop he buys her a small eel bracelet; on the drive home Emmy declares she loves him and will marry him, to Maggot’s chagrin.

Before leaving Knoxville, Emmy orders Demon to call her after he’s home. The slow drive back ends with Mrs. Peggot nervously telling him he now has a daddy; moments later Stoner comes out of the house, confirming himself as Mom’s new live-in father figure and signaling the next turn in Demon’s home life.