After dinner, Millie checks on Nico in his room. Nico is quiet and withdrawn, reading a comic book without much engagement, and Millie notices his bruised left eye and bloodshot eyes.

Millie looks for Nico’s praying mantis, Little Kiwi, and worries it escaped. Nico bluntly explains Little Kiwi died during molting and says he flushed the insect down the toilet, which unsettles Millie. Millie suggests arranging a playdate with Spencer during Nico’s suspension, but Nico responds with indifferent shrugs and returns to reading, ending the conversation.

Back in the bedroom, Millie feels a growing unease about Nico’s recent impulsiveness and aggression. Enzo is searching their nightstand drawer and asks if Millie took money, saying fifty dollars is missing. Millie immediately suspects Martha may have stolen it because Martha previously snooped, but Enzo pushes back and then doubts himself, wondering if he moved the money.

Millie tries to talk about Nico’s school fight, but Enzo insists the punishment is unfair and frames Nico’s punch as justified for defending a girl. Enzo minimizes the suspension and treats fighting as normal boyhood behavior, revealing he fought as a boy too.

Millie’s frustration turns into deeper concern as she reflects on Enzo’s past: Enzo once fled Italy after beating his sister’s abusive husband nearly to death after the man killed her. Millie reaffirms her belief that Enzo is a good man, but ends the chapter increasingly unsettled by what Enzo has done before—and what he might be capable of.