The Housemaid Is Watching
by Freida McFadden
Contents
Chapter 37
Overview
At the private beach, Suzette reveals the “client” meeting is canceled and uses the outing to needle Millie while openly flirting with Enzo. Suzette escalates boundaries by rubbing sunscreen on Enzo and then controls Jonathan by ordering him to stay behind, highlighting the couple’s unhealthy dynamic and fueling Millie’s mistrust.
Nico’s behavior grows more disturbing as he gives Suzette a chilling look and later appears to speak with her in the water away from Enzo and Ada. The chapter ends with a sudden scream from the ocean, signaling immediate danger and a sharp shift in stakes.
Summary
Millie, Enzo, Ada, and Nico arrive at the private beach and find Suzette and Jonathan already there. Millie immediately notices Suzette’s pointed, backhanded comments about Millie’s inexpensive cover-up and Suzette’s obvious attention to Enzo’s body, which makes Millie want to leave but also reinforces Millie’s determination not to leave Enzo alone with Suzette.
Suzette casually reveals the supposed “client” beach meeting has been canceled, which heightens Millie’s suspicion that the meeting may never have been real. Suzette then drags everyone across the sand repeatedly while Jonathan struggles under the load of chairs and an umbrella; when Millie refuses to move again, Suzette insults Millie by implying walking would be “slimming.”
As Millie applies spray sunscreen to the children, Suzette criticizes it as “toxic” and “flammable,” alarming Nico, then produces her own “all natural” SPF 200 sunscreen. Suzette uses the moment to touch Enzo intimately by rubbing sunscreen onto his shoulders, and Enzo reacts far more positively to Suzette’s claims than he ever does to Millie’s. Suzette offers the sunscreen to Ada, who declines, and Nico gives Suzette a cold, unsettling look before turning away.
Enzo takes the kids into the ocean, and Suzette quickly joins him, while Suzette orders Jonathan to stay behind. Jonathan obeys without protest and reads while Millie challenges him about Suzette controlling his choices; he insists he does not mind and says Suzette sometimes wants space. Watching the water, Millie notices Nico is separated from Enzo and Ada and appears to be talking to Suzette, which strikes Millie as strange after Nico’s earlier hostility.
Jonathan offers Millie Suzette’s sunscreen, and Millie is about to use it when a scream erupts from the direction of the ocean, interrupting everything.
Who Appears
- MillieNarrator; grows more suspicious of Suzette’s motives and watches Nico anxiously.
- Suzette LowellNeighbor; cancels the “client” meeting, belittles Millie, and flirts physically with Enzo.
- EnzoMillie’s husband; swims with the kids and allows Suzette to apply sunscreen to him.
- NicoMillie’s son; gives Suzette a cold look and later appears to talk to her in the water.
- Jonathan LowellSuzette’s husband; obediently stays behind, reads, and offers Millie Suzette’s sunscreen.
- AdaMillie’s daughter; swims with Enzo and declines Suzette’s sunscreen.