Appetite for Innocence

The new girl, Ella, awakens in the basement, bound and gagged, with fragmented memories of her abduction. Paige offers to get Sarah if Ella promises not to scream. Ella refuses and cries silently. Hearing Ella, Paige begins to cry as well.

The novel jumps forward in time. Ella is in a hospital room. An FBI agent questions her. Overwhelmed, Ella focuses on her mother’s impending arrival. A nurse checks on her, but a medicated Ella declines help. With her arm in a cast, she dissociates while the agents and nurse discuss bringing in a victim’s advocate.

The novel jumps back to the period of Ella’s captivity. The morning after Ella’s arrival, Sarah restores the basement’s routine. She offers to remove Ella’s gag if she promises not to scream, explaining that the basement is soundproof. Ella agrees but screams as soon as the tape is removed. After Paige comforts her, Sarah re-applies the gag, warning Ella that whatever happens in the basement is better than what happens upstairs.

In her hospital room, Ella asks the officers if Paige is safe. Their evasive answer causes her to hyperventilate. The nurse intervenes, guiding Ella through breathing exercises. When Ella asks about Sarah, she has a flashback of Sarah’s warnings. When a police officer reminds her of her captor, whom she internally names John, Ella fears her actions have endangered the other girls.

Sarah panics inside an ambulance, fighting EMTs while asking if John has been caught. After being sedated, she wakes in a hospital room to find Officer Malone with her. He assures her she is safe but reveals John is still missing. Sarah confirms Ella also survived and asks to see her, but her request is denied. She remains certain John will find her.

After another screaming incident, Sarah and Paige re-gag Ella. Later, Sarah removes the gag on the condition of her compliance. While Ella is still tied up, Sarah gives her water and Paige feeds her crackers. Paige explains she has been held for months and repeats the warning that going upstairs is far worse than staying in the basement.

While Paige talks to Ella, Sarah listens from behind her curtain. She recalls her own early captivity in the former wine cellar, remembering how John punished her for carving figures into the foam walls but later provided coloring books as an approved distraction. She worries that Ella’s arrival, which was a surprise, will disrupt the routine and provoke John’s unpredictable nature.

Ella’s mother, Jocelyn, arrives at the hospital, and they share an emotional reunion. Guarded by law enforcement, Ella feels safe enough to sleep. When she wakes, Jocelyn praises her for her bravery, but Ella is burdened by guilt and does not feel brave.

In her hospital room, FBI Agents Blake Erickson and Phil question Sarah, with Officer Malone present for support. She gives her name as Sarah Smith and reveals she was abducted in 2012 from Redlands, California. She states her mother died from a drug overdose but refuses to discuss her father. She provides details about John’s routines but does not know his profession. During the interview, she learns the house where she was held was destroyed by fire.

Ella continues to learn the basement’s routines. Paige helps her use the bedpan, explaining that new girls are assigned to clean it. When a buzzer sounds, Sarah is summoned upstairs. Paige tells Ella that John rarely comes into the basement himself and then reveals a startling fact: Sarah is John’s daughter.

Sarah tells the police she is John’s daughter, prompting them to collect her DNA and fingerprints to determine her role as victim or accomplice. The interview triggers a memory of the escape, recalling how she followed John’s plan, which was disrupted by the arrival of first responders. The novel jumps further back to the beginning of Ella’s captivity. Sarah uncuffs Ella, who begins destroying the basement. Sarah restrains her, warning her about John’s reaction, as Paige tries to comfort Ella.

While Sarah is upstairs, Ella investigates her curtained-off space. She finds numerous privileges, including a better bed, a mini-fridge, a microwave, and a personal stash of food and books. Resentful, Ella steals a Twilight novel. The discovery of Sarah’s relative comfort and her connection to John strengthens Ella’s resolve to escape.

A victim’s advocate named Randy arrives at Ella’s hospital room and explains the FBI requires her to stay under guard for now. He confirms that Sarah survived the fire but John is still missing. When Ella asks about Paige, Randy and the agents admit they have no knowledge of a third girl. Ella panics, insisting Paige was there and demanding they find her.

Paige returns to the basement after being taken upstairs, but she is withdrawn and traumatized. Seeing her state, Ella panics and briefly blacks out. When she recovers, she pleads with Paige to tell her what happened. Paige explains their captor exclusively kidnaps virgins. Horrified, Ella vows to refuse, but Paige tells her they have no choice.

Upstairs, Sarah prepares tea for John. He monitors the basement via cameras and asks about Ella’s progress, confirming Sarah’s role in managing the captives. He praises Paige for her compliance and states it is time to bring Ella upstairs. Sarah asks to sleep upstairs, but he refuses, asserting his control and ordering her back to the basement. Sarah also references two prior captives, Tiffany and Bianca.

Randy questions Sarah about Paige and the fire. Sarah describes the house’s extensive security system and claims that when the alarms went off, she saw smoke and fled. She admits she froze in the yard and did not go back for Paige. When Randy notes she has not asked if Paige survived, Sarah becomes defensive and changes the subject to the manhunt for John.