Following his disappearance, swimmers found Billy semi-conscious at the bottom of concrete stairs leading to a beach parking area. He was hospitalized with a suspected brain injury and placed in an induced coma. Rumors immediately spread blaming Mabel, claiming that she pushed him after he rejected her advances.

Mabel became someone to be feared rather than simply ignored. Daphne loyally defended her, though no one listened. After school one day, they went to the library, where Mabel showed Daphne Anne of Green Gables and discovered that Daphne already knew and loved the book. Inspired by the novel, they recreated the ceremony where Anne and Diana become bosom friends, dissolving into laughter. This was one of the happiest moments in Mabel’s life.

Two days after Billy’s accident, Christos found Mabel and Daphne hiding in the school bike shed. He apologized for Billy’s cruel comments about Mabel’s dead mother and sister and for not intervening when Billy kissed her without consent, adding that if she had harmed Billy, it would have been justified.

Daphne encouraged Mabel to walk home with him. On the way, Christos explained that Billy orchestrated the game specifically to kiss her. When Mabel asked if people truly believed she was a killer, Christos responded that people need a common enemy and don’t care about truth. He assured her that he didn’t believe she was capable of killing anyone. He then joked that if she did decide to kill Billy, he wouldn’t tell.

Mabel attended Sunday Mass at St. Mary’s, standing at the back while the parish prayed for Billy’s recovery. During the service, she spotted a familiar face and realized that she had her first crush. When an elderly parishioner arrived late, the man whom Mabel had been watching gave up his seat and signaled for her to follow him outside.

He led her to a secluded area behind the church and pushed her against the brick wall, kissing her. The experience was intense and very different from her kiss with Billy. Afterward, the man told her that she enjoyed the experience. He said that he would meet her again the following week, and Mabel agreed. The man was Mr. Loukas.

Persephone clings to Elsie, trembling and crying. They search the house and confirm that Roxanne is gone. When Elsie says that she needs to call the police, Persephone begs her not to, terrified that her mother will be arrested for abandonment. Elsie checks outside, confirms that the man has left, locks the front door, and barricades it with a chair.

In Persephone’s bedroom, the child climbs onto Elsie’s lap and asks her to stay. Elsie agrees, and Persephone makes her perform a pinkie promise. After settling Persephone into bed, the exhausted child murmurs that she loves Elsie. Elsie simply wishes her good sleep, but once Persephone is asleep, she allows herself a small smile.

Keys in the lock wake Elsie. Roxanne enters to find the door barricaded and Elsie inside. When Persephone explains that a man came and that Elsie protected her, Roxanne grows tense.

Roxanne confesses that she left Persephone alone because she works a late-night office-cleaning job that pays well but requires her to be away while Persephone sleeps. She can’t afford overnight babysitting. Elsie recounts the encounter with the man, and as she prepares to leave, she asks Roxanne if she would like her to kill him. Roxanne asks if she could make it painful. Elsie jokes that, as “Mad Mabel,” painful deaths are her specialty.

Daphne arrives the next morning to find Elsie exhausted. When Roxanne knocks, they invite her in.

Roxanne reveals that the man was Shane, Persephone’s father, against whom she has an ineffective restraining order. He was initially charming but became controlling and first hit her when she was pregnant. She escaped when Persephone was six months old, but he keeps finding them. Roxanne says that she will have to move again and can no longer work her night shifts. Prompted by Daphne, Elsie offers to let Persephone stay with her on nights when Roxanne works. After Roxanne agrees and leaves, Elsie enters the spare bedroom to prepare it—a room revealed to be entirely dedicated to Peter, covered in his photographs. She carefully packs them away, telling herself that it’s time to let go of the “fantasy.”

Mabel told Cess and Ness that she was going to the movies with a friend, secretly planning to meet Mr. Loukas. Cess noticed that Mabel was wearing her late mother’s scarf and adjusted it for her.

Mabel and her teacher met regularly in hidden places: his house, the school sports-equipment shed, and behind St. Mary’s church. He told her that he was in love with her and had never felt this way before. Mabel noted that no one had ever told her they loved her. Hearing those words became addictive, and she thought that she would do anything to hear them again.

On a hot Saturday, Daphne proposed that they get made up using Mabel’s mother’s cosmetics. The result was garish—Mabel looked like a clown with flat, wet hair. Both girls collapsed into laughter.

They laughed so hard that they didn’t hear Mabel’s father return home early. Elliott appeared in the doorway and roared, demanding to know what was happening. The laughter stopped instantly.

Adeem and Libby arrive to continue the documentary interview. Elsie makes coffee for Adeem but omits the sugar he requested, believing it’s unhealthy. Adeem says that they have footage of the recent attack they would like to use; Elsie agrees, joking that she’s been a spectacle her whole life. When Libby suggests that they discuss Elsie’s father, Elsie stiffens but agrees, acknowledging that while her father was never physically violent with her, he preferred psychological abuse. Libby starts the recording.

Elliott confronted Mabel and Daphne in his bedroom, mocking Mabel’s appearance and calling her a “tramp.” Cess arrived and defended Mabel, explaining that she gave permission for Mabel to use her mother’s things as part of her grieving process. Elliott dismissed this, announced that he had returned to care for Mabel, and gave Cess seven days to pack and leave.

After he left, Mabel remained frozen, as though her stillness could prevent the upheaval. The brief period of safety and peace she experienced with Cess and Ness was destroyed in minutes.

Mabel stayed in bed all weekend, overwhelmed. Daphne visited, and Cess brought meals on trays.

On Sunday night, Mabel told Cess that she wouldn’t return to school. Cess responded pragmatically, telling her not to waste a brilliant life. When Mabel questioned why she cared, Cess explained that Mabel was her only remaining family and the most important person in her life. Mabel pointed out that she wasn’t the most important person in her father’s life. Cess responded firmly that this was exactly why she would never leave Mabel with him. Mabel smiled but privately doubted that Cess could outsmart her father.

A knock interrupts the interview. Detective Inspector Carlaw and Detective Wills ask Elsie to come to the station for more questions about Ishaan’s death. When Libby and Adeem point out that she’s not under arrest, the detectives warn that refusing to cooperate won’t look good in court. Elsie decides to go out of curiosity.

Outside, neighbors are watching. Elsie asks someone to take Nugget; Roxanne and Persephone agree. As Elsie approaches the police car, Joan asks if she should inform Peter. Elsie surprises herself by accepting.

Elsie is interviewed at a Victoria Police building. The detectives reveal that they found Ishaan’s DNA on her shoe—she dismisses this, given that she discovered his body—and then that her DNA was found under Ishaan’s fingernails. Elsie reminds them that Ishaan scratched her during a struggle over his dog the day before his death. The detectives outline the suspicious circumstances: her contentious relationship with Ishaan, witnessed threats, the DNA evidence, and her discovery of the body. Elsie accuses them of focusing on her because of her “Mad Mabel” reputation. The interview is interrupted when her lawyer arrives—Joan’s nephew, a law-firm partner.

A week after Elliott’s return, Cess calmly presented him with legal documents proving that her parents’ will granted Rosehill to Mabel, with Cess as trustee until Mabel reached adulthood. Elliott tried to manipulate Mabel and then argued that the will didn’t grant Cess custody and threatened to leave with Mabel. Cess countered that he would need to apply to the courts—a case he was unlikely to win given his work schedule and frequent travel.

Before leaving, Elliott delivered a veiled threat, noting that the law granted him a claim to the house if there were no other living relatives. Cess reassured Mabel that it was an empty threat. For the first time, Mabel truly believed she was loved.

Billy emerged from his coma about a month after his accident, with significant memory loss. He returned to school appearing physically unchanged but noticeably meaner and less intelligent.

Mabel’s secret Sunday meetings with Mr. Loukas continued. One Sunday, while distributing parish flyers with Daphne after Mass, Mabel saw her father exit the church arm-in-arm with Susan McGinty, with a blonde girl of about six beside them. Mabel and her father made intense eye contact as they passed. Daphne commented on Mabel’s expression, calling it a “death stare.” Mabel said that looks can’t kill but then added that if they could, her father would already be dead.