Bailey Andrews, Joan’s lawyer nephew, drives Elsie and Joan home from the police station. He advises Elsie not to speak to the police without legal representation and assures her that the evidence is only circumstantial.

Joan admits that she initially feared Elsie and reported her past to the police after Ishaan’s death. She now recognizes that everyone on Kenny Lane adores Elsie, particularly Persephone, who considers her a hero. Joan apologizes, acknowledges that her report caused the current trouble, and promises to help resolve it. As they arrive home, Joan reveals that Peter has been extremely worried. Elsie perceives that Joan is seeking approval for a relationship with Peter and gives her blessing. Despite Joan’s grumbling, Elsie feels herself growing fond of her.

Elsie anxiously awaits Persephone for an evening of babysitting. She admits to Daphne that she has never been comfortable with children and fears disaster. When Roxanne is late, Elsie walks over and offers to handle bedtime so that Roxanne can leave for work.

Daphne soon flees, leaving Elsie alone. The evening proves exhausting. Over two hours, Persephone makes endless requests: stories, water, her stuffed hippo, bathroom trips, and a 45-minute back rub. By the time Persephone settles in at 11:33 pm, Elsie feels that her spirit has been broken by a seven-year-old.

At 3:33 am, Elsie wakes to find Persephone asleep beside her. Unable to carry the child back with her broken wrist, she decides to let her stay. When Persephone curls close with an arm around her, Elsie is suddenly overcome with emotion, crying helplessly while Persephone sleeps peacefully.

Adeem and Libby arrive the next morning to continue filming. Adeem brings brownies from his wife and jokes about the calamities that have befallen Elsie during their visits. Libby brings up a troubling detail: a diary entry where Elsie wrote that she was “delighted” that Mr. Loukas was dead. Adeem finds the word choice troubling. Elsie challenges them to suggest a better word, and they propose alternatives like “pleased,” “thrilled,” and “jubilant.” Elsie notes that “jubilant” is far stronger than “delighted.” Adeem tells her to stop deflecting and just tell the story.

Moments after Mabel asked for Mr. Loukas, he appeared in the hallway. The woman demanded to know why a student was at their house. Mr. Loukas identified Mabel as his history student. Mabel fabricated a story about playing hide-and-seek and needing to call her aunt. The woman, Tessa, stated that they had no phone and watched Mr. Loukas suspiciously.

As Mabel left, Tessa followed and grabbed her arm, demanding to know what was happening between Mabel and her fiancé. The word stunned Mabel. Tessa revealed that he left a school in Adelaide after an affair with a student. She dismissed his behavior as a sickness before returning inside.

Devastated, Mabel realized that her relationship with her teacher wasn’t a romance but a pattern of predatory behavior. She punctured the tire on his car and then ran home to find an angry and worried Cess, who noticed the scratches on Mabel’s arm but didn’t press for details. Despite threatening to serve Mabel a cold dinner, Cess left a hot meal outside Mabel’s room.

The next day at school, Tessa’s words replayed in Mabel’s mind. A substitute teacher arrived for history class; when someone asked where Mr. Loukas was, the substitute didn’t know.

An assembly was called after lunch. Brother Stanislaus began with news of Mr. Loukas. Before he finished speaking, Mabel already knew that the teacher was dead. She realized she was glad.

Adeem and Libby leave at 10 o’clock, and Elsie goes to bed feeling energized and empowered by sharing her story.

At four o’clock in the morning, Nugget’s barking wakes her; she dismisses it as possums. At 8:30 am, she wakes to find Peter, Joan, Roxanne, Persephone, and the Nguyens standing outside, staring at her house. She goes outside and sees Persephone pointing at the house, shouting the word “Mad.” Elsie turns and sees that “MAD” has been painted in large red letters on the side of her house.

Brother Stanislaus informed students that Mr. Loukas’s death was reported as an accident and that he was crushed by his car when he was trying to change a flat tire. Daphne whispered that it was good riddance, and Mabel felt grim consolation knowing that she would be his last victim.

At home, Cess and Ness were waiting. They heard about Mr. Loukas’s death on the radio, and Ness mentioned that his fiancée was interviewed—news that visibly upset Mabel. Cess confronted her about the previous night’s suspicious circumstances. Ness gently asked if something inappropriate happened between Mabel and her teacher.

Through tears, Mabel confessed everything: the affair, the confrontation with Tessa, and Mr. Loukas’s history with other students. She insisted that she didn’t kill him but admitted that she was delighted he was dead. Cess hugged her tightly and whispered that she was delighted too—otherwise, they would have had to kill him themselves.

Ten days later, the autopsy ruled Mr. Loukas’s death a homicide. On the bike ride to school, Mabel confided in Daphne about seeing Mr. Loukas the night he died and admitted to puncturing his tire. Daphne swore that she would never tell anyone, even if Mabel had done more.

At school, two uniformed police officers were speaking with Brother Stanislaus. One officer loudly announced that they needed Mabel’s statement because she visited Mr. Loukas’s house the night he died. Students gasped. When Mabel asked if she needed an adult present, the police said that they already had her father’s consent. She was led to a police car in front of everyone.

At the police station, as the elevator doors opened, she heard Cess arguing that the police couldn’t question Mabel, a minor, without her permission and saying that her lawyer was on the way. Mabel broke free and ran toward the voice. She found Cess on the other side of a desk; Cess immediately crawled underneath it to reach her. When they embraced, Cess declared loudly that she was going to kill Mabel’s father. Both began crying.

The police never requested another statement. After Tessa described Mabel’s visit in her police statement, news of the affair spread widely. Mabel was labeled a “harlot” and faced harsh judgment. A neighborhood father spit at her on the street. Billy Harris tormented her with sexual taunts and once followed her into the girls’ bathroom, forcing her hand onto his crotch. Her nickname, “Mad Mabel,” was used openly everywhere.

Only Christos continued befriending her, increasing his attention despite suffering anti-Greek slurs from Billy as a result. Elsie and Christos defended themselves with witty comebacks, and Christos began sharing lunches with Mabel. He first kissed her at a secluded beach cove. Unlike with Mr. Loukas, Mabel talked freely with Christos, sharing details about her family while he told her about Greece. Mabel believed that she had finally found her real Gilbert Blythe.

After school one day, Mabel was alone in the bike shed when Billy appeared, sexually harassed her, and blocked her exit. Mabel pushed him with her full body weight. Billy stumbled backward just as Christos arrived behind him. Billy’s head collided with Christos’s, and Christos’s head struck the asphalt.

Elsie’s neighbors gather outside her vandalized house. Peter suggests that it was done by kids, and Roxanne agrees that it’s likely random. Joan and Peter offer to clean the graffiti, and Roxanne suggests reporting it to the police. Elsie is touched by their generosity but recognizes that the vandalism won’t stop. She concludes that as long as she lives on Kenny Lane, she puts all her neighbors at risk.

Elsie babysits Persephone and her friend Delly despite initial reluctance. The girls call her “Grumpy Granny” and convince her to bake an apple pie. While watching them, Elsie is reminded of Cess and Ness and of herself and Daphne. When Persephone calls her “the best granny in the world” (281), the compliment pains Elsie because she thinks that the “best granny” wouldn’t endanger her family.

After the girls leave, Elsie calls R. J. Kenton Real Estate and asks to put her house on the market.

Mabel screamed as Christos hit the ground. Billy accused her of trying to kill Christos. When Christos sat up, dazed, he sarcastically agreed that it must have been Mabel since Billy wasn’t strong enough to knock two people over with one push. As Billy left, Mabel taunted him, telling him to stay away since she supposedly went around killing people.

Christos insisted on walking Mabel home. She walked him to his family’s fish-and-chips shop instead. His mother was waiting outside; when Mabel explained that he hit his head, his mother recognized Mabel’s name, and her expression hardened. She scolded Christos in Greek, frequently glancing at Mabel. As Mabel walked away, she heard his mother tell him in English not to hang around with her again.

Libby and Adeem arrive for the final day of filming. Adeem summarizes the events that they’ve covered: her sister’s death, her mother’s death, Billy’s injury, Mr. Loukas’s murder, and Christos’s fall. Elsie agrees that it’s substantial material to be blamed for, noting how it played into her father’s plans. When Libby asks if she wants to discuss her father, Elsie says no but acknowledges that that’s why they’re filming.

Mabel arrived home to find Cess and Ness at the kitchen table with paperwork and whiskey. Cess informed her that they had received a letter from her father’s lawyer claiming that he was entitled to Rosehill. Though Cess said he had no legal right, her tone lacked conviction.

Cess and Ness revealed that Elliott was getting married to Susan and arguing that he needed the house to raise his new family—Susan’s young daughter, Amelia. The strongest part of his case was that he would claim he needed Rosehill to raise Mabel, the legal heir to the property.