The family spends the rest of Sunday in tense silence. Reagan helps Jack flip the kitchen table upright, then quickly leaves after sensing the tension. At dinner, they hear scurrying sounds that Aimee assumes are rats. The noise later turns into a scratching sound inside the walls, which seems to trail Charlie as she walks down the hallway.

That night, Charlie stands over the sleeping Abby, grinning and gnashing her teeth. When the closet door creaks open, Charlie is startled and leaps into her own bed. She feels an internal urge to stand over her sister again until she stops breathing.

The next morning, Aimee struggles to get a defiant Charlie out of bed for school. Charlie yells at her mother, calls her “stupid,” and claims rats touched her during the night. Abby denies that there were rats in the room. Charlie tells Aimee that Jack loves her best and that they share secrets Aimee cannot know.

Distraught, Aimee drives to Mabel’s Curious Curios, an antique shop. The elderly owners, Mabel and her husband, Phil, greet her warmly. Aimee reflects on how she has previously visited Mabel after arguments with Jack and considers Mabel one of the few people she can confide in. Sensing Aimee is troubled, Mabel coaxes her to talk. Aimee describes the car accident and Charlie’s disturbing behavior since the crash. Mabel suggests Charlie is suffering from trauma and advises Aimee to take her to a psychologist.

Jack arrives home from work to find Aimee waiting to talk. She recounts Charlie’s behavior that morning and says she wants to take their daughter to a psychologist, suspecting post-traumatic stress. Jack internally struggles with telling the truth but feels unable to tell Aimee about his own childhood experiences. He is hostile to the idea, and Aimee sarcastically asks whether he would prefer an exorcist.

In a flashback, a desperate Gilda takes young Jack to a psychiatrist’s office and dumps a coffee tin full of her life savings on the receptionist’s desk, demanding immediate help. They meet Dr. Copeland. Gilda is too distressed to explain what is wrong with Jack, so Copeland schedules a follow-up appointment. Jack later realizes how serious the situation must have been because his mother rarely showed genuine gratitude or desperation.

Jack reflects on his paranoia after Abby was born, when he secretly watched her for signs of evil. He picks up the girls from Patricia and Arnold’s house. Patricia tells him to get off her porch and never return because Charlie has falsely told her that Jack called Patricia a “fat evil bitch” (105). Jack informs Aimee, who assumes he provoked her mother.

At dinner, Charlie refuses to eat and insults the food, then lets out an ear-piercing scream. Jack grabs and shakes her, stopping the outburst.

Later, Abby confesses to Jack that she is scared of Charlie. She asks if he saw darkness in Charlie’s eyes before she screamed. Jack initially tries to avoid answering but reassures Abby she is not “crazy.” Terrified, Abby begs to move into the attic to escape her sister. Jack agrees to talk to Aimee about it, then wonders if Abby has seen the same darkness in his own eyes.

Jack meets his friend Reagan at a bar. He vaguely explains that things are bad at home and asks Reagan about his beliefs regarding God, evil, and the devil. Reagan concludes he has seen more evidence of darkness than miracles, and if God does not exist, humanity is probably doomed.

At home, Aimee confronts Jack. She knows her mother is angry because Charlie told her about Jack’s supposed insult. Jack denies it, but Aimee is skeptical. Jack raises Abby’s request to move into the attic. Aimee angrily refuses, accusing Jack of taking everyone’s side but hers since the accident. She states that Charlie’s problem is a lack of attention from Jack and accuses him of being distant and possibly unfaithful. Jack internally agrees it is all his fault.

In a flashback, Dr. Copeland questions young Jack about the cat he killed. Jack confesses that he did not want to do it but insists the cat deserved it.

The next morning, Aimee finds Charlie sitting up in bed, wide awake and smiling in an unsettling way. Terrified, Aimee has an asthma attack and uses her inhaler. In the kitchen, she finds Charlie staring intently at an empty corner of the room. As Aimee helps Charlie get ready for school, Charlie leans in close, her eyes glinting with malice. Charlie also repeats several of Aimee’s earlier words back to her in a sing-song voice. As she leaves, Charlie tells her frightened mother not to be scared, because at least she still has Abby.

Aimee arrives at Jack’s workplace in a panic. She tells him she thinks Charlie may be “schizophrenic.” Jack agrees they need to see a psychiatrist, and Aimee breaks down sobbing. A voice in Jack’s head says the family was never his.

In a flashback, Dr. Copeland shows young Jack inkblot cards. Jack’s answers grow increasingly dark, prompting him to confess about a shadow creature in his room that crawls on the ceiling. Copeland dismisses the vision as a trick of passing headlights, which convinces Jack that the doctor does not believe him.

Jack struggles to reach a psychiatrist until Dr. J. H. Markin’s office finally answers. At home, Jack sits with Charlie and speaks directly to what he believes is the presence influencing her. In response, Charlie’s chair tips back and balances impossibly on one leg as she grins at him. Charlie then threatens to take both Jack and his family before abruptly returning to her normal behavior.

The next morning, Jack, Aimee, and Charlie visit Dr. Markin’s outdated office. Aimee explains Charlie’s behavior since the accident. Jack states their fear of schizophrenia and mentions Charlie believes someone lives in her closet. Markin dismisses this as typical childhood fantasy but offers to run tests. Creeped out by Markin, Aimee abruptly ends the session and leaves. As they exit, Markin asks about family history of mental illness. Against his intent, Jack lies and says there is none.

Jack reflects on the truth: His mother suffered from severe depression, alcohol addiction, and suicidal thoughts, and he exhibited disturbing childhood behaviors including insomnia, rage, and failed attempts to take the medication prescribed to him. He also remembers that his mother feared she had passed some form of mental illness on to him. At home, Aimee doubts herself and suggests Charlie’s behavior might be a phase. When Charlie enters asking for food, a stack of plates suddenly falls and shatters. Charlie shows obvious guilt, apologizes, insists it was not her fault, then runs away.