Police find Ellie's backpack near Dover and announce they have discovered human remains, reopening her case.

Laurel and Paul hold a funeral to bury Ellie's partial remains, hoping to find closure.

Laurel meets a charming man named Floyd Dunn at a café and exchanges phone numbers with him.

Laurel and Floyd go on their first dinner date, and Floyd mentions his two daughters, Poppy and SJ.

Laurel visits Floyd's house for a second date, meets his daughter SJ, and she and Floyd become intimate.

Laurel meets Floyd's daughter Poppy the next morning and is immediately struck by Poppy's strong resemblance to Ellie.

Laurel notices mail addressed to Noelle Donnelly at Floyd's house and realizes Noelle was Ellie's math tutor.

Laurel visits Noelle's old house and discovers a strange basement with three locks on the door and stacked hamster cages.

Laurel pockets a watermelon lip balm found in Noelle's basement and matches it perfectly to Ellie's lip balm set at home.

Laurel takes Poppy to Noelle's old house, where Poppy recognizes the wallpaper and reacts with terror to the basement.

Laurel notices the silver candlesticks stolen from her home years ago are displayed on a shelf in Poppy's bedroom.

Laurel discovers a hidden drawer full of newspaper clippings about Ellie's disappearance inside Floyd's study.

Floyd leaves Laurel alone in his study on Christmas Eve, where a recorded video confession waits on his computer.

Poppy enters the study and tells Laurel that Floyd revealed she is the daughter of Laurel's daughter Ellie.

Floyd takes his own life; months later Hanna and Theo marry and Poppy begins calling Laurel 'Mama.'

Laurel Mack's life has been hollowed out by her daughter Ellie's disappearance ten years earlier, and the discovery of human remains forces her to bury Ellie and face the loss head-on. At a café near her old neighborhood, Laurel meets Floyd Dunn, a man who unexpectedly brings joy and purpose back into her life. As their relationship deepens, Laurel grows increasingly unsettled by Floyd's young daughter Poppy, whose striking resemblance to Ellie she cannot shake. A series of clues — a lip balm, stolen candlesticks, a locked basement, hidden newspaper clippings — slowly draw Laurel toward a devastating truth. On Christmas Eve, Floyd arranges for Laurel to watch a taped video confession that reveals what really happened to Ellie and who Poppy truly is. Though shattered by the revelation, Laurel finds new meaning as Poppy's grandmother and takes her first real steps toward healing.

The headline events of Ellie's disappearance and Laurel's search for truth.

Ellie convinces her reluctant mother to hire a math tutor despite the family's limited finances.

Ellie's first tutoring session with Noelle leaves her feeling uneasy and wishing her mother had stayed in the room.

Ellie decides to end her tutoring sessions with Noelle, telling her mother only that she feels confident about her exams.

Laurel visits her mother at the care home, who encourages her to pursue Floyd, and the two share a rare moment of laughter.

Laurel takes Poppy shopping and buys her colorful, age-appropriate outfits that remind Laurel of what Ellie used to wear.

Laurel brings the whole family together for a shared birthday dinner, including Floyd, Poppy, Paul, Jake, and Hanna.

Jake and his girlfriend Blue call Laurel to warn her that Floyd has a dark aura and is hiding something.

SJ reluctantly tells Laurel she once saw Noelle at eight months pregnant but there was no visible baby bump.

Noelle reflects on her lonely Irish childhood, growing up overshadowed by the memory of her deceased sister Michaela.

Noelle and Floyd meet by chance at a neighborhood convenience store and soon begin a sexual relationship.

Noelle brings Ellie two pet hamsters, despite Ellie having told her during tutoring that she never wanted hamsters.

Floyd breaks up with Noelle while she is secretly faking a pregnancy in hopes of keeping him close.

Noelle stages Ellie's disappearance as a runaway by breaking into the Mack house and dumping Ellie's bones near Dover.

Floyd tells Noelle he plans to keep Poppy after speaking with a social worker, recognizing Noelle as an unfit mother.

Laurel calls Hanna and leaves a voicemail apologizing for years of resentment and asking for her forgiveness.

Before Ellie disappeared, a chain of small decisions led her to Noelle Donnelly's door: a disappointing exam grade, a persuaded mother, and a tutor whose presence felt unsettling from the very first session. Noelle's own perspective reveals a lonely Irish childhood and the desperate relationship with Floyd that gradually unraveled into obsession and violence. As Laurel grows closer to Floyd, she shares tender moments with her elderly mother, takes Poppy shopping, and brings the whole family together for a birthday dinner for the first time in years. Warnings from family members and revelations from SJ slowly erode Laurel's trust, as details about Noelle's staged disappearance and Ellie's remains surface. After learning the full truth, Laurel finally confronts the resentment she has long harbored toward her living daughter Hanna and takes the first step toward reconciliation. These events fill in the human story behind the crime and trace Laurel's gradual movement from grief toward healing.

The stories behind Ellie's tutoring, Noelle's obsession, and Laurel's healing.

Ellie spots Noelle on Stroud Green Road and follows her to her house to collect a math practice paper.

SJ mentions to Laurel that she saw a photo of Ellie online and was struck by how much Ellie resembles Poppy.

Noelle suffers a second miscarriage and meets Ellie for the first time that same day, instantly fixating on Ellie's perfect life.

Ellie drinks elderflower juice laced with a drug at Noelle's house and wakes up locked in the basement.

Ellie tries to strike Noelle with a chair to escape, but Noelle overpowers her and zip-ties her ankles.

Noelle reads Ellie a newspaper article reporting her as a runaway, and Ellie realizes no one saw them walk together.

Ellie wakes from a drugged dinner to realize something happened to her while she was unconscious.

Ellie feels movement in her abdomen and learns from Noelle that she is pregnant, revealing Noelle's true plan.

Ellie gives birth to a healthy baby girl in Noelle's basement and names the child Poppy.

Noelle stops visiting the basement when Poppy is five months old, leaving a feverish and weakened Ellie to die alone.

Laurel questions Floyd about the silver candlesticks and notices his haunted expression when she mentions Noelle giving birth to Poppy.

Noelle tells Floyd that Poppy was born to a girl named Ellie; Floyd attacks her in a rage and accidentally kills her.

Blue tells Laurel that Floyd uses Poppy as a social cloak and is pretending to be someone he is not.

Floyd's video confession admits he killed Noelle in a rage and that her body is buried under his garden flowerbed.

A woman finds Ellie's letter hidden inside a donated book at the Red Cross shop and brings it to the police.

The pivotal chain of events begins with Ellie making the fateful decision to follow Noelle into her house, and from that moment forward, a series of harrowing revelations unfolds. The reader witnesses Noelle's obsession taking shape on the very day of her second miscarriage, before learning how Ellie was drugged, imprisoned, and ultimately impregnated against her will. Ellie's bravery and deteriorating mental state are shown through her failed escape attempt and her struggle to hold on to her sense of self as the months pass. As Laurel investigates Floyd, each confrontation and discovery — a haunted look, a warning from Blue — tightens the net of suspicion around him. Noelle's confession to Floyd about Poppy's true origins triggers a violent confrontation that ends in Noelle's death, a truth Floyd later admits on tape. The pool closes on a haunting note as Ellie's final letter, hidden inside a donated book, is found years after her death and delivered to the police.

Key decisions, discoveries, and emotional shifts from Ellie's captivity to Floyd's confession.