Contents
Part Two — Chapter Fifteen
Overview
Theo travels to Cambridge to meet Alicia’s cousin, Paul, seeking insight into Alicia’s past. At Alicia’s childhood home, Theo reflects on formative trauma before spotting an old woman watching him. Moments later, he is ambushed and knocked unconscious, escalating the danger surrounding his investigation.
Summary
Theo travels to Cambridge to visit Alicia’s cousin, Paul Rose, hoping Alicia’s origins will clarify the roots of her violence. The quiet, wintry approach and the isolation of the house amplify Theo’s sense that answers lie in Alicia’s past.
At the overgrown Victorian home where Alicia grew up, Theo contemplates how early trauma can shape adult pathology. He frames Alicia’s act as the product of disordered internal dynamics born from childhood injury, reinforcing his goal to uncover what happened in this house.
Exploring the garden, Theo imagines Alicia’s childhood beneath a willow tree. An uneasy feeling interrupts him when he notices an old woman’s face pressed to an upstairs window, staring at him.
Before Theo can react or gain entry, he is struck from behind by an unseen attacker and loses consciousness, indicating someone connected to the house may be hostile to his inquiries.
Who Appears
- Theo FaberTherapist-narrator; visits Alicia’s childhood home to meet Paul, reflects on her trauma, and is ambushed and knocked unconscious.
- Paul RoseAlicia’s cousin; the intended contact in Cambridge, not encountered before Theo is attacked.
- Unidentified old womanObserved staring from an upstairs window of Alicia’s childhood home; her presence unsettles Theo.
- Unknown assailantStrikes Theo from behind in the garden, halting his attempt to meet Paul and investigate.