Chapter 48

On Monday, Bonny calls Laurel to propose a large Christmas Eve celebration, since she and Paul will be with Bonny’s stepmother on Christmas Day. Bonny confirms Jake and Hanna plan to attend, pressing Laurel for a quick answer so she can place her grocery order. The invitation highlights Laurel’s discomfort with the family rift and her confusion over Hanna.

That evening at Floyd’s, Laurel asks how Poppy reacted when Noelle abandoned her. Floyd explains Poppy arrived neglected—overweight, unkempt, and difficult—because Noelle could not parent. He says Poppy behaved and thrived with him, and that Noelle’s disappearance ultimately proved a blessing for Poppy, who became happy and bonded with Floyd.

Poppy then calls Laurel upstairs to show a Christmas present for Floyd: a mug teasing his coffee snobbery. As Laurel looks around Poppy’s minimal white bedroom, she notices a pair of chunky silver candlesticks on a shelf. Recognizing them as hers, stolen in a burglary years after Ellie disappeared, Laurel is rocked by the discovery.

Poppy casually says the candlesticks were likely Noelle’s and offers them to Laurel, but Laurel declines, shaken. The finding silently links Noelle—and by extension Poppy’s household—to Laurel’s past burglary, intensifying Laurel’s unease and suggesting a deeper, troubling connection.