Hannah arrives with Garrett at Phil Graham’s Boston brownstone for Thanksgiving and is surprised that Garrett’s father lives in an elegant Beacon Hill home rather than a sprawling mansion. Garrett has been silent and tense for the entire drive, and Hannah knows he is only there because Phil insisted. Both Garrett and Hannah have been required to dress formally, which immediately reinforces Phil’s need for control.

At the door, they are greeted by Cindy, Phil’s much younger girlfriend, not Phil himself. Cindy warmly introduces herself, but it is clear Garrett did not even know her name beforehand, which shows how distant he is from his father’s life. Hannah immediately feels an odd kinship with Cindy, sensing pain beneath her polished appearance, and that instinct makes Hannah more alert.

In the sitting room, Hannah meets Phil, who barely acknowledges her. Garrett refuses to sit and says almost nothing, while Phil matches him with the same cold silence. Hannah tries to ease the unbearable tension with small talk about football and school, but the conversation keeps dying, and the hostility between father and son makes the room feel suffocating.

To escape the standoff, Hannah volunteers to help Cindy in the kitchen. There, Cindy reveals that she cooked the entire meal, that Phil expects dinner the moment the turkey is ready, and that he dislikes any deviation from his schedule. She also says she sold her event-planning company because Phil said he missed her too much when she worked, which strikes Hannah as a serious warning sign rather than a romantic gesture.

As they continue talking, Hannah notices what looks like bruising on Cindy’s wrists and becomes more suspicious. Cindy admits she moved in with Phil only two weeks after meeting him, and her bitter tone suggests she now regrets that impulsive decision. By the end of the chapter, Hannah’s unease has shifted from general nervousness about Thanksgiving dinner to a growing fear that Phil is not just controlling, but potentially abusive.