# Chapter 4: The Peanut Butter Disaster
Hello everyone, it's me again! How are you all doing? Today I will continue to walk with you and review Chapter 4 of "The Housemaid" — a chapter that takes us deep into Millie's first full day of work, where she discovers that cleaning up filth might be the easy part. The real challenge? Winning over a strange little girl with icy eyes and a secret that could cost Millie everything.
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Let me tell you, dear readers, if you thought Nina Winchester's house was just a little untidy, you were sorely mistaken. This place was an absolute war zone of filth. Millie spent seven grueling hours scrubbing, scouring, and disinfecting every corner of that sprawling mansion. Seven hours! Can you imagine?
The coffee table alone was a nightmare — there sat a pizza box with two decaying slices still inside, and something sticky and foul had leaked through the bottom, fusing the cardboard to the wood like industrial glue. It took an hour of soaking and thirty minutes of intense scrubbing just to restore that one surface. But the kitchen, oh the kitchen, was the true battleground. Garbage bags overflowing with reeking waste, one with a torn bottom that exploded across the floor the moment Millie lifted it. She gagged but managed to keep her lunch down — barely.
And the dishes! Piled high in the sink like some modern art installation of neglect. But here's the kicker — the state-of-the-art dishwasher was ALSO packed to the brim with filthy plates. Nina apparently believed in loading the dishwasher, but absolutely not in pressing the start button. Millie ran three full loads of dishes, scrubbed pans with food caked on from days earlier, and by mid-afternoon, she had transformed the kitchen into something resembling habitable again.
You know what? Millie felt proud. Genuinely, deeply proud. This was her first hard day's work since getting fired from the bar — completely unfairly, mind you — and she felt great about it. All she wanted was to keep working here. Maybe get a window that actually opens in her room. Small dreams, right?
But then, just as she was putting away the last load of dishes, a little voice cut through the silence like a knife.
"Who are you?"
Millie whirled around, her heart nearly leaping out of her chest. There stood Cecelia — the mysterious, precocious daughter of the house — staring at her with those pale blue eyes that seemed to bore straight through her soul. The little girl was wearing a white frilly dress that made her look like a porcelain doll. And not the sweet kind, mind you. We're talking about that creepy talking doll from The Twilight Zone that murders people.
Millie hadn't even seen her come inside. Nina was nowhere to be found. For a moment, Millie genuinely considered the possibility that Cecelia was actually a ghost who'd been dead for ten years. She decided she might quit if that were the case. Or maybe just ask for a raise. Priorities, right?
Trying to keep her composure, Millie introduced herself with as much cheer as she could muster. "Hi, Cecelia! I'm Millie. I'm going to be working around your house from now on — cleaning things up and watching you when your mom asks me to. I hope we can have fun together."
Cecelia blinked those eerie pale eyes. "I'm hungry."
And so began Millie's first attempt at befriending this strange child. She tried asking what Cecelia would like to eat — "I don't know." What sorts of things she liked — "I don't know." Cecelia had morphed from creepy little girl to annoying little girl in record time. But Millie reminded herself that they'd just met. After a few weeks, surely they'd be best friends.
The interrogation continued. What does Cecelia like to watch on television? "I prefer to read." What does she like to read? "Books." What kind of books? "The kind with words." Oh, so that's how it's going to be. The girl was sharp, sassy, and clearly enjoying watching Millie squirm.
Then came the question that would set off a chain of events Millie couldn't possibly foresee. "Did you just come back from school?"
Cecelia blinked at her like she'd grown a second head. "Where else would I have come from?"
"But how did you get home then?"
An exasperated huff. "Lucy's mom picked me up from ballet and brought me home."
Clearly, Cecelia had lost interest in this conversation. She began rifling around in her pale pink backpack, and Millie turned her attention to making a snack. She found something in the pantry — Ritz crackers and a jar of peanut butter. And here's where nostalgia took over. Millie spread the peanut butter over the crackers exactly like her mother used to do, feeling a wave of sadness wash over her. Her mother, who had abandoned her. This is it, Millie. The last straw.
She even added sliced banana on top of each cracker. Peanut butter and banana — her favorite combination.
"Ta-da!" Millie presented her creation with genuine pride. "Peanut butter and banana crackers!"
Cecelia's eyes widened. "Peanut butter and banana?"
"Trust me. It's really good."
And then, in a moment that would haunt Millie for the rest of the day, Cecelia's cheeks turned bright pink. "I'm allergic to peanut butter! Peanut butter could kill me! Are you trying to kill me?"
The world seemed to stop. Millie's heart plunged into her stomach. Nina had never said anything about a peanut butter allergy. And why would there be peanut butter right in the pantry if the child who lived here had a deadly allergy? It made no sense!
But there was no time for logical reasoning. Cecelia was already shrieking at the top of her lungs, running toward the staircase, screaming, "Mommy! The maid tried to hurt me with peanut butter! Help, Mommy!"
Oh God. Oh no, no, no.
Millie tried to explain. It was an accident. She didn't know. But Nina was already racing down the stairs, looking absolutely flawless in another gleaming white skirt-and-blouse combination. White — her color. Cecelia's color too, apparently. They all matched the house.
"What's going on?" Nina cried.
And then the knife twisted deeper. Cecelia, sobbing dramatically, wrapped her arms around her mother and delivered the damning testimony: "She tried to make me eat peanut butter, Mommy! I told her I was allergic, but she didn't listen."
Nina's pale skin flushed with anger. "Millie, is this true?"
Millie's throat was dry as sandpaper. "I... I didn't know she was allergic. I swear."
But Nina was adamant. "I told you about her allergies, Millie. This is unacceptable."
Except she hadn't. Nina had never said a single word about allergies. And even if she had, why would she leave a jar of peanut butter right in the pantry, right in front, where anyone could find it? It was a trap waiting to spring, an accident waiting to happen. But Millie knew that explanations wouldn't save her. In Nina's mind, she had nearly killed her daughter. The job was slipping through her fingers like sand.
"I'm truly sorry," Millie choked out. "I must've forgotten. I promise I'll never let it happen again."
Cecelia kept sobbing against her mother's chest, clinging to her like a lifeline. Millie felt a terrible stab of guilt. Deep down, she knew the rule — you don't feed children before checking with their parents. She was in the wrong here, and if Cecelia hadn't been so vigilant, something truly terrible could have happened.
Nina closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and finally spoke. "Fine. But please be sure you don't forget anything so important ever again."
The relief was so overwhelming Millie nearly collapsed. She asked if she should throw out the jar of peanut butter that was sitting in the pantry.
Nina paused, and this moment of hesitation sent a cold shiver down Millie's spine. "No, better not. We might need it."
We might need it?! Who needs peanut butter when their child has a life-threatening allergy? Millie wanted to throw up her hands in frustration, but she held her tongue. It was Nina's decision if she wanted to keep dangerous food in her own home. All Millie knew was that she would never touch that jar again for as long as she lived.
But Nina wasn't finished. "Also, when will dinner be ready?"
Dinner? Was Millie supposed to be making dinner? Had Nina imagined ANOTHER conversation that never actually happened between them? But after the peanut butter debacle, Millie wasn't about to make more excuses. She would find something in the fridge and prepare it.
"Seven o'clock?" Millie said, hoping three hours would be enough.
Nina nodded. "And you won't put any peanut butter in the dinner, right?"
"No, of course not."
"Please don't forget again, Millie."
"I won't." Millie swallowed hard. "And does anybody have any other allergies or... intolerances?"
She needed to know. Was Cecelia allergic to eggs? Bee stings? Too much homework? She couldn't risk being caught out again.
Nina shook her head, but just as she did, Cecelia lifted her tear-streaked face long enough to glare at Millie with those pale, knowing eyes.
The two of them had definitely not gotten off on the right foot. But Millie was determined to fix it. She'd make brownies or something. Kids are easy, she told herself. Adults are trickier, but she was determined to win over Nina and Andrew as well.
Little did she know, this house held secrets far darker than she could imagine — and the real danger hadn't even begun to reveal itself.
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## Reader's Impressions & Star Rating
Oh my goodness, what a captivating and unsettling chapter! I have to say, the tension in this scene was absolutely masterful. The way McFadden builds unease through Cecelia's eerie behavior and Nina's gaslighting is brilliant. Poor Millie — every time she tries to do the right thing, she gets caught in a trap she never saw coming. And that moment with Nina saying they might "need" the peanut butter? Chilling. Something is deeply wrong in this household, and I can't look away. The descriptions of the filthy house were so vivid I could almost smell it through the pages, and the emotional whiplash from Millie's pride in cleaning to her terror during the allergy accusation was so well done.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Rating: 4.8 / 5 Stars
## Next Chapter Prediction
Based on this chapter's cliffhangers, I predict that dinner with the Winchesters will be anything but peaceful. Andrew is set to arrive, and I suspect we'll finally see the dynamic between this strange married couple up close. Will Nina continue to set traps for Millie, or was today just a glimpse of something far more sinister? And what about Cecelia — is she a manipulative child, or is she being coached by her mother? I believe Millie will start uncovering secrets about this family that go far beyond a messy house, and quite possibly learn something that puts her own safety at risk. The tension is mounting, and I suspect the next chapter will reveal cracks in the perfect Winchesters' facade.
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