# Chapter 10: The Ghost of Enzo and the Crash Above
Hello everyone, it's me again! How are you all doing? Today I will continue to walk with you and review Chapter 10 of "The Housemaid's Secret." And oh, what a chapter it is—one that peels back the layers of our housemaid Millie's heart, reveals a love story she never wanted to bury, and ends with a sound that will make your blood run cold. So settle in, because we're about to go on a whirlwind of memory, fear, and a grocery list that makes absolutely no sense.
Let me take you inside Millie's mind as she stands at a crossroads in her life. She's been seeing Brock—the perfect, handsome, wealthy man who makes her feel like she could finally have a normal existence. He wants her to move in with him. And that terrifies her. Because if she moves in with Brock, she can't hide anymore. She'd have to tell him the truth about her past—about her prison record, about the things she's done, about the person she really is. And she's terrified that once Brock, with his perfect upper-class family, learns everything, he'll dump her on the spot. She knows she's not perfect. She's so far from perfect it's laughable.
And that's when her mind drifts to the man who once made her feel alive in a completely different way: Enzo Accardi. Four years ago, after one of her jobs ended abruptly, Enzo became her friend, her partner, her everything. They weren't just friends—they had a mission. Together, they helped a dozen women escape abusive relationships. Sometimes it was as simple as pointing them to resources. Other times, it required getting creative. Enzo knew a guy for everything. New identification, burner phones that couldn't be traced, plane tickets to places far away. They got women out of toxic situations without resorting to violence. Well... most of the time. There were moments that got messy, moments they agreed never to speak of again. They did what they had to do.
It was Enzo who pushed Millie to go back to college and get a social work degree. He set her on a path to a normal life she never dreamed possible—even with her prison record. Enzo was kind, passionate, and gorgeous. As much as she tried to stay just friends, she couldn't help but notice how impossibly hot he was. A frustrating crush bloomed against her will.
Then came that night at his apartment, sharing a cheap pizza with pepperoni and extra cheese. Enzo took a long swig of beer, smiled at her, and said, "This is nice." She agreed. Then he set his beer down without a coaster—she still felt a giddy thrill at that, after cleaning so many houses—and told her he liked spending time with her. The look in his eyes was unmistakable. He leaned in and kissed her. A long, lingering kiss that she knew she'd dream about for years. And when they finally parted, he whispered, "Maybe we spend more time together?" What else could she say but yes?
Their relationship moved fast, but it felt right. Within weeks, they were spending every night together. Soon after, they moved in. Between school and Enzo, Millie was the happiest she'd ever been.
And then came the day it all fell apart.
They were curled up on a sofa Enzo had rescued from the curb—still nice, with one mysterious stain they solved by flipping the cushion over. They were watching *The Godfather II* because Enzo was horrified she hadn't seen the trilogy. "Is classic, Millie!" She snuggled against him, thinking he was way hotter than Robert De Niro. And then his phone rang.
The conversation was entirely in Italian. She strained to catch a word. He kept saying *malata*. Sick. When he hung up, his heavy accent revealed his stress. His mother had suffered a stroke. He had to go back to Sicily. But Millie was confused—he'd always told her he could never go home. He'd beaten a powerful man half to death with his bare hands, and a price was on his head. But now, he said, those bad people had been "taken care of by other bad people." What could she say? She couldn't forbid him from seeing his mother. So she gave him her blessing.
At the airport, he kissed her for five straight minutes and promised he'd be back "very soon."
He never came back.
He meant to, she's sure. In the early days, they talked every night, sometimes getting steamy, whispering how much they missed each other. But his mother's illness dragged on. He couldn't leave. She couldn't come to him. After a full year without touching him or seeing his face, she finally asked the question: *When are you coming back?* He sighed. "I do not know. I can't leave her, Millie." And she told him she couldn't wait forever. "I know," he said sadly. "I understand what you must do." And just like that, it was over.
Months later, when Brock asked her out, there was no reason to say no.
With Enzo, life was an exciting, dangerous adventure. With Brock, she's on her way to a perfect, normal life she never thought possible. Enzo knew a guy for everything. Brock would look at her in utter shock if she asked for a fake passport.
And now she's doing the most normal thing imaginable: grocery shopping. Except there's nothing normal about Douglas Garrick's list. Buddha's hand. Fiddleheads. Cucamelon. Poha berries. She swears he's making these names up. Cucamelon? That can't be real. She grabs her jacket, clutching the list, and heads down the stairwell.
Just as she reaches the ground floor, she nearly runs into the man who lives directly below her. The one with the scar over his left eyebrow. She cringes. He grins, revealing a gold tooth on his left incisor—it reminds her of Joe Pesci in *Home Alone*, her favorite childhood movie. "Hey," he says. "In a hurry?" She apologizes and tries to slip past. He introduces himself as Xavier. When she avoids giving her name, he says, "Millie, is it?" Her stomach drops. This man knows exactly where she lives and somehow knows her first name. Probably her last name too. Maybe he found out from the mailboxes. But she's had that growing feeling of being watched. Could it be him? She can't think about that now. It's scary enough walking the South Bronx streets without worrying her neighbor is a stalker. Maybe she should take Brock up on his offer to move in. On the Upper West Side, she'd have a doorman in a little suit and hat—and you don't get past those doormen. She imagines they can throw those hats like boomerangs.
Xavier asks what she's up to. "Just some grocery shopping." He offers to keep her company. She declines firmly and pushes past him out the door. She has a bad feeling about this man—the kind of guy who doesn't know how to take no for an answer. Whether or not she ends up with Brock, she might need to move.
After a long, exhausting scavenger hunt through New York City, Millie finally finds everything on Douglas's absurd list—including the mysterious cucamelon, which turns out to be real, found at a Spanish produce store. She arrives at the Garricks' penthouse with four overflowing grocery bags, juggling precariously. By some grace, she makes it through the elevator. But halfway to the kitchen, she has to drop everything on the floor and rest. If she dropped that cucamelon and it broke, she thinks she'd just sit down and cry.
And then she hears it.
Shouting.
Muffled shouting from the upstairs bedroom. She can't make out words, but someone is really going at it. Leaving the groceries behind, she creeps closer to the stairwell, straining to hear. And that's when she hears the crash.
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**Reader's Impressions & Star Rating:**
Oh my goodness, this chapter was a rollercoaster! I absolutely loved the deep dive into Millie's past with Enzo. It's heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time—you really feel her conflicting emotions between the exciting, dangerous love she once had and the safe, normal love she's trying to build with Brock. And then there's Xavier, who gives me the creeps! The way he knew her name and offered to follow her to the grocery store—major red flag! And that ending, with the shouting and the crash in Douglas Garrick's penthouse... my heart is pounding. I need to know what happened. This chapter perfectly balances backstory, suspense, and a chilling cliffhanger. I'm completely hooked.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ **Rating: 4.8 / 5 Stars**
**Next Chapter Prediction:**
Given the shouting and the crash coming from the upstairs bedroom, I predict Millie is about to stumble upon something horrifying. Maybe Douglas Garrick is in a violent argument with someone—his wife, a visitor, or perhaps someone else entirely. Could it be that the perfect, wealthy Garrick household is hiding a dark secret? Or maybe the mysterious woman Millie has glimpsed before is involved. I wouldn't be surprised if Millie finds herself in grave danger, or discovers something that will change everything about her new job. Buckle up, readers—the next chapter is going to be explosive!
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