# Chapter 26: A Fire-Engine Getaway
Hello everyone, it's me again! How are you all doing? Today I will continue to walk with you and review Chapter 26 of *The Housemaid's Secret*—and trust me, this chapter is packed with paranoia, hidden eyes, and a plan that feels like it could crack open at any second. So grab a cup of tea, get comfortable, and let's dive into the tension.
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The chapter opens with our narrator standing inside a rental car office, and something feels deeply wrong. The storefront is nothing but floor-to-ceiling picture windows, which means anyone outside could easily be looking in. She turns around sharply, half expecting to see a man's face pressed against the glass, staring right at her. But there's nobody there. Still, she shivers. And that shiver isn't just the air conditioning.
According to Mrs. Randall, Xavier Marin is in jail. No bail. She's evicted him. So why does our narrator still feel like she's being watched? This isn't the first time either—she's had that creeping sensation at least half a dozen times since Xavier was arrested. But the truth is, she doesn't know who's been watching her all this time. And then a darker thought creeps in: what if it's Douglas Garrick? What if he's the one who's been following her around town? The timing doesn't quite make sense, because she felt those eyes before she ever started working for him. But that doesn't rule him out. After all, he's the one she saw at that outdoor restaurant. And if Douglas knows exactly what she and Wendy are up to? If he's out there, right now, watching her? The thought makes the air feel heavier.
The rental clerk finally interrupts her spiraling thoughts. "So I've got your car," the girl says. "It's the red Hyundai."
But that's not what our narrator requested. She booked a gray Ford Focus. Being anonymous is everything. Not drawing attention to herself is key—she learned that from Enzo. But this small-time rental place doesn't have a gray Ford Focus in its inventory. There's no gray Hyundai either. All they can offer is a red Hyundai, or maybe a gray Honda CRV. Our narrator debates which one would stand out more: a red sedan or an SUV? Honestly, neither feels safe. But she just wants to get out of there. The purpose of this trip is to get Wendy out of town, but it wouldn't hurt to get out of town herself either. So she agrees to the red Hyundai.
And let me tell you, that car is painfully conspicuous. It's not just red—it's fire-engine red. The kind of red that screams for attention, which is the exact opposite of what she needs. But there's no time to change it now.
The plan is straightforward, at least on paper. It's roughly a five-hour drive to their destination, taking traffic into account. When they get close to Albany, they'll find a cheap motel off the side of the highway. Our narrator will drop Wendy off to spend the night, and then Fiona will pick her up the next morning. Wendy has packed enough clothing for a couple of weeks and brought enough cash to last several months. If this works, Douglas will never find her.
Our narrator parks the ridiculously red Hyundai a block away from the building. Why? Because the doorman who keeps winking at her might report to Douglas if he sees his wife getting into a red sedan with his housekeeper. So she has to keep the car out of sight. She sits there, waiting for Wendy to appear, and the silence is thick with anxiety.
Then her phone buzzes. It's a text message. From Douglas.
*Will you be coming tonight?*
Her heart stops for a moment. Douglas asked her earlier to clean while he's gone, and she agreed. But now, sitting in that blazing red car, waiting to smuggle his wife away, that simple question feels like a trap. Is he just checking on the cleaning schedule? Or does he suspect something? Is he watching her right now? The text is a reminder that Douglas is never truly out of the picture. He's always there, in the background, pulling strings and watching. And now, with Wendy about to disappear, the stakes have never been higher.
Will she answer? And more importantly, will she make it out of town before Douglas realizes what's happening?
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**Reader’s Impressions & Star Rating:**
This chapter is pure slow-burn dread. The way the narrator's paranoia seeps into every sentence is so effective. I could feel the glass walls of that rental office, the oppressive red of that car, and the weight of that final text message. The escape plan feels fragile, and every little detail—the winking doorman, the wrong car, the eyes she can't see—makes you worry that everything is about to fall apart. That ending gave me chills.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4.8 / 5 Stars
**Next Chapter Prediction:**
In the next chapter, I predict Millie will have to respond to Douglas and somehow play it cool while Wendy makes her escape. But Douglas might already be closer than she thinks. Maybe the watcher will finally reveal themselves, or Douglas will discover Wendy is missing and turn into an even bigger threat. I'm bracing for a confrontation—and it's going to be explosive.
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