House of Glass

Stella drives away from the Barclay house, shaken by her discoveries. She pulls over to take a call from Rose’s school and learns that Rose’s parents did not withdraw her from classes. In reality, Rose was asked to leave because she brought a weapon to school. Stella recalls the hesitation that Beth and Ian expressed when she asked to be alone with Rose, and she wonders what other lies they have told her. She is beginning to think that in spite of their differences, the Barclays are united in their desire to protect Rose.

Stella believes that evil is real and has a physical presence. She draws a point of connection between the feeling she gets in the Barclay home, the terror that she felt on the night her mother died, and her terror during an eerie incident in which she was targeted and escaped from a man suspected of being a murderer. She is increasingly sure that something is very wrong in the Barclay household.

Stella wakes to the sound of an intruder breaking into her house. She quickly realizes that it is actually the police. After they determine that no one else is inside, they tell Stella that they got a report of a woman screaming. Sheepishly, Stella tells them that she was probably just having a nightmare. Although it is only 3:00 am, she cannot get back to sleep. She looks through her baby book and wonders why her mother, who truly did love her, ended up failing her so badly.

Stella goes for a run, eats a healthy breakfast, and cleans her apartment. Afterward, she feels stabilized enough to reflect on the case. Both Ian and Rose have lied to her, and it now seems likely that Harriet provided Rose with an alibi for the moments surrounding Tina’s murder. Stella wants more information, so she contacts Pete, who refers her to Ashley, a friend of Tina’s. Tina was on the phone with Ashley moments before her death.

Stella meets with Ashley and learns that although Tina and Rose got along well at first, Rose became cold and angry. Based on the timeline, Stella hypothesizes that Rose saw Tina and her father in bed together. Ashley tells Stella that Tina’s belongings started to go missing. Tina thought someone was rifling through her things, and she began to receive strange, sinister notes printed on computer paper. Ashley also tells Stella that once, when Tina was alone with Rose, someone called the police and reported screaming in the house. They had shown up in the middle of the night. Given her similar experience, Stella finds this piece of information particularly chilling.

Stella thinks about the case. She knows that Rose is brilliant and suspects her of placing the telephone call to the police at her home. She also remembers that she had come home that day to find her stereo off. She always keeps the stereo on, but she assumed that there had been a power outage. Now, she thinks back to her own childhood, reflecting that her aunt hadn’t wanted her and that her uncle had been too mild-mannered to stand up for her. She vows to protect Rose, even if that means getting help for a seriously disturbed young girl. Suddenly, she gets a frantic call from Beth, who states that Rose is missing. They do not want to call the police, so Stella rushes over. She looks up and sees Rose’s figure standing in Tina’s bedroom window.

Stella quietly makes her way up to Tina’s third-floor bedroom to search for Rose. She does not find her, but she does find a gold earring that Tina had lost and that Ashley thought Rose might have stolen. Rose is in her room when Stella heads back downstairs. Stella asks Rose if there is anything she can do to help her. Rose looks up from her book, and although she does not say anything, her eyes are brimming with anger.

Beth arrives in Rose’s room, flustered. She asks Rose if she had been upstairs the entire time, and Rose nods. Stella manages to get Ian and Beth to agree to let her take Rose to Waffle House. There, Rose deliberately spills a glass of root beer onto Stella and shows her a word search puzzle with most of the letters blocked out. The ones that remain spell “Go Away.”

Stella calls Charles to update him on the case. He offers to let her stay at his house since her front door, broken by the police, is still unrepaired. Knowing that Charles sees aspects of her in Rose, Stella asks him if he thinks that children can be born evil. It’s rare, he posits, but it does happen. He asks if she now considers Rose a suspect, and she answers in the affirmative. Charles tells Stella that she can stay for a few more days because his wife is away. She idly wonders about the state of their marriage. Regardless of what his family thinks, she is grateful for his presence in her life. She wonders if she would have been able to forgive her mother for the trauma she caused if her mother had lived. She tells Charles that she wants to find out more about her mother’s death, and he supports this decision.

Stella looks at the Barclay family finances. The money is all Beth’s, but if Ian is granted custody, he will obtain child support. She wonders if that knowledge is a driving force in his custody suit. She decides to speak with Phillip, Rose’s piano teacher, hoping that he can provide a better view of the family’s dynamics and Rose’s true nature.

Stella and Phillip have tea in his home, and he tells her that Rose is a truly gifted student. His tone also suggests that he was attracted to Tina, and he judges Ian for their liaison. He tells Stella that Rose was upset with Tina for leaving her lesson to help Ian with something; after that “betrayal,” Tina was not allowed to listen to her play.

Next, Stella goes to visit Rose’s Chinese language instructor, whose modest apartment is full of expensive items like a Vitamix blender and a large television. Stella realizes that much of the glass from the Barclay home ended up here. Rose’s tutor is not informative and does not want to say a bad word about anyone, so Stella decides to leave. On her way out, she drops her pen and notices an iPhone under the sofa. There is an active call ongoing; someone is listening. The tutor is Harriet’s close friend, so Stella assumes that Harriet is on the line, trying to learn more about her investigation.

Stella brings a birthday present to Marco’s mother, who is having a large party; however, Marco is bringing his new girlfriend, so Stella will be unwelcome. She acutely feels the pain of losing not only her husband but also a family.

Ian asks to meet with Stella. He confides that his daughter is different and that something is wrong with her, but he does not know what it is. The change started before Tina died, and Rose’s interest in violence makes him uneasy. He shows Stella a photograph on his phone: Rose pushed a doll, one that is an exact likeness of her, out of her window. It fell directly on the spot where Tina died.

Stella asks to spend more time with Rose, and Ian tells her that she can secretly accompany him and Rose to the aquarium tomorrow. He goes to the bathroom, and she places Tina’s earring next to her drink to test him. He returns, notices it, and pales before asking her if she dropped an earring. She thanks him for noticing and puts it away. He tells her that he has to leave because Rose’s bedtime has been difficult lately, and Stella follows him. He does not go home. Instead, he picks up Tina’s friend Ashley from her job. Ashley appears confident as she gets into his car, as though this is a normal occurrence.

Moments later, Ashley exits the vehicle. Stella talks to Ashley and learns that she is blackmailing Ian; she has a photo of him in bed with Tina, who is smiling and looking at the camera while Ian is asleep. Ashley explains that families like the Barclays routinely take advantage of their “hired help.” Ashley was fired because the family she worked for heard about Ian’s affair and worried that she was a risk. She just wanted money to get herself back on her feet and to give to Tina’s mother. Stella digests this information and tells Ashley that she will keep it quiet.