The Last Housewife

The narrator criticizes Scheherazade, the narrator of The Thousand and One Nights, claiming that, though Scheherazade told stories to delay her death at the hands of the king, she secretly enjoyed being kept as a prisoner. The narrator calls Scheherazade a masochist, or someone who derives sexual pleasure from being hurt or mistreated, and they note that the king was still the king when her stories were over.

Shay and Jamie arrive at 35 Bell Pond Road, following a text Shay received alerting her that she passed her background check and can now be initiated into the society. Jamie’s team discovered that the Bell Pond house belongs to a church called Mountainsong. Shay says that the suburban street is a good place to hide a secret society, and she indicates that there is a recording device in her bra. Jamie tells her to be careful at the initiation ceremony.

Inside, Shay forgets the key phrase “humble daughter” that Nicole told her, but Nicole leads her to the man in black, called the Lieutenant. The Lieutenant asks what Shay wants from the Pater Society, and Shay repeats phrases from her time with Don. The Lieutenant orders her to take off her clothes, which forces her to slip the recording device in her mouth.