During a recess, Elizabeth sees a group of mothers from the autism support group she belonged to, and for a moment believes they are there to support her. After Henry’s improvement, she was “a rock star, a miracle worker, the leader of the in-crowd, because she was what everyone dreamed of becoming: the mother of a Recovered Child […]” (259). However, they all turn their back on her, and she realizes once again, that she is alone.

She is grateful that Shannon refutes the detective’s allegations of abuse, but knows the truth. She did, in fact, abuse Henry. Not severely and not often, but it was abuse nonetheless. After “[w]eeks and months of patience, of ignoring negative behaviors and praising positive ones […], fury would rush in, knocking her down and making her desperate for the sweet release that came with grabbing Henry’s soft flesh and squeezing or yelling” (260). In fact, the scratches on Henry’s arm were from Elizabeth, and she had hinted that the cat did it. She had “never actually told Henry to lie. She just pretended” (266).

The detective plays a video of Henry being interviewed about the scratches, and he insists they came from a cat, but what breaks Elizabeth’s heart is Henry’s statement about Elizabeth herself: “My mommy loves be, but I’m annoying, and I make everything hard.