The Orphanage by the Lake

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of rape, pedophilia, graphic violence, and emotional abuse.

Hazel goes to an expensive midtown bar for a date with Andrew. She is dazzled by how handsome and charming he is and the luxury of his surroundings. During the date they talk about their families. Andrew tells her his mother died from a self-administered drug overdose. Hazel tells him she was raised in a strict Korean family that does not approve of her job as a private investigator. She reveals that she was given a drugged drink during a party while attending law school and raped. Afterward, her mother and sister insinuated it was her fault for accepting a drink from a stranger and the police barely investigated. A private investigator named Perry tracked down the rapist, which led to his arrest and imprisonment. Following this, Hazel became a private investigator and Perry was her mentor. She hoped to help others the way Perry had helped her. Andrew asks, “[Others] like Mia?” (232).

Hazel asks Andrew why his father’s donations to Saint Agnes increased 25 years ago and if they could be connected to the girls’ disappearances. He tells her that his father began to increase his donations after his stingy grandfather died and full control of the family trust fund passed to his father, Preston DuPont.