Bella Springfield acts as the central protagonist of The Midnight Feast. As a teenager, Bella’s middle-class family vacations in the caravan park owned by Graham Tate on the coast near Meadows Manor. She meets Francesca Meadows on the beach and spends time with the Meadows family, captivated by their wealthy lifestyle. She finds herself manipulated by Francesca into doing things she would not otherwise do, such as sneaking out at night to go into the woods. Despite intense peer pressure from Francesca, who treats Bella with casual contempt, Bella slowly learns to exercise her own agency. For instance, after a fight with Francesca, she decides to ignore Francesca’s messages to spend time with Jake Walker, and she refuses to take drugs when pressured to do so. Lucy Foley continues this arc from submissive to assertive in the adult version of Bella—who demonstrates determination and initiative and carries out her own form of justice to hold adult Francesca accountable for the events of the past.

Foley positions the birth of Bella’s daughter, Grace, and the anonymous arrival of the newspaper clipping about The Manor as catalysts for Bella’s decision to finally take action and seek justice for Cora’s murder—a secret she’s held for 15 years.