Sydney gets ready to go downstairs to Bonnie’s apartment for the morning coffee Bonnie scheduled. While killing time online, Sydney reflects on her frustration with social media and with dating, then reviews how she spent the previous night searching Cynch for the dark-haired stranger who rescued her from Kevin. She cannot find anyone matching him within miles of her building, briefly wonders if he could somehow be Bonnie’s doctor date, and tries to convince herself she does not need to keep fixating on him.

That hope collapses when Sydney receives a new Cynch message from “Chad,” a man she had accepted as a match. The message reveals that “Chad” is actually Kevin using a fake profile to contact her again, claiming their disastrous date was just a misunderstanding and that she should not “blow” their chemistry. Sydney is disgusted, blocks and reports the profile, and considers whether Kevin’s behavior now counts as harassment serious enough for police involvement.

Sydney goes to Bonnie’s apartment at the agreed time, but Bonnie does not answer the door or respond to a text. After a delay, Randy arrives for his maintenance visit. Although Bonnie has told Sydney that Randy makes her uncomfortable, Sydney persuades him to unlock the apartment because Bonnie’s silence feels wrong and out of character.

Inside, the apartment is quiet and Bonnie is nowhere in sight. Randy heads toward the bathroom to check Bonnie’s toilet, while Sydney stays in the living room and becomes increasingly annoyed and uneasy about Bonnie’s complete lack of communication. When Sydney calls Bonnie’s phone, she hears the ringtone coming from inside the apartment rather than from Bonnie herself.

Sydney follows the sound into the kitchen and finds Bonnie’s phone on the counter. She then notices dark brown droplets on the floor, forming a trail from the kitchen down the hall to Bonnie’s closed bedroom door. Realizing the droplets look like blood, Sydney becomes terrified but opens the bedroom door anyway instead of immediately calling the police.

When Sydney sees what is lying on Bonnie’s bed, the sight is so shocking that she cannot stop screaming. The chapter ends at that instant, turning Bonnie’s unexplained absence into an apparent violent emergency.