Sydney, badly weakened by the oleander Gretchen gave her, realizes she is about to be killed. While Randy’s body lies nearby, Tom argues with Gretchen about how impossible it will be to stage Randy’s death convincingly, and the two drift into a clinical discussion of postmortem signs. Their distraction briefly gives Sydney hope of escaping, but the poison leaves her too weak even to crawl to the door.

As Sydney despairs, police sirens approach the apartment. Gretchen assumes Sydney somehow called for help, but Tom reveals that he contacted the police before entering and confessed everything. Gretchen is furious, then quickly pivots to escape, saying Randy showed her a secret back exit through the laundry room.

Gretchen pleads with Tom to run away with her, framing it as their only chance to stop being miserable and finally build a life together. Tom hesitates because agreeing would mean abandoning his career and ordinary life, but Sydney sees that his attachment to Daisy is stronger than his resistance. Tom admits that he cannot live without Gretchen either, and with the sirens getting closer, he agrees they have to leave immediately.

Before fleeing, Gretchen moves to kill Sydney as a witness. Tom stops her and makes his participation conditional: if he goes with Gretchen, the killing must end and Sydney must not be harmed. Gretchen reluctantly accepts, throws down the knife, and leaves with Tom through the front door. Only after the pair escape and police begin pounding on the door does Sydney finally lose consciousness.