That night Daniel returns to Plaza Real, bringing the unconscious, bloodied Fermín to Gustavo Barceló’s apartment by taxi. Barceló, Bernarda, and Dr. Soldevila are already waiting, and they carry Fermín into Bernarda’s room while the doctor and a nurse begin treatment.

Forced out of the room, Daniel watches Bernarda collapse into panicked grief, while Barceló steadies her with brandy and orders Daniel to wash and change. Alone in Barceló’s bathroom, Daniel relives the beating and Fumero’s threats until Clara appears silently, offers him a towel, and confronts him about never saying goodbye. In the dark, Daniel and Clara share a quiet reconciliation and mutual apology before Bernarda accidentally interrupts and retreats in scandalized embarrassment.

Daniel dresses in an old suit Barceló provides and returns to the kitchen, where Dr. Soldevila reports Fermín will live. Fermín has a broken arm, two broken ribs, missing teeth, and many bruises, but no internal bleeding or brain damage; the newspapers Fermín wore under his clothes helped absorb the blows. The doctor urges reporting the assault to the police, but Daniel rejects the idea, and Barceló smoothly takes responsibility for delaying any report until morning.

After the doctor returns to Fermín, Barceló sends Bernarda to bed and takes Daniel to his smoke-filled study as Clara’s imperfect piano playing drifts through the apartment. Barceló admits he has called Daniel’s father with a vague story about a minor accident, then presses Daniel on why the police cannot be trusted, and Daniel implies the attackers are already connected to the authorities. Suspecting the trouble traces back to Julián Carax’s book, Barceló offers Daniel help, insisting he can contribute money and common sense.