A violent storm sweeps in from the sea, plunging Barcelona into rain, thunder, and a sudden blackout. As Daniel walks home, the faceless stranger’s insinuations about Clara and his threat echo in Daniel’s mind, and Daniel realizes Clara may be alone and in danger.

Daniel runs through the downpour toward Plaza Real, blaming himself for putting Clara at risk by giving her Julián Carax’s novel. At the building entrance, he fumbles for the keys Señor Barceló gave him and shuts out a begging tramp who tries to get inside.

Inside, the stairwell is almost pitch-black, lit only by lightning. Daniel gropes his way up and enters the apartment, first confirming that Bernarda is not home by checking her room.

He moves through the apartment toward Clara’s area, unnerved by the vast, altered feel of the place in the storm. In the conservatory and music room, Daniel notices signs of tobacco smoke—something no one in the household uses—raising his fear that someone is inside.

In Barceló’s library, Daniel retrieves Carax’s book from the glass cabinet, intending to hand it over to the stranger to make the threat end and then vanish from Clara’s life. As he turns to leave quietly, Daniel hears a deep whispering, laughing voice from Clara’s bedroom, and he opens the door, convinced he may already be too late.