On the walk to the hotel, Ezra advises Alice to mimic mortal behaviors, like dressing for the cold, to blend in. He recites a verse about “midnight soil,” hooks his arm through Alice’s for show, and shares that he is older than he looks. Alice, her mind drifting, relives a potent Halloween memory in Hoxburn at age thirteen: attending an unsanctioned party with her sister Catty, feeling the widening gap between them, and almost hearing Catty define who Alice is before the moment is shattered by noise. The memory underscores Alice’s reliance on Catty as anchor and her fear of being left behind.

Back in the present, Ezra offers her blood from a flask and explains that thirst never truly abates and that starvation is difficult; madness arrives first. He describes his long stewardship of a changing establishment—now a coffee shop—as a way to avoid notice and loneliness. He reflects that vampires are not truly immortal; time hollows them until only hunger and rot remain, leading to eventual ends.

They arrive at the Taj Hotel by the Boston Common. Inside, Ezra smoothly compels the concierge with calm conviction, clearing their path to the bright blue stairway Alice saw in Melody’s vision. Alice climbs, confronting her reflection and steeling herself with thoughts of before and after as she reaches room 139.

Hearing laughter and intimacy inside, Alice knocks but loses her nerve when nothing changes. Ezra simply calls to Lottie, saying there is a problem. The activity inside stops; Lottie opens the door, disheveled and flushed, and immediately recognizes Alice, showing genuine concern. Alice shoves Lottie into the room, furious.

A second woman, freshly bitten, appears wrapped in sheets; Lottie gently compels her to shower and promises to join her. Alice accuses Lottie of compelling and killing her. Lottie denies both, insisting she did not compel Alice and did not kill her. Ezra watches from the doorway, silent but present as a judge or witness of sorts, while Lottie becomes visibly shaken, tears of blood falling.

Pressed on who is responsible, Lottie finally names the culprit: Sabine. The confrontation ends on this revelation, recasting the mystery of Alice’s death and pointing blame away from Lottie and toward Sabine.