On a winter night walk through lamplit Venice, Sabine notes Matteo’s outward recovery following Alessandro’s death and points to Giovanni’s presence as a factor. When two society sisters greet them, Giovanni attempts to feed by lingering over a wrist, but Matteo stops him and reprimands his lack of restraint, restating rules about not hunting neighbors or those who will be missed.

Giovanni challenges Matteo’s distinctions between noble and common lives, while Sabine silently acknowledges Gio’s logic but withholds comment. Matteo frames the rules as practical, not moral, and the tension subsides only when Giovanni yields out of boredom and hunger. As snow begins to fall, Matteo admits that staying too long in one place draws attention; he hints at the need to leave Venice someday.

Spotting an easy couple on a bridge as potential prey for Giovanni, Matteo turns to allow it but discovers Giovanni has slipped away. The scent of blood leads them to an alley where Giovanni has already killed a lone man, his throat savaged beyond concealment. Matteo is furious, and Sabine reminds him that “every corpse makes ripples,” highlighting the danger of Gio’s carelessness.

Over the next days, Giovanni’s killings escalate: a merchant and his wife are found dead, followed by the two society sisters. Though bite marks fade, the brutality remains evident. Matteo’s attempts to gamify restraint, as he once did with Sabine, fail as Giovanni prefers immediate gratification. Public fear rises, culminating in patrols after a magistrate’s body is displayed at San Marco.

Sabine returns one night to find Matteo on the balcony; he tells her Giovanni has been killed. Caught in the act, Giovanni was executed without trial—spiked and beheaded by mortals. Matteo, exhausted, admits his mistake in turning Giovanni during grief and says that if mortals had not killed Gio, he might have. He advises Sabine that turning a companion depends on knowing their temper, since immortality can be a kindness or a curse.

Resolving not to surrender to despair, Matteo announces he is leaving Venice and has secured passage to the Americas, inviting Sabine to join. She declines, unwilling to endure a sea voyage and the haunting memory of Alessandro tied to Matteo. When Matteo’s ship departs, Sabine feels only a brief ripple of grief before relief sets in; she recognizes that a part of her has died inside, a numbness that feels like lightness.