The chapter opens with a brief reflection on time: Alice, now seventeen and a half, has grown older than Catty ever was. She excels at school, applies to universities in Scotland and England, and—quietly, as an offering to her mother’s memory—applies to Harvard, which her parents find both proud and daunting because of the distance. Alice feels both love for her family and a persistent sense of being the outsider in a "three plus one," believing her life lies elsewhere.

The narrative returns to the present in Sabine’s penthouse, where Alice waits in shock after killing Sabine. She listens as the elevator ascends and Lottie arrives, moving through the rooms before sitting beside Alice. Alice confronts Lottie, stating that killing Sabine did not bring her back to life as promised. Lottie admits she felt nothing at Sabine’s death and claims Alice will still "get [her] life back," insisting it is "a life" and that they are both free now because of Alice.

Alice notices Lottie’s bag and the glint of a silver object inside. Voices conflict in Alice’s mind—her own, Lottie’s, and Sabine’s—until the clear fact remains that Lottie lied. Alice does not stop Lottie when Lottie drinks from the glass of blood on the table, blood tainted with grave dirt. Lottie immediately begins to choke and gray, the poison taking hold but not killing her outright.

Recalling that grave dirt alone will not kill and that only the heart can die, Alice takes the silver hairbrush from Lottie’s bag. She kneels over Lottie, echoing Lottie’s earlier reassurance that "everything will be okay," and drives the silver handle up under Lottie’s ribs toward her heart. Lottie drops her pretenses and fights ferociously, but the poison is already inside her, draining her strength.

Alice pins Lottie and forces the weapon into Lottie’s heart. The light fades from Lottie’s eyes, and her body stiffens, then collapses into rot and ash, leaving a heap like wet earth with the silver brush protruding. There is more of Lottie left than of Sabine, suggesting Lottie had not rotted as long.

Alice wipes her hands on her green dress, whispers "Bury my bones," and steadies herself. She skirts the ashes and heads for the elevator, moving forward step by step, concluding that there is no going back.