The day after Beverly’s birthday party, Nina calls Lucy to ask why Ben Owens was invited and whether Lucy truly plans to interview with him. Lucy says Beverly invited Ben and admits she has agreed to help fill in gaps in his investigation. Wanting an excuse to leave her parents’ house, Lucy accepts Nina’s invitation to dinner with Nina and Emmett.

At Nina’s house, Lucy meets Nina and Emmett’s two young sons and sees the settled family life they have built together. Watching Emmett with the children and with Nina prompts Lucy to compare their domestic stability with her own life, which still feels trapped by Savvy’s murder, her failed marriage, and the suspicion that followed her after she left Plumpton. Lucy also remembers an older, lighter moment with Savvy and Emmett at the restaurant, which shows how close the three once were and how vividly Savvy has returned to her mind.

During drinks in the kitchen, Lucy senses that Nina and Emmett want to talk about the murder. When Lucy says she still does not remember what happened that night, Nina becomes visibly tense. Emmett and Nina carefully say they always had doubts about Lucy’s guilt, and Nina argues that prosecutors would have charged Lucy if they had enough evidence, showing that both of them are trying to reconcile past suspicion with renewed uncertainty.

As the conversation continues, Savvy’s presence becomes overwhelming for Lucy. Lucy sees and hears Savvy beside Nina and Emmett, no longer as an idealized dead girl but as the messy, sharp-tongued friend she actually knew. Remembering that a therapist once warned her she could not suppress the past forever, Lucy realizes that letting Savvy back into her mind has made the haunting stronger and that she will not get peace unless she uncovers what really happened to Savvy. The chapter ends with Lucy sitting down to dinner as another memory begins to surface.