Callum returns to the Society's London house after spending his break in Mykonos, eager to share with Tristan the revelation he learned from a Forum recruiter: that the Society's elimination requires one candidate to actually die. However, he quickly discovers that Tristan already knows, having learned it from Parisa the previous night. Tristan is visibly hungover and emotionally wrecked, and Callum deduces that something happened between Tristan, Parisa, and Libby during his absence. Tristan is uncharacteristically shielding his emotions from Callum, which frustrates and alarms him.

When Callum tries to discuss strategy about the elimination—suggesting Libby as the most logical target since Nico shares her abilities—Tristan reacts with disgust and refuses to engage, even suggesting himself as the sacrifice. Callum, annoyed by Tristan's emotional state and his growing distance, abandons the conversation. Passing Libby in the corridor, Callum notices she shares Tristan's shame and hangover, confirming his suspicion that the three were together. He then visits Parisa's room, where she is smugly unrepentant. They recognize each other as mirrors—manipulators of the mind and emotions—and Parisa proposes a public demonstration to show the others what each of them can do.

The next morning, Callum and Parisa convince Dalton to referee a one-hour contest between them. Callum begins by methodically dissecting Parisa's past: her privileged upbringing, her possessive older brother, her sister who didn't believe her about what she saw in her brother's mind, a forced marriage at fifteen, and her subsequent flight to Paris. He uses his empathic power to conjure visual projections of her emotions on the painted room's walls and manipulates her into a state of profound despair and isolation, ultimately leading her to climb onto the rooftop railing and fall.

When Libby screams and the others turn on Dalton for not intervening, Parisa reveals herself alive behind them—the entire sequence from the painted room onward had taken place inside Nico's mind, which Parisa had co-opted at the start without anyone noticing. Though Callum genuinely broke Parisa emotionally, she had strategically allowed it, knowing his display of ruthless power would alienate him from the group. Dalton declares Callum the technical winner, and Parisa graciously concedes, but Callum recognizes that she won the real contest: the others now see him as a monster. He resolves that he will need to show vulnerability to regain their trust, understanding that Parisa demonstrated how one person's belief can shift the entire dynamic.