Langdon and Katherine hide in a recessed doorway, pressed against a wide steel door, after hearing a gun being cocked in the hallway. Katherine slips a compact mirror into Langdon’s hand, and Langdon uses it to peek around the corner.

In the mirror’s reflection, Langdon sees an older man in a dark suit and glasses approaching with a raised handgun. The man is Everett Finch, who advances carefully, convinced the intruders have come to reach Threshold’s deepest secret. Finch lunges into the alcove and aims—only to find it empty.

Langdon and Katherine realize the “wall” behind them was a spring-loaded door that opened as they leaned back. The RFID-secured door has been jammed open by green material stuffed in the strike plate; Langdon pulls it free and quietly lets the door latch, realizing the “fabric” was artificial leaves torn from a fake ficus inside. Katherine points out the trap: there is an exit-side RFID scanner too, meaning whoever propped the door likely needed a way out—and Langdon and Katherine have now locked themselves in.

Elsewhere, the Golěm continues shutting off helium canisters feeding the SMES, moving slowly to avoid another seizure while the control system reroutes flow. With eleven canisters already off and most showing 100% full, the room holds massive amounts of liquid helium. Thinking of Sasha and believing Threshold was built with their blood, the Golěm closes the final valve (#12), convinced he has destroyed the facility.

At CIA headquarters in Langley, Director Judd watches a horrifying interrogation video of Gessner that includes a confession exposing a secret U.S. intelligence project—its location, breakthroughs, and nonvoluntary human subjects. Although a tech team has scrubbed the video from the internet, Judd fears it can be reposted and go globally viral, triggering unprecedented fallout for the CIA.