In the present, Koen takes a call from Lowe and learns that Serena has agreed to publicly reveal herself as a hybrid. Koen is furious because he believes the interview will make Serena even more vulnerable in Human and Vampyre territory, but Lowe says Serena chose it because she thinks the political benefits outweigh the danger. The chapter then shifts back two and a half months to the day of that interview in Human territory.

At the studio, Serena prepares under intense security from Governor Garcia, Koen, and Lowe. She is deeply uncomfortable with the spectacle, but she has agreed to appear because she wants to reclaim the story after her existence was leaked, help Maddie Garcia build support for reform, and most of all draw suspicion away from Ana, the rumored second hybrid. Before Serena goes live, a geneticist confirms on air that hybrids are real and casually states that Serena is probably infertile, which shocks Serena because she is hearing it for the first time in public.

Once the interview begins, Serena sticks to the version of events she, Maddie, and Lowe prepared: former Governor Davenport knew she was half Were, hid her nature, monitored her, and later abducted and imprisoned her because he feared she could become a symbol of peace between Humans and Weres. Serena avoids mentioning the broader conspiracy involving Vampyres and Weres, because she wants a simpler public story that might make Humans sympathetic and reduce tensions. When the interviewer asks about rumors of another hybrid, Serena deliberately denies any knowledge and suggests the report may have confused details from her own past, successfully shielding Ana.

After the interview, Koen meets Serena backstage and quietly asks whether she knew hybrids might not be able to have children; Serena admits she did not. In the lobby, a Human agent mutters that Serena should be eliminated. Koen physically restrains Serena from reacting, then publicly humiliates and privately threatens the agent, cutting his wrist with his claws as a warning and making clear that any future threat against Serena will be answered with violence.

Outside, Serena faces a loud crowd of both supporters and haters, confirming exactly how exposed she has become by going public. Even so, Koen gets her safely into the car and, despite all his earlier opposition, gives her rare approval by telling her she did well. The chapter ends with that brief moment of reassurance after a dangerous, emotionally brutal day.