Tegan wakes exhausted and anxious on the day she will sign the contract guaranteeing support in exchange for lifelong secrecy. She dresses in a thrifted maternity dress and steels herself, reminding herself the money could change her living situation. Despite needing her grocery job, she takes the afternoon off for the meeting.

At five o’clock, attorney Jackson Bruckner arrives with Simon Lamar. Simon immediately shows irritation and disgust, even joking about the failure of condoms. In Tegan’s cramped studio, Jackson presents the contract and notes she can consult her own attorney, but Tegan cannot afford one and signals trust in Jackson as Simon smirks.

The nondisclosure terms are reiterated: Tegan must never reveal Simon’s paternity to anyone, including family and her future child. Simon presses for confirmation, and, after she agrees, he urges her to sign, implying she needs the money. The imbalance of power and permanence of the secrecy weigh on Tegan as the paperwork is produced.

When Simon leans in and his distinctive cologne reaches her, Tegan experiences a visceral flashback: struggling to speak, saying no, and Simon dismissing her and telling her to sleep. The images clarify her long-standing nightmares—this was not imagined but remembered. She realizes Simon must have slipped something into her drink and then assaulted her the night she conceived, shattering her assumptions just as she is about to sign.