Rodney Harris, the chef of the family, is caring for his wife Emily, who is in severe sciatic pain.
Emily rates her pain as a twelve on a scale of one to ten, indicating extreme discomfort.
Rodney is preparing garlic-butter lamb chops for dinner and believes their captive, the Dahl girl, in the basement, can smell the cooking.
He brings a bottle of Diet Pepsi to the captive, Bonnie Dahl, which appears to be tampered with glue concealing a hypodermic needle hole.
Dahl is thirsty and hungry, having only eaten liver recently, and drinks the Pepsi with suspicion.
Rodney does not intend to feed her more as he wants her to die with a "pure liver" and an empty stomach.
After drinking the tampered soda, Dahl quickly feels the effects of what is revealed to be a strong dose of Valium.
As she weakens and collapses, Rodney admits to doing this because he loves his wife and himself.
Upstairs, Emily is in pain, and Rodney reassures her that Dahl is sedated and that he plans to use more sedative to be safe.
Emily is concerned about the quality of her "meat" and "liver," clearly showing they have sinister intentions for Dahl.
Rodney goes back downstairs, checks that Dahl is genuinely unconscious, and injects her wrist with more sedative.
He contemplates the practicality of having utilitarian fixtures like an elevator while acknowledging the difficulty in explaining their situation to installers.
Convinced Dahl is sedated enough, Rodney opens the cell, drags her to an adjacent room with an operating table, and prepares for surgery.
Rodney struggles with lifting Dahl onto the table, motivated by the thought of relieving Emily's pain.
Despite the struggles and risks, Rodney successfully restrains Dahl to the table.
The chapter concludes with Rodney preparing to harvest Dahl's organs, thinking back on a previous victim and their own struggles with moral dilemmas and practical considerations of their actions.