Katarina arrives at Sheila Lin's mansion expecting something severe and modern, but instead finds an extravagant Hollywood showplace filled with famous athletes, celebrities, and powerful skating insiders. Heath is visibly uncomfortable from the start, while Ellis moves easily through the room and explains that his wealthy partner Josie keeps him by paying for everything. Garrett warmly greets Katarina, but Heath bristles at Garrett's attention and grows more openly resentful.

As the tension rises, Katarina tries to calm Heath and remind him to behave, but Heath accuses her of admiring the rich people she once would have mocked. Katarina pushes back, saying Garrett is not to blame for his background, and the argument hits Heath's class resentment hard enough that he storms out into the yard. Embarrassed and angry, Katarina lets Heath go and chooses instead to stay with Ellis, who escorts her around the party.

While mingling, Katarina studies how Ellis navigates the crowd and begins to understand that success in skating is shaped by social influence as much as talent. She notices Sheila and Bella speaking with judge Jane Currer, whose scoring hurt Katarina and Heath at Nationals, and Ellis points out other judges and federation officials in attendance. His blunt lesson is that if Katarina wants to win on the ice, she must first win in rooms like this, a realization that shakes her belief that hard work alone will be enough.

Later, overwhelmed by the noise and still unable to find Heath, Katarina steps outside for quiet and finds Bella sitting alone by the pool, looking far more isolated than hostile. Katarina finally confronts Bella about seeming to dislike her and wanting her gone from both the party and the academy. Bella interrupts and reveals the opposite is true: she did want Katarina there, and she was the one who asked Sheila to invite her.