After catching Heath and Bella together in the dark, Katarina panics and runs from the Olympic Village. She barely registers what she says except that she tells both Heath and Bella that they are done. With no coat, money, or credentials, Katarina keeps walking along the waterfront because she cannot bear to return or face either of them again.

As Katarina walks, her flight stops being aimless. She heads to the Lins' hotel and goes straight to Sheila Lin's suite, certain Sheila will be in the best room. When Sheila finally lets Katarina in, Katarina is struck by how frail Sheila looks and by the empty minibar bottles, signs that the polished former champion is not as controlled as she once seemed.

Over drinks, Sheila bluntly says that all four young skaters had promise and calls the outcome a waste. Katarina answers with years of resentment, saying she only ever wanted to be like Sheila. Sheila does not soften. She says Katarina should have listened to her and claims letting Katarina and Heath into the Academy was a mistake because they dragged the twins down instead of pushing them higher.

The conversation shifts when Sheila calls this her last chance and insists that she did everything she could for her children. That statement makes Katarina connect the pieces. Katarina realizes Sheila's ruthlessness went further than she had understood: Sheila likely arranged for Heath's past to be exposed before the Olympic final, chose Ellis Dean because he would publish fast, and could only have known so much because Sheila herself had sent Heath to Russia in the first place.