Rosie meets Derek Charters over lunch and quickly turns the conversation to the material Steve sent him about Vivid Viral Media. Derek says the company appears to be a genuine, long-established business that recently shifted direction into influencer management, handling very large payments for online talent. Rosie is surprised because she hoped Derek would confirm obvious fraud.

Derek explains that if Vivid Viral is being used for laundering, the important question is not whether the company is real but why it was chosen. He argues that such a risky setup would not have been selected at random, so someone involved likely already had a connection to Felicity Woollaston. That idea gives Rosie a more precise line of inquiry into how the criminal scheme may have embedded itself inside a legitimate business.

The conversation briefly turns personal and playful, with Derek asking why Rosie is interested and Rosie finally answering plainly: people are being murdered, and a good friend of hers is in danger. Derek jokes about Rosie’s history with danger, and Rosie mentions that a Russian billionaire once tried to have her killed. The light tone masks the seriousness of what Rosie is now considering.

While sitting with Derek, Rosie notices movement on the staircase and realizes Eddie Flood appears to be in the hotel. Because Eddie has somehow followed them again, Rosie knows she must warn Amy immediately. But Rosie also begins to wonder whether she has misread the threat: if Jeff Nolan is missing and presumed dead, any deal with Vasiliy Karpin may have collapsed, and Eddie may have been sent to kill Rosie all along rather than Amy.

The sight of Eddie changes Rosie’s mood at once. She stops drinking wine, tries to refocus, and recognizes that while she has been concentrating on protecting Amy, she may have left herself exposed. The chapter ends with Rosie newly alarmed that she herself could still be the active target.