Beth Johnson watches Frank Johnson in the dock and Gabriel Wolfe on the witness stand, both wearing the suits they wore to Jimmy and Nina Johnson’s wedding. Seeing the jury for the first time sharpens Beth’s fear that strangers now control Frank’s fate. Eleanor sits beside Beth in the gallery and points out the unusually large press presence, which Beth bitterly notes is drawn as much by the scandal of her affair with Gabriel as by Jimmy’s death.

Under questioning from Crown prosecutor Donald Glossop, Gabriel recounts how he first met Beth as a teenager, how they fell in love, and how their relationship ended through what he calls a “false ending” caused by miscommunication. Gabriel admits that when they met again years later, those feelings remained, even though Beth loved Frank and was married to him. He openly states that the affair resumed immediately after Jimmy and Nina’s wedding, and Beth reflects that Frank already knows every detail because she confessed everything to him before he went to prison.

Glossop then moves to the night of September 28. Gabriel says Beth came to Meadowlands to warn him that Jimmy Johnson was drunk, armed, and looking for revenge over the affair. Within minutes, Jimmy arrived and fired through the kitchen window, terrifying Gabriel’s son Leo, Beth, and Gabriel himself. Gabriel explains that he went outside to protect Leo and Beth, then lied that the affair with Beth was over in order to persuade Jimmy to get into the car so Gabriel could drive him away from the house.

Gabriel testifies that Beth stayed behind with Leo because the boy was traumatized. When Gabriel reached Blakely Farm, Frank was in the yard, came to the car, and helped Jimmy into the house. Gabriel says that Frank did not act enraged; instead, Frank appeared grateful that Gabriel had brought Jimmy home safely and even thanked him. Beth, who knows how deeply Frank mourns Jimmy, realizes that the jury cannot see the private grief Frank has shown her.

Glossop then attacks Gabriel’s credibility. He mocks the idea that Frank would calmly accept Gabriel’s presence after learning of the affair, draws laughter from the jury, and exposes that Gabriel is paying Frank’s legal costs. Using that revelation, Glossop suggests Gabriel is motivated by guilt over the affair and by concern for Beth rather than by truth. He closes by reminding the court that Gabriel admitted he lied to Jimmy that night, and argues that Gabriel is therefore an unreliable witness. As Beth listens, she becomes more convinced that Frank is innocent and thinks the wrong man is in the dock.