Late the next morning, Lauren made pancakes and told roommates Taylor and Ryan about her status with Nic: they were moving beyond casual but avoiding labels. As they joked with each other, Lauren privately worried about Nic’s safety, his healing injury, and the reality of dating someone tied to dangerous work and to his father’s orders. She also questioned Nic’s honesty, recalling his careful wording about not putting more trackers on her.

Ryan shared that Ben had accepted a job offer and, after teasing, admitted an attraction to him. The roommates’ playful chase ended as Lauren decided to visit her sister Kristen instead of filming, hoping for a mature conversation.

Lauren went to her grandparents’ Little Italy deli, now run by Kristen and husband Hugo. Amid Sunday crowds and familiar faces, Hugo greeted Lauren and cautioned her to go easy on Kristen, who was having a difficult pregnancy. Upstairs, Lauren found Kristen exhausted and nauseated but glad for peppermint tea. Kristen noted help from Hugo’s family but slipped in barbed comments about Lauren’s downtown life and lack of children, which Lauren endured to avoid a fight.

When Lauren asked about their missing father, Tommy, Kristen said she had no new information but relayed Hugo’s belief that someone “got rid of him.” Kristen added that the last time anyone saw Tommy, he was with Nico Trocci, father of the “asshole” Lauren had dated in high school, and reputedly Lorenzo Brusomini’s cleanup man. The implication that Nico handled killings left Lauren stunned.

The conversation escalated, with Kristen accusing Lauren of being dramatic and Lauren pointing out repeated insults and withheld information. After the reveal about Nico, Lauren abruptly decided to leave. Their four-year-old nephew Enzo appeared, awakened by the argument, and Kristen angrily told Lauren to get out. Lauren apologized to Enzo and left the apartment and store.

Outside, Lauren felt faint under the sun, reeling from the possibility that Nic’s family was involved in Tommy’s disappearance. She reconsidered Nic’s sudden reappearance after ten years, fearing she might be a pawn for information or surveillance related to any investigation. Her fear turned to anger, and she vowed to make Nic regret it if she had been used.