Rowan remembers her mother’s death and recognizes the same panic in herself as she lies in the lighthouse among strangers. Distrusting Dominic’s claim that no help can be summoned and unsure whether the island is truly empty, Rowan forces herself out of bed and sets off alone for the pinch and the research base, using a broom as a cane and drinking stolen vodka to blunt the pain.

The journey is brutal. Rowan reopens a stitched wound, fights violent wind on the headland, and passes through tussock crowded with seals before reaching the black-sand beach and the flooded base. The rising water convinces Rowan that Raff was right about the island no longer being safe. Inside the abandoned containers, Rowan finds no power, scavenges food, pain medication, antibiotics, and bandages, and painfully re-closes and dresses the wound on her hip.

Rowan keeps searching through the science lab, sleeping quarters, and common areas, looking for proof that Dominic has lied. The base appears fully abandoned, with beds but no personal belongings. On a wall of staff photos, Rowan finds the headshot of Hank Jones, the missing senior botanist and team leader, and pockets it. Unable to climb back in the dark, Rowan spends a cold, sleepless night at the base while seawater laps at the buildings.

The next morning Dominic finds Rowan in the mess hall and feeds her oats before questioning what she hoped to find. Rowan asks why Dominic’s family remains after the evacuation, and Dominic explains that they are packing selected seeds from the closing vault for transfer to a smaller mainland seed bank. Rowan then presses Dominic about getting off the island, so Dominic takes Rowan by quad bike to the communications building and shows her that the radio and satellite systems are dead. Dominic says the equipment was already broken after the last ship left, suggesting someone deliberately stranded the family; at the same time, Dominic admits Rowan’s arrival immediately afterward makes Rowan seem suspicious to him.

Rowan tries to walk back to the lighthouse but pain and weakness overwhelm her, forcing Dominic to return for her and carry her on the quad bike. During the ride, Rowan remembers that Yen’s wrecked boat had a radio and begins thinking about how it might be reached. Back in bed, Rowan studies Hank Jones’s photo and reveals the chapter’s central secret: the missing Shearwater team leader is Rowan’s husband.