Men from Miss Wellwood’s church board up the broken windows, making Wellwood feel entombed and airless. The girls endure harsh lighting and sleepless nights as the reborn Miss Wellwood lectures them at every meal about godlessness and their turn to superstition. Fern stays anxious, constantly checking that her red string is hidden.

Early Tuesday morning, Fern, Zinnia, and Holly quietly sweep up the protective salt lines inside the downstairs doors and flush them away, as planned. That night, Violet reveals she has been stealing salt from where Miriam scattered it by the doors, hoarding it for herself. Zinnia snatches the cone of salt and insists they must return it immediately to keep the barrier intact.

The three girls creep downstairs to re-salt the front door, but Fern is struck by cramps that quickly intensify into undeniable contractions, starting labor days early. At midnight, Miss Wellwood’s clock chimes an impossible “thirteen,” and the kitchen door opens: Violet’s theft has stripped salt from multiple thresholds. Miss Parcae steps inside, calm and purposeful, and begins searching the house.

Fern, Zinnia, and Holly realize the pouches still make them invisible, but Miss Parcae cannot be fooled for long. As Fern’s labor pain worsens, Zinnia drags Fern into the parlor to hide while Holly slips upstairs for help. Miss Parcae finds the parlor doorway and speaks into the darkness, admitting she cannot see them but can hear them, then tempts Fern by offering to stop the pain if Fern will “honor” her promise.

Hearing frantic footsteps overhead, Miss Parcae withdraws just as Nurse Kent arrives, annoyed and smoking, then turns alarmed when she sees Fern in labor. Nurse Kent orders Zinnia to call a cab, and the girls hustle Fern outside. Zinnia clings to Fern, tells her “I love you,” and Fern is driven downtown with Nurse Kent to have her baby.