Evie wakes up on the small sofa in her family's sitting area, having passed out there the night before after returning home from the ambush. She's still wearing her torn, blood-covered dress from the previous night's events. Her younger sister Lyssa finds her and offers her a mug of tea, but Lyssa notices the state of Evie's dress and becomes alarmed. Evie reassures her that nobody she cares about was hurt, though she privately acknowledges that many people died during the attack.

The sisters share a playful moment as Evie discovers the tea tastes of vinegar because Lyssa cleaned the teakettle with it. They tickle and wrestle on the floor, laughing together, but the mood shifts when Lyssa again notices the blood. Evie uses a metaphor about a rat loose in her workplace to describe the traitor problem without revealing the dangerous truth. Lyssa offers surprisingly insightful advice, suggesting Evie should look in the places the "rat" wouldn't be expected, rather than focusing only on the obvious spots. This reframing strikes Evie as potentially valuable—she realizes she may have been too focused on her lists and obvious suspects to see what's right in front of her.

Lyssa informs Evie that their father left for a walk that morning, feeling refreshed, which lifts Evie's spirits. However, Evie then realizes it's ten o'clock and she's late for work—while the rest of the office was given the day off as The Villain searches for the traitor, Evie was not. She rushes to change, feeling a sense of accomplishment about her role as Lyssa's caretaker. As she removes her ruined dress, she discovers a large bruise on her upper arm and is haunted by memories of the guvre's venom melting flesh from bones the night before. She leaves feeling deeply unsettled that the traitor continues to outmaneuver them.