During a walk through the orchard, Vincent Taylor asks Olivia Taylor Dumont to tell the story of the last treasure hunt he made for her. Olivia recalls that, at thirteen, Vincent spent a week telling oddly detailed stories at dinner, each packed with intentional falsehoods that served as clues. The first night’s outhouse tale led her to a hidden toiletry bag in a closet; the second night’s backpacking-in-England story (though Vincent never went to college) led to a hidden hiking backpack.

On the third night, Vincent told a vivid story about a publicist’s safari and the virtues of soft-sided luggage, and Olivia found a suitcase hidden in his car. Inside, she discovered a brochure for a French-language boarding school. Vincent announced she would attend and leave in four weeks. Olivia describes how the orchestrated treasure hunt became a vehicle for Vincent’s unilateral decision to uproot her life, intensifying her feelings of betrayal and abandonment.

When Vincent claims he was trying to make things fun, Olivia suggests Poppy Taylor may have played along to avoid upsetting him. Olivia then chooses to tell her own story: a winter-break trip to Miami during her junior year of high school where Vincent spent his time drinking and seeking drugs. On departure day, he checked out and left without her; Olivia found a waiter to drive her to the airport, where Vincent sat at the gate, appearing high and unaware.

Olivia describes confronting Vincent at the gate with years of pent-up anger, only to realize he had slept through her entire tirade behind dark sunglasses. She notes Vincent’s pattern of never apologizing directly, instead substituting gestures, and recognizes how long she has waited for acknowledgment that never comes.

As dusk falls and they return to the house, Vincent delivers a mini-lecture about writing: every chapter must have a point that both deepens character and drives the narrative forward. Olivia recognizes echoes of Jack’s advice and the way Vincent’s current stories emphasize a threatening older brother, hidden clues, and treasure hunts that point back to Vincent himself.

When Olivia hesitates to articulate the lesson he wants her to draw, Vincent looks disappointed and suggests she may not be the right person for the job, leaving Olivia with renewed doubts about his motives and her role in shaping his memoir.