Abel has the barricaders let Letty through under a white flag. She meets Robin and Victoire in the lobby, appearing exhausted and contrite, but insists she “had to” betray them. Letty warns Parliament will storm the tower at dawn and is prepared to let the city suffer rather than concede to “foreigners.” She argues surrender will save lives and that the Empire can replace translators and outlast the strike.

Robin and Victoire counter that their Britishness is denied and the fight is necessary, but Letty presses that they lack numbers and resolve, predicting the state will kill some, take prisoners, and break the strike. She claims Chakravarti has been arrested and will be tortured. Letty demands a decision by dawn and places the truce flag before leaving.

Before she exits, Robin asks why she shot Ramy. Letty replies she “panicked” and killed him, then departs. Reeling, Robin and Victoire confront the impasse: with Westminster Bridge already fallen, they have no further leverage. Robin asks how to make Letty lose.

Robin reveals a final plan: trigger a chain reaction to shatter Babel’s silver, as Playfair once demonstrated, destroying the tower and themselves to halt the Empire’s power. Victoire is horrified, calling it a cowardly suicide, and Robin confesses his guilt and despair. Victoire refuses martyrdom, invoking abolitionist tragedies and insisting she wants to live and find a future. They cling to each other as Robin urges, “Be selfish. Be brave.”