Gideon Sharpe arrives at Oakhaven Park for Octavia Creed’s masked ball, leaving his horse with the stable hand and moving through the crowded, glittering house. As he climbs the stairs, he recalls how Nicolas Creed once noticed him in a boxing club, stopped others from discarding him after a beating, and trained him to fight back—an old loyalty Gideon quickly buries to focus on his mission.

Unmasked, Gideon enters the packed ballroom and begins sweeping the room for Rune Winters, knowing he must arrest her privately so Alex will not witness it. Charlotte Gong briefly stops him and comments that she hopes things went “smoothly,” adding to Gideon’s urgency and unease as he searches among a sea of disguised faces.

Gideon finally spots a woman he takes for Rune in a fox mask, with red lipstick and hair pinned up and darker than usual. He checks her quickly for wounds, thinking of Laila’s claim that her last shot hit Rune, but sees no obvious injury; Rune behaves as if nothing is wrong and asks about the prisoner transfer.

When Gideon confirms the transfer “went exactly as planned,” Rune reveals she told “the girls” at Charlotte’s luncheon about it and needs to give an update. Gideon panics at the implication: if dozens heard the information, any of them could be the Crimson Moth or an ally, meaning the mine ambush might have been fueled by gossip, not Rune alone. Unable to decide whether Rune is sabotaging him or simply careless, Gideon realizes he no longer has enough certainty to arrest her.

Before Gideon can act, Alex appears with Verity and announces they are leaving because Verity has an exam; Verity adds that Alex brought both her and Rune to the ball and will take them home. Gideon steps back, recognizing Alex’s coat on Rune’s shoulders and accepting that, if Alex escorted Rune, she likely was not at Seldom Harbor—another blow to Gideon’s case. Watching Alex’s protective hand at Rune’s back, Gideon feels unexpectedly worse, left with mounting doubt and no clean move forward.