Addie chooses a navy-blue sheet because she thinks it will hide the blood on Eve Bennett’s hair better than the white or cream sheets. As she carries it downstairs, she is overwhelmed by shock and guilt over Eve’s death, but she tells herself Nathaniel is right that calling the police would only ruin her.

When Addie returns to the kitchen, Nathaniel is crouched beside Eve’s body and appears shaken, even close to tears. He says he is fine and urges Addie to help wrap Eve. As Addie approaches the body, she notices Eve is lying in a slightly different spot, and Nathaniel explains that he moved her to make wrapping easier.

As Addie looks more closely, she sees dark red marks on Eve’s neck. Addie is almost sure those marks were not there earlier, and they look to her like finger marks. When Addie questions Nathaniel, he quickly insists the marks were already there and pushes her to keep helping.

The neck marks and the reality of hiding a body shake Addie badly enough that she says they should call the police. Nathaniel stops her, softens his tone, and tells her he is doing this for her. He argues that Eve was cruel and dangerous, says Eve would have destroyed them both, and frames the cover-up as protection from prison.

Nathaniel then deepens his hold on Addie by promising that he will never let anyone hurt her and that, once this is handled, they can finally be together. Although Addie feels no excitement when he kisses her, she submits to his version of events. By the end of the chapter, Nathaniel instructs Addie to deny everything if the police come, and Addie resolves to obey him.