Jason rides a cab back to his Logan Square brownstone, expecting safety and answers from Daniela. Inside, he discovers a luxurious, minimalist version of his home: motion-sensor lighting, redesigned fixtures, and art by Daniela, but no personal family items. The kitchen and living spaces lack any sign of Charlie; a display case in the master bedroom presents the Pavia Prize awarded to Jason for placing a macroscopic object into quantum superposition, contradicting his ordinary life as a college professor.

Jason’s attempt to call Daniela fails—her number now connects to a stranger. Distressed, he assesses his battered appearance and exhaustion. Voices and radio chatter erupt downstairs as Leighton Vance and security enter the house to recover him. Jason locks himself in the hall bathroom, opens the laundry chute, and drops as the door is forced open. He glimpses Leighton and a guard with a Taser, then falls into the laundry room and escapes through the backyard, over a fence, and into an alley while a vehicle joins the pursuit.

Jason hides in a backyard shed, clutching a dull ax while weighing explanations. Rejecting conspiratorial complexity, he embraces a simpler hypothesis: a medical crisis such as a brain tumor causing catastrophic perceptual distortions. When the pursuit noises fade, he leaves the shed and heads to Chicago Mercy Hospital.

At the ER, Jason tells Dr. Randolph and a nurse that his house has changed, his family is missing, and unknown people were chasing him. He reports possible head trauma, limited alcohol use, and no significant drug history. Randolph notes a recent needle mark on Jason’s arm, orders bloodwork, and plans a head scan while attempting to contact Daniela using numbers Jason provides. Jason is admitted to a private room.

Alone, Jason tries to impose logic on the night’s events but remains uncertain about reality itself. He finds a faint indentation on his ring finger—residual evidence that his wedding band existed—offering the last tangible link to his remembered life. As dawn approaches, he finally falls asleep.