On a warm night aboard Patch’s sailboat, Charlotte sleeps contentedly on deck under the stars while Saint sits beside Patch and studies him. Saint notices signs that he has managed to survive in relative comfort and secrecy, including a fine bottle of cognac and crystal glasses below deck, but she chooses not to press him about how he stayed hidden or bought the boat.

Instead, Patch tells Saint that he has been thinking of her. When Saint says she assumed he might have left the country, Patch explains that he stayed because he promised Charlotte he would always be there for her, and then admits that he also stayed for Saint. He says he sails each day, returns at sunset, and often imagines finding Saint and Charlotte waiting for him.

When Saint asks what he does while sailing, Patch reveals that he paints. He then tells Saint about Grace’s long letters, which describe Grace’s childhood, memories of her mother, the grand house and town connected to her past, and Grace’s plan to visit the graves of the missing girls so their forgotten families can have their memories honored. Grace also writes that Patch’s paintings, his story, and his determination helped keep her alive, and she sends photographs showing the white house still standing while the barns have been demolished, giving Patch a sense of hope.

Grace’s most recent letter says that although their story has been told, its ending is still unwritten. In return, Saint tells Patch about Charlotte and Theodore, and Patch listens for a long time, laughing with her, smiling, and gently wiping away her tears. Afterward, he leads Saint into the simple cabin and shows her the only painting he kept for himself: an image of the two of them as children lying beneath the stars, the thirteen-year-old pirate and the beekeeper who saved his life. The painting becomes the chapter’s emotional culmination, and Patch later insists that Saint take it with her.