In Verity's manuscript, Verity recalls the morning Harper died, exactly six months after Chastin's death. Verity dwells on Jeremy's distance, his attention to the surviving children, and her growing resentment toward Harper, whom Verity blames for Chastin's death. After goading Harper about not grieving enough and making her cry, Verity lies to Jeremy about the cause of Harper's distress. Jeremy urges Verity to take Harper and Crew to the lake, shows her unexpected affection, and promises to return to their bed that night, which strengthens Verity's desire to reclaim her old life with him.

At the shore, Verity brings her manuscript and watches Crew near the canoe while thinking about how much easier life might be with only Crew left. Verity convinces herself that Jeremy may have no room left for more grief after Chastin and that Harper's death could leave the three of them as a "perfect family." Acting on that belief, Verity calls Harper into the canoe, seats Crew and Harper inside, paddles them into deeper water, and prepares Crew by telling him to hold his breath.

Verity deliberately tips the canoe. Once in the water, Verity rescues Crew but ignores Harper's screams and swims for shore without looking back. On land, Crew panics and begs Verity to save Harper. Realizing she must appear to have tried, Verity sends Crew to call Jeremy and the police, then wades back into the lake and performs a staged search while calculating how to look desperate, exhausted, and innocent.

While searching, Verity fears Harper might have survived under the overturned canoe and reveal the truth, but Harper is not there. Verity keeps shouting and exhausting herself until police arrive and pull her from the water. Jeremy soon reaches the scene, dives in, and searches frantically. More than half an hour after the canoe overturned, Jeremy finds Harper tangled in a fishing net beneath the water, a detail Verity realizes likely prevented Harper from reaching shore.

Jeremy tries to revive Harper and then clings to her body in devastation, repeating that he loves her. Verity watches his grief and recognizes she misjudged how catastrophic Harper's death would be for him. When Verity tells Jeremy she tried to save Harper, Jeremy does not respond or even look at her before leaving with Harper in the ambulance, ending the chapter with Verity still assuming he only needs time to recover.