In an earlier timeline, Adrienne Hale reflects on the dangers psychiatrists can face from patients, noting that although she sees patients in her home, she believes her risk is low because she personally screens everyone she treats. Still, Adrienne hints that there is one exception to her usual caution, suggesting an unresolved threat in her practice.

Adrienne then turns to an email from her former agent, Paige, who claims friendship and asks what she did wrong. Adrienne privately dismisses the message as insincere and self-serving, then sends a brief, final reply saying Paige is no longer a good fit. Because Adrienne sees rejection as something most people handle badly, she expects Paige to react poorly but remains certain she will not change her mind.

A new email arrives from Susan Jamison, the mother of Adrienne’s patient EJ. Susan repeats that she stopped paying for EJ’s therapy two months earlier and will not cover any more sessions, making clear that any assumption otherwise was Adrienne’s mistake. This message gives Adrienne a financial and practical reason to end treatment.

After reading Susan’s email, Adrienne looks at the tape recorder on her desk and explains that she records every therapy session in her home. She tells patients she wants permission, but admits she records them even when they refuse, because she trusts recordings more than notes and imagines using them someday for a memoir.

Adrienne plays back EJ’s most recent session and reviews her judgment of him. She says she diagnosed EJ with narcissistic personality disorder early on, has always disliked him, and now believes he cannot be helped because he lacks insight and any desire to change. Since Susan has stopped paying, Adrienne decides she can finally terminate EJ’s treatment and never see him again.