After discovering a clean sleeping bag and pillow in the dusty attic, Tricia panics and quickly puts them back where she found them. She rushes out of the attic, convinced the undisturbed bedding means someone may still be hiding in the house, and goes straight to Ethan for help.

When Tricia bursts into the room, Ethan initially reacts with alarm, but his concern fades once he learns she found a sleeping bag rather than a person. Tricia argues that the bag’s cleanliness, along with the unexplained food, footprints, noises, moving painting, and flickering light, proves someone else has been there. Ethan remains unconvinced and suggests there are innocent explanations, which leaves Tricia feeling dismissed and frustrated.

Ethan attributes Tricia’s fear to stress, the isolation of being snowed in, her pregnancy, and the cold in the house. He tries to comfort her physically, but his explanation further minimizes her suspicions instead of validating them. Their exchange deepens the sense that Tricia is facing the house’s mysteries largely on her own.

Because Tricia is freezing, Ethan says the poor insulation means the house will stay cold and proposes a practical solution: she can either keep wearing her coat or borrow something warm from Adrienne Hale’s closet. Tricia hates the idea of putting on a dead woman’s clothes, but she reluctantly agrees because she is too uncomfortable to stay cold.

Back in Adrienne Hale’s walk-in closet, Tricia is struck again by how expensive, stylish, and entirely uncasaul Adrienne’s wardrobe is. Although Tricia tells herself she will choose something obscure and return it untouched, she is drawn to the white cashmere sweater she admired earlier. She puts it on and justifies the choice by reminding herself that Adrienne Hale is not coming back to wear it.