On a choppy August evening in the English Channel, Lord Townes, Robert, rides alone on a small borrowed cruiser with a wooden box from The Compound stored in the cabin. As he looks out at the sea, Robert reflects on how much of his life has depended on luck, inherited wealth and last-minute rescues rather than anything he truly made happen himself.

Robert thinks back to the moment Holly Lewis and Nick Silver trusted him with news of the enormous Bitcoin fortune. He had immediately seen the deal as salvation: even his commission would have restored his estate, preserved his status and secured his future. Robert had begun to hope again, studied Bitcoin so he would not look foolish, and imagined that fortune had arrived once more, only for Holly Lewis to be murdered and Nick Silver to vanish before Robert could benefit.

With no rescue coming, Robert stops the boat, takes the box onto the deck and considers the last few weeks. He admits to himself that he has spent his life waiting for events to favor him, never truly acting, never feeling fully real, and never building anything except money that has now gone. Robert wonders whether an ordinary life might have made him happier, and he decides, at last, to take decisive action.

Robert opens the box and removes his father’s gun, remembering both his father’s contempt and the force of his father’s personality. He climbs onto the railing so that, if he shoots himself, his body will fall cleanly into the sea and trouble no one. Just as Robert begins to pull the trigger, he notices something in the distance: the broad white sails of what appears to be a galleon returning with treasure.