Catherine, overcome with fear, hides in the bathroom after Nicholas leaves. In the middle of the night, she reads the rest of The Perfect Stranger, which ends with the main character’s gruesome death by train. The author’s hatred has twisted the truth of the events Catherine experienced, so she determines to seek the author out. Catherine starts to burn the book in her kitchen, but Robert catches her. Catherine throws out the book and faces Robert’s questions. Catherine reveals that the book is about her and is meant to punish her, but she conceals the real incident the story is based on. Robert assumes the book is about a strained mother-son relationship, and he reassures Catherine that Nicholas loves her. He encourages Catherine to see a doctor to help her sleep and reminds her that she can tell him anything.

Stephen starts the process of self-publishing his book. His friend Geoff helps him purchase a laptop. Online, Stephen looks up Catherine and her family to fill in details about the “rich life” (60) she has been leading. He finds her home address and hand-delivers the book in the middle of the night.