End of Story

Nicky and Sebastian are at his club. People come up to him and offer condolences, and he tells Nicky the pages she wrote are good. He asks not to be recorded, and Nicky pretends to turn it off. He talks about his rough childhood and fighting with the wish to die, and then says he expected a son who “validated [his] survival, and would survive himself” (308). He thought Cole would change, but he continued to show weakness. Sebastian was afraid and tried to make him stronger. He wishes he could have figured out how to do it differently. Nicky asks what Sebastian knows about Hope and Cole’s disappearance, and he again evades an answer. Lionel Lightfoot interrupts them. He begins to say he regrets his tell-all book and asks for a moment alone with Sebastian.

Madeleine goes into Cole’s old room. She finds the diary under the floorboards and reads.

The bartender at Betty’s recognizes and welcomes Nicky. Freddy is in the corner. He confesses to using drugs for nine months. He started stealing them at the school he taught at until he was caught, fired, and evicted. He figured no one would know if small things went missing, but now he needs more money and raided Sebastian’s desk.