Alchemy of Secrets

Holland tells Gabe about her father’s safety deposit box. She reveals her father was Benjamin Tierney, the famous director, and her mother was the actress Isla Saint, who allegedly murdered her husband before taking her own life.

Gabe confirms that the Bank is used to deposit magical objects. He also outlines the Bank’s ruthless practices: it steals individuals’ abilities and wipes their memories. He warns Holland that, once she has claimed the box’s contents, she will be in danger, and offers to help her get out safely. Holland then hallucinates Gabe morphing into Adam Bishop; the vision breaks with a severe nosebleed, leaving her shaken.

Holland recovers in the bathroom, removes January’s shoe, and pulls out a small key labeled Motor Hotel. She flips through the Professor’s journal and reads about the Regal, a magical hotel where one hour inside equates to one minute outside. The Regal attracts guests who wish to hide from the world or avoid aging. Some people check in and never check out. After a shower, she returns to the bedroom and finds Gabe shirtless. Refusing to let her out of his sight, he pulls her into bed and holds her protectively. They fall asleep, Holland clutching the key.

On Halloween morning, Holland wakes from a nightmare about Adam as another nosebleed starts. Gabe gives her tools for the Bank appointment: a ceramic watch to accurately track time and a disposable phone. He trains her to sense magic using an enchanted bronze coin; when she touches it, she feels an icy breeze.

One of the Professor’s students searches online for clues about the Professor’s disappearance and Benjamin Tierney’s work. The student finds an article about Tierney’s unfinished Price of Magic film trilogy, rumored to be cursed. The screenplay for the final movie has never been found. The laptop screen glitches and dies.

At 9:01 am on Halloween, Gabe drives to a beautiful neighborhood. Holland sees the Bank for the first time: a massive jade-green Art Deco tower pulsing with magic. Gabe explains that the Bank’s Manager can read minds, and Holland must avoid her. Parking a block away, he promises he will be waiting. Before she exits, Gabe kisses Holland.

Holland enters the Bank lobby, where staff wear Wild West costumes for Halloween. A banker, Padme, greets her and insists she meet the Manager. In the elevator, Padme reveals she knows January, who secretly works for another branch of the Bank, and January’s partner, Adam. The disclosure shatters Holland’s trust in Gabe. Padme leaves her outside the Manager’s office. Holland steps into a room with green glass walls and discovers the Professor is the Bank’s Manager.

The Professor flips a jade hourglass that suspends time. She explains her folklore class is a recruitment tool for the Bank. After demonstrating her ability to read Holland’s mind, the Professor claims that January has hidden the magical world of the Bank from her sister for selfish reasons. The Professor offers Holland a job and a powerful ability in exchange for the contents of her father’s safety deposit box. When Holland refuses, the Professor warns that Gabe is a murderer who killed his wife.

The Professor claims Gabe married his wife to inherit her magical ability. As she speaks, the jade hourglass cracks and shatters, ending the time-stop. A bird slams into the window, and blood trickles from the Professor’s head. Convinced by the Professor’s claims about Gabe, Holland reveals he is waiting outside.

Holland rides the elevator to the vault. On a table is a single metal container: her father’s safety deposit box. She opens it and takes out a leather satchel. Inside is a folder containing a screenplay by her father, titled Alchemy of Secrets.

Holland skims the screenplay and spots personal clues, suggesting it is a treasure hunt tailored for her. The vault lights go out. Assuming Gabe engineered the blackout, she slips through a hidden exit into the lobby, grabs a cowboy hat as a disguise, and runs.

Eileen pulls up outside, dressed as Calamity Jane, and urges Holland into her car, saying she planted the cowboy hat. Eileen explains that she works for the Bank and reveals the antiquity eye tattoo on her wrist. Her employer has given her the “ability” to find parking spaces easily. As they speed away, Holland receives a message from Gabe asking what she has done. A billboard for the Regal Hotel appears, and Eileen explains that it is visible only to those with a room key. The plastic key from January’s sneaker transforms into a golden Regal key.

Eileen drives onto the road to the Regal, which exudes a magical atmosphere as time slows. Holland asks Eileen to drop her off before the entrance. At the gates, an attendant studies Holland, recognizing she is not January. She uses the Regal key to enter the grounds and steps into the opulent lobby, where the clock reads 5:47 pm. Staff at the desk begin whispering as they notice who came in under January’s key.