The next day, Anne-Marie and Violet discuss Jay and Fitz. Anne-Marie continues to present Fitz as a “baboon,” and she idealizes Jay. Violet implies that Jay tried to get intimate with her. As Anne-Marie thinks Violet is Sloane, Anne-Marie believes Jay made a pass at his nanny. Violet asks if Harper can have a sleepover at Anne-Marie’s house, and Anne-Marie agrees.

Violet asks Sloane about the previous night. She claims she took a large dose of ibuprofen and didn’t hear them come home. Sloane mentions that Jay said that Violet drinks, so Sloane concocts a half-lie about how she didn’t want Sloane to know about her history with alcohol.

Violet plans to take Harper away for many nights, so she has Harper pack extra clothes for the sleepover. Using M&M’s, she bribes Harper to call her Caitlin in front of Anne-Marie when she picks her up. Sloane is the person who takes Harper to Anne-Marie’s house.

With Sloane and Harper gone, Violet packs Jay’s items and tells him to leave. He calls her a “bitch” and threatens legal action before he drives away. Violet remembers the numerous times that he’s had sex with other women. He claimed Violet was “paranoid” or that her “pregnancy hormones” were misleading her.

Violet thought Jay didn’t know about her trust fund before their marriage, but she was wrong: He heard her parents discuss it at Rebecca’s funeral. Violet’s parents wanted to contest it. Violet used the trust to fund Jay’s startup—the poorly conceived gambling site. Violet sensed that Jay spent his time following his impulses instead of working. Like her parents, he only wanted her for her money. The trust fund isn’t “marital property,” but if Jay and Violet are married when Violet dies, Jay gets the trust. If they’re divorced and Violet dies, the trust goes to Harper.

Sloane comes back from Anne-Marie’s house, and Violet confronts her with the gun. She tells Sloane that she’s not killing Sloane but herself. Jay will go to jail for killing his “wife,” and Violet, as Sloane, will get custody of Harper. She fires the gun, and Sloane falls onto the floor.

Chapters 30-31 are narrated by Jay. He flirts with Anne-Marie at Anne-Marie’s house. Anne-Marie tells him she heard he made a pass at the nanny, but Jay dismisses it—ever since the famous actor Ben Affleck left his wife, the actress Jennifer Garner, for their nanny, most nannies think the husband likes them.

The sirens grow louder, and police burst into Anne-Marie’s home with their guns drawn. They arrest Jay for murdering Violet.

Jay is in a fetid cell. He tells a detective that Violet was angry and they are divorcing, but he claims he’s innocent before he faints. Jay’s lawyer, Javier Delgado, urges Jay to take a plea deal. Instead of first-degree murder, the prosecutor will charge him with manslaughter in the first degree. Rather than life in prison, he’ll receive 15 years. Jay repeats his innocence.

Javier shows Jay the divorce documents that nullify the life insurance policy. He also mentions the corroboration from Ms. Caraway. Jay wonders who Ms. Caraway is. Javier mentions the fight last year at their house in Cobble Hill. Violet threw a glass at him, and their loud screams prompted neighbors to call the police. Javier says that it looks like Jay was at Anne-Marie’s house to kidnap Harper.

Javier tells Jay that Sloane heard Jay and Violet argue. She also heard the gunshot. She hid in her room until she felt safe. When she came out to look for Violet, Violet was bleeding in the main bedroom. Javier shows Jay a picture of Harper, Violet, and Sloane, and Jay realizes Sloane is “Caitlin,” so Sloane was lying about her name.

Javier reminds Jay that the murder weapon is under his name. He tells him that Sloane is Harper’s guardian now. Jay remembers that Denise, his sister, was Harper’s guardian, but Violet didn’t like Denise. She thought Denise was a “freeloader.” Denise, in turn, thought of Violet as a “snob.” Javier assures Jay that Sloane will take good care of Harper. He saw the two leave the police station. Harper was eating M&M’s.

Alone, Jay reviews his relationship with Violet. He claims his romantic interactions with Sloane were “innocent.” He doesn’t blame himself for desiring Sloane: Violet let herself go and, at the same time, acted “untouchable.” Sloane reminded Jay of how Violet used to be. Jay realizes Violet’s plan, and he remembers Violet telling him, “It’s exactly what I hoped for” (473).

Jay tells Javier that Violet isn’t dead: She framed him. He wants them to do a DNA test on the body, but the body was already cremated. Jay then realizes that Violet must appear at the trial, as she’s the only witness. Three months later, Javier gets the trial moved to Brooklyn. Sloane agrees to meet Javier, and Sloane, not Violet, appears.

Sloane narrates the last chapter. After meeting a stunned Jay, she returns to the brownstone, where Violet waits for her. They both realized that they shouldn’t let Jay separate them.

After Sloane ran into Laura at the Block Island children’s shop, Laura told Sloane to call her if Sloane needed anything. Sloane called her, and Laura gave Sloane her lawyer. The lawyer helped transfer the applicable rights to Sloane, including the brownstone and money for Harper. Sloane is selling the brownstone, and Sloane, Harper, and Violet plan to move to San Diego. Sloane’s mother intends to join them. Until they move, Violet stays hidden. Sloane feels that her fantasy of being Violet’s “sister” has come true.

Sloane details what led to the earlier fight between Violet and Jay, when the neighbors called the police. Violet came home and found Harper standing on the counter in front of the snack cabinet. Violet went upstairs and saw Nina, the former nanny, giving Jay oral sex in his office. Violet smashed every photo before she threw the glass. The shattered pieces cut Jay’s face. The cops came and told Jay he could press charges. If he did, he’d likely get sole custody of Harper, which might allow him to gain access to Violet’s trust fund. Violet realized that Jay was a bad husband and father. He also complained about Harper’s eating and the M&M’s. He was teaching Harper that her worth was connected to how she looked.

When Violet shot at Sloane, she missed. Sloane ran to Anne-Marie’s house, where she saw Anne-Marie and Jay kissing and touching. She realized Jay was lying to her when he told her they’d be together in New York.

Sloane returned to Violet and, with Danny, they amended their plan. Sloane shot Violet in the thigh, and Sloane called 911, telling the operator that Jay shot Violet. In the ambulance, Danny declared Violet dead and redirected the ambulance to the morgue. The coroner was drunk, and Danny switched Violet’s file with another dead person intended for cremation. Violet hid in a closet. Sloane gave an official statement to the police, and no one on Block Island questioned what occurred.