The morning after Lizzie’s reunion with Rebecca, she wakes refreshed in her hotel room. She texts Rebecca about breakfast but receives no reply. The silence reminds Lizzie of how Rebecca ghosted her 15 years ago, precipitating the end of their friendship. Lizzie had flown to visit Rebecca in San Francisco, looking forward to meeting Rebecca’s new boyfriend (this was shortly after Rebecca and Grayson began dating). When she arrived, Rebecca would not answer her door or phone for three days. She then sent a cruel email accusing Lizzie of being obsessed with her. Furious, Lizzie never contacted her again. 

Lizzie heads to the first MomBomb panel session. She is fascinated by the bizarre and outlandish world of professional influencing. A woman named Olivia Jackson introduces herself as Rebecca’s accountant and advisor. Lizzie is distracted when a man named Marsden Greer takes to the stage: Marsden is Veronica’s husband and Grayson’s longtime best friend. He makes misogynistic comments about the importance of women being primarily wives and mothers, focused on raising their families. He receives an angry reception from the female influencers who make up the audience, with one pointing out, “I made three times my husband’s salary last year and now he works for me” (118). Suddenly, the police burst into the room.

Police officers ask for Rebecca Sommers over the microphone, but she is not present. When it becomes clear no one has seen her that morning, texts and messages spread rapidly across the country searching for her. The conference is effectively halted, and attendees are confined to the ballroom. Police tell Olivia Jackson they need her to come to the station for questioning; she resists but eventually leaves. Eventually, someone sees a breaking news update announcing that Grayson Sommers has been murdered.

Detective Walsh questions Lizzie about Rebecca’s whereabouts. Lizzie explains they were supposed to have breakfast, but Rebecca never answered her door or phone. Lizzie states she learned of Grayson’s death after police arrived at the conference. When asked what she thought upon seeing the crime scene photos, Lizzie says whoever did that to Grayson must have really hated him.

Lizzie sits in the police station after hours of questioning. She recalls how one of the influencers who had a connection to a police officer received a graphic crime scene photo of Grayson’s body impaled on farm equipment. There is a rumor that one of his body parts was severed and placed in the freezer. Lizzie had defended Rebecca when other influencers immediately suspected her. She is the last person to have seen or spoken with Rebecca prior to the crime, but she is not an alibi because Rebecca left the suite so early. She could easily have driven from the hotel to the ranch to kill Grayson. 

Detective Walsh informs Lizzie that Rebecca’s six children are also missing. Lizzie is very worried about the children and tells the police her suspicions that Grayson was abusing Rebecca, although she knows this could establish motive and make it seem more likely that Rebecca killed him. 

Lizzie is permitted to leave the station; when she checks her phone, the murder has already made national news. Lizzie’s husband Peter phones, expressing his worry and urging her to come home immediately. Lizzie explains that she should stay for one more day, in case the police have further questions; she also declines Peter’s offer to join her, since she wants him to stay with their children. Peter reveals that Modern Woman is already promising exclusive coverage of the story and touting Lizzie as their on-the-ground reporter. Lizzie is frustrated because she doesn’t want to cover the story but can’t afford to jeopardize her job. 

Back at the hotel, Lizzie receives a note left for her at the front desk. The note reads, “I didn’t do it. You have to believe me” (141).

Lizzie speaks with her boss and reluctantly agrees to write two stories about the events unfolding in connection to Rebecca. She decides to use the first story to simultaneously satisfy her boss and express her sympathy for Rebecca. Lizzie is worried about Rebecca’s children but also convinced that her friend wouldn’t harm them. As Lizzie is writing, Olivia Jackson visits her room. Olivia explains that since she and Rebecca have attorney-client privilege, she knows things that she is not obligated to tell the police, but which she is willing to share with Lizzie. She asserts, “[Y]ou and I are going to have to trust one another” (150), and she offers to become Lizzie’s attorney in order to protect their conversations. When Lizzie claims she plans to fly home within a day, Olivia shrewdly points out that Modern Woman magazine is going to pressure her into staying and covering the story for as long as it is unfolding. 

Olivia reveals Rebecca had signed licensing deals worth roughly $200 million for a television show, magazine, and product lines. Rebecca planned to announce this publicly through Lizzie’s magazine profile, without telling Grayson first, because he had forbidden her from pursuing past opportunities. Olivia is concerned that Rebecca may be in danger, and is also irritated with the current coverage, noting that “every story written about her so far calls her a housewife instead of mentioning that she’s the CEO of a multimedia, multinational brand” (153). She gives Rebecca permission to use this information in her story. 

Lizzie submits an article, praising Rebecca and revealing the impending deal. She does not mention any abuse or unhappiness in Rebecca’s marriage. Later, in the hotel restaurant, Cricket, an influencer, approaches her with gossip. Cricket mentions that Grayson comes from a powerful family and moves in social circles where men can get away with a lot. She recounts a story about the suspicious death of Amelia, a woman who was married to one of Grayson’s relatives. Amelia was having an affair and planning to leave her husband, which she confessed to her gynecologist, Dr. Carmichael. A short time later, she died in a suspicious car accident, and her husband promptly remarried. Cricket surmises that someone overheard Amelia at the clinic and outed her secret to her husband. 

Cricket brings up Veronica Smith, who is one of the Smith triplets: All of the sisters are famous influencers. Lizzie recalls having briefly met Veronica and pieces together that Veronica is married to Marsden Greer, Grayson’s best friend. Cricket explains that there have been persistent rumors about Grayson and Veronica having an affair. Lizzie questions Cricket directly, and the latter admits that she doesn’t think Rebecca is guilty, but she does think Rebecca is in danger. After Cricket leaves, Lizzie phones Peter and admits that she wants to stay and report on the story. He encourages her to do so. 

 Later, Lizzie watches Marsden’s televised statement about Grayson’s death and notes that there seems to be tension between Marsden and Veronica. Still seated at a table in the hotel restaurant, she notices that someone has discreetly left a pale pink sachet on her table. She opens it to find two keys, an address, a gate code, and a note directing her to look next to the bed.