Fragile Sanctuary

Rhodes wakes on the floor of a burned-out cabin with a head injury. In a flashback, she recalls seeing the deputy’s body before being attacked from behind. The cabin walls are plastered with photos of her from childhood to adulthood. The scope of the collection convinces her that Felix is not her stalker.

A man speaks, and she turns to recognize her captor as Silas Arnett, one of the construction crew members.

At the sheriff’s station, Anson concludes that Rhodes’s stalker and the Hangman are the same person—a local hidden in plain sight. With Trace and FBI Special Agent Helena, he builds a profile suggesting an offender close to Rhodes’s age who likely started with arson. They learn that the security cameras at Rhodes’s property were disabled.

Trace reports that Owen Mead has a solid alibi. The case pivots when Shep calls to report that Silas Arnett left work sick and has vanished. Anson reassesses past interactions and identifies Silas as their prime suspect.

Silas tells Rhodes that the burned cabin is his childhood home. His fixation began in middle school when he misread her kindness as a private bond. He details how he manipulated Felix, set the fire that killed her family, and orchestrated her car crash.

He admits he is the Hangman and that he murdered women who resembled Rhodes, as well as Anson’s sister. Rhodes fights, but he overpowers and chokes her, calling her his “Little Phoenix.” He says his plan is to kill her with a knife while Anson watches.

The task force finds no properties tied to Silas beyond his apartment. Fallon shares that Silas grew up locally and that his mother and sister supposedly moved away six years ago. Anson theorizes that Silas likely murdered them then.

Trace discovers that the family’s former property is still in the mother’s name with unpaid taxes, suggesting that this is where Silas has taken Rhodes. A convoy speeds to the remote site. They approach on foot and reach a burned-out structure where Silas holds Rhodes at knifepoint.

Silas presses a knife to Rhodes’s throat as law enforcement surrounds the ruin. A negotiator attempts to talk Silas down, but he demands to speak to Anson. Anson steps forward and tries to undercut Silas’s ego. Silas taunts him about his sister and refuses Anson’s offer to trade himself for Rhodes.

As Silas drags Rhodes backward, she declares her love to Anson. In that instant, the fire-damaged floor collapses, and Rhodes and Silas plunge into the basement.

Trace holds Anson back long enough for the search-and-rescue team to rig ropes. Anson rappels into the basement.

He finds Silas dead with a broken neck. Nearby, he locates Rhodes unconscious and bleeding from a neck wound, but alive. She rouses briefly as he checks her pulse. He tells her he loves her and urges her to hold on as she is secured in a harness for extraction.

Days later, Rhodes wakes in a hospital room to Anson’s voice. He explains her injuries: a broken arm, a concussion, and a neck wound. He confirms that Silas died in the fall.

Anson blames himself for not identifying Silas sooner, but Rhodes rejects his guilt. He admits he has feared loving her because love brings the risk of loss. He finally says he loves her, and she says it back. They commit to a future together.

Two days later, Rhodes prepares to leave the hospital. Her foster brother Cope drives her home, explaining that Silas manipulated Felix by convincing him that Anson was abusive. Police recovered trophies from dozens of victims in Silas’s apartment.

At the guesthouse, Anson greets her with Biscuit. Lolli, Nora, and Keely welcome her. Rhodes confirms that she will adopt Biscuit and rebuild the Victorian. Anson asks to move in during the restoration, and she agrees.

Six months later, Rhodes arrives at her fully restored Victorian. A playful note from Anson leads her inside, where the entryway has the same fairy wallpaper her mother once chose. Anson explains that he contacted hundreds of stores to find it.

In the restored library, now a gallery of family photos, Anson gives her a copy of Madeleine L’Engle’s classic middle grade novel A Wrinkle in Time. A bookmark hides a pink diamond ring. He proposes, and Rhodes accepts, embracing their new beginning in the home they have reclaimed.