Keep Your Friends Close

At a park, Jade meets Whitney with their children. Whitney reports that police are aware of the escort business, which it emerges Jade has been helping to run for the last six months. Panicked, Jade flashes back to a low point when Whitney found her sobbing in a parking lot of a thrift store after a credit card was declined. In that moment, Jade admitted that her family was broke and that Ryan could not hold a job. Whitney kept this a secret, cementing Jade’s faith in her.

Back in the present, Whitney says that she had to give the police the business files, which include Jade’s name. Whitney worries a client might be tied to Kiersten’s death, while a more vulnerable Jade fears the police will make her a scapegoat.

At home, Whitney thinks about Jade’s shock and recalls Jade telling her about her daughter Lily’s cancer diagnosis, which pushed Jade to join the escort business to fund treatment. Detective Perez calls and asks Whitney to identify a client named Allen Grigsby, whose real name is Dustin Miller. She texts a photo, and Whitney confirms the match.

Perez explains that Miller has a violent criminal record and that the police are investigating a potential connection to Kiersten. Whitney is horrified that her business may have led a dangerous man to her friend.

In a flashback, a frazzled Jade arrives at Whitney’s house with her children. Her babysitter canceled, and she must take Lily to her first cancer treatment. Whitney offers to watch baby Iris. When Jade rushes off, Whitney sees a way to solve Jade’s financial crisis by bringing her into the escort business. She weighs the risk of sharing her secret against the benefit of a partner.

Later, Jade returns with a distraught Lily. Their distress solidifies Whitney’s decision, and she tells Jade she has a plan to help.

Brooke attends Kiersten’s memorial service and feels numb. She notes that Tommy doesn’t give the eulogy, because he’s too upset. When Abby quietly sits beside her, Brooke takes it as a positive sign for their relationship.

After the service, Brooke looks for Abby and finds her with Taylor. Overhearing their conversation, Brooke hears Abby describe her as anxious and admit that she only came home to protect their son, Julian, from Brooke. Brooke hides what she heard and resolves to try harder to repair their marriage, even though she knows Abby suspects her of murdering Kiersten.

The next morning, Brooke wakes to an empty house. Abby has left with Julian and his essentials. Brooke calls and texts Abby and her mother but receives no response. She then phones a friend, crying that Abby kidnapped their son.

Abby soon returns alone. She tells Brooke that Julian is safe at Whitney’s and that she is looking for an apartment. Stating that Brooke is not safe for Julian to be around, she cites recent behavior, including a fight where Brooke shoved her. Brooke pleads for Julian’s return, but Abby refuses.

On a planned date night, Ryan shows Jade Brooke’s recent activity on Instagram. They watch Brooke’s frantic live videos, which accuse Abby of kidnapping Julian. Jade is shocked, while Ryan takes Abby’s side.

Jade texts Whitney, who confirms that Abby and Julian are with her and invites Jade over. Jade postpones her date night, telling Ryan that she needs to support her friends. As she leaves, she notes that Ryan has been more supportive since Kiersten’s death.

At Whitney’s, Abby struggles to feed a screaming Julian, who has rejected a bottle for hours. Whitney tries to help just as Jade arrives. Hearing what is happening, Jade suggests that since both she and Whitney are lactating, one of them can nurse him.

Whitney hesitates, but Jade volunteers. Desperate, Abby agrees. Julian immediately calms and latches. Stunned, the three women break into relieved laughter and decide to postpone any talk of the investigation.

In a flashback, Jade anxiously cleans her kitchen before her first escort client interview, worrying about the risks and the possibility of her husband finding out. She recalls the conversation where Whitney offered her a way to earn money, insisting that it was a job, not charity. Whitney laid out the secrecy rules: use a separate phone, guard client identities, and claim the house is a rental if asked. When the doorbell rings, Jade steadies herself.

Brooke sits in her car down the street from Whitney’s house, watching her friends and their husbands arrive. Feeling isolated, she looks at an unopened whiskey bottle in the back seat, finding it “comforting” to have.

She decides that everyone inside has taken Abby’s side and sees her as a murderer. She runs through her lack of motive—Kiersten was always kind to her—and feels Abby’s betrayal most of all. She concludes that if she did not kill Kiersten, then the person who did is among the friends gathered inside.