Nobody's Fool

Sami leaves Tad’s house and considers Patricia’s statements. He wonders if he’s being too stubborn to see some truth in her words. He knows she and Nicole were close, so it’s possible Nicole confided in her. He still thinks all the concrete evidence points to Tad as the murderer, but he doubts his certainty. He worries he left Tad’s house too soon.

When Sami arrives home, he is surprised to see Victoria having tea with Molly. Victoria claims she doesn’t remember Sami, but she saw his photo in the news before Tad Grayson’s release, and she felt drawn to him. She attended Sami’s class because she thought seeing him might jog some memories. Victoria wants Sami to tell her everything about Spain to help her remember. Sami recounts his story. Victoria is curious about Buzz, but Sami has few details. Sami stops his story before it’s dramatic ending because he wants to ask Victoria some questions of his own.

Victoria claims she doesn’t remember anything, though she occasionally has flashbacks in which she remembers pain, fear, and intense sunlight. She has a vague feeling of wanting to help Sami, and he wells up, knowing that her appearance has done just that. When the police found Victoria, she felt like she was in a dream, and her psychologists haven’t been able to recover her memories. The FBI still don’t know who kidnapped her, though there are several popular theories. Sami and Victoria both admit that the meeting brings them comfort. Victoria calls for a ride and asks Sami not to see her again. Sami says goodbye, feeling sure that Victoria is lying.

Sami reads a children’s book, “Are You My Mother?” to Henry. Molly questions how Sami could identify Anna after 22 years, and Sami reveals the bloody ending of his story. He believes he was roofied, and when he woke up later on the beach, he went directly to the police. He brought Detective Osorio to Anna’s flat, but the scene was clean. Detective Osorio tried to message Sami, but Sami followed his father’s advice to ignore him and fly home immediately. Sami realizes that he was scammed, and that Buzz and Anna faked Anna’s death so Sami would run without asking questions after they stole from him. Molly is upset that Sami never told her this important memory, and she asks him to stay with a friend for the night while she processes her feelings.

Sami stays with Craig and watches a recorded soccer match. Craig falls asleep in front of the TV, and Molly calls asking Sami to come home. Sami takes a taxi and chats amicably with the driver. When Sami arrives home, Molly is wearing his favorite red nightgown, and they kiss in the doorway. In the morning, Sami receives a text from an unknown number about Molly’s nightgown. He sends a screenshot to Marty and asks him to track the number.

Sami looks outside and sees the Belmond car at the end of the street. He goes outside to investigate and passes a suspicious “scraggly” man on the way. Gun Guy invites Sami to get in the car so he can drive him to the Belmond estate to meet Archie Belmond. Sami calls Molly to update her on the way. Arthur greets Sami at the door, saying he’s there per Archie’s request. Archie wants Sami to sign an NDA before their meeting, and he’s willing to pay $100,000. If Sami doesn’t sign, the Belmonds won’t speak to him ever again. Unwilling to forgo the large sum or the opportunity to continue his investigation, Sami accepts the offer.

Sami and Arthur are escorted through the mansion to where the Belmond Industries lawyer, Lenore Spikes, waits with the NDA. Sami signs and checks his banking app to see the $100,000 in his account. Lenore leads Sami down a hallway and tells him the rags-to-riches story about how Archie Belmond started Belmond Industries. Lenore describes the Belmonds as atypical for the ultra-rich, since they’re generous and humble. Sami enters a conservatory where the four Belmonds—Archie, Talia, Victoria, and Thomas—wait for him. Sami shakes Archie and Talia’s hands but refuses to greet Thomas. Instead, Sami confronts Thomas about his death threats. Thomas apologizes profusely but claims he was only reacting to Sami’s trespassing.

Archie dismisses his family so he and Sami can speak alone. Archie explains that the family don’t want to force Victoria to remember her trauma, but they want to find who kidnapped her, and Sami’s new story about Spain might lead to new clues. Archie wants to hire Sami to investigate the kidnapping. Sami will report his findings to Archie alone, and Archie will determine how to use the information without police involvement. Sami worries Archie is considering vigilante justice, but when Archie promises an additional $500,000, Sami accepts the offer. Archie entreats Sami to start right away by discussing his trip to Spain.

Sami repeats his story about Spain to Archie, but he doesn’t reveal that he woke up thinking he had murdered Anna/Victoria. Archie doesn’t understand how Sami could identify Victoria after all this time, but Sami explains that it was a split-second moment of understanding. Sami meets Talia out on a tennis court to question her next. Talia worries that the investigation will damage her family’s newfound normalcy, but she knows the only way they will find closure is by uncovering the truth.

On New Year’s Eve 1999, Talia was in Chicago visiting her father in hospice. Archie stayed home to watch over the computer system when the year changed to 2000, but when nothing went wrong, he joined Talia. Talia wasn’t worried about Victoria, because it was normal not to hear from her for several days. Victoria had texted Archie a few times, so the family wasn’t concerned. The panic eventually crept in as they continued not to hear from her, and Talia admits that the decline of her father’s health distracted her at the time.

Talia felt numb during Victoria’s absence, and she felt guilty whenever she experienced ordinary moments of joy. Talia often thought she saw Victoria around the city, but psychiatrists asserted that she was only looking for answers in the world around her. The family started Vic’s Place, a women’s charity that Talia volunteered with. Talia originally didn’t believe that the woman who later appeared in their lives, claiming to be Victoria, was really her, but she became convinced when the woman said, “Are you my mother?”—the title of Victoria’s favorite childhood book. Victoria’s health improved, and Talia wants to protect the progress she’s made. Molly suddenly calls and informs Sami that they’re being stalked.

Gun Guy drives Sami into town to meet Molly and Henry at a deli. On the phone, Molly describes the man who followed her, and Sami realizes it’s the “Scraggly Dude” he saw earlier. He receives more threatening texts about Molly. Gun Guy explains that he saw Scraggly Dude watching Sami’s house and thinks he served time in prison because of a distinctive face tattoo. Gun Guy refuses to give Sami his gun, but he offers to circle the block and look for the man. Sami walks around the block, but he doesn’t see Scraggly Dude, so he meets a nervous Molly and an irritable Henry inside. They decide to walk home, and at home, Sami explains the deal with the Belmonds. Molly cries with relief when she sees their bank balance. Molly thinks the situation is opportune because Sami will get both closure and the money they desperately need.

Sami receives a call from Ella, Nicole’s older sister who rarely speaks to him. No one told her about Tad Grayson’s release, and she spotted him watching her at work. She went to confront him, but he ran away. Ella was somewhat swayed by Tad’s press conference, but Sami still thinks Tad is guilty. While on the phone, Sami sees Scraggly Dude staring up at him from the street.

Sami hangs up and jumps onto the fire escape to chase Scraggly Dude. He knows he’s being reckless, but he wants to confront the man who threatened his family. Sami gains on Scraggly Dude quickly, and when the man miscalculates a turn, Sami tackles him to the ground. Scraggly Dude refuses to answer Sami’s questions. He nudges Sami off balance, and a fight breaks out. Despite Scraggly Dude’s size advantage, Sami is a relentless fighter, and his persistence startles his opponent. Sami gets Scraggly Dude on his knees and pushes his head into the pavement, but he still refuses to answer Sami’s questions. Two police officers suddenly tackle and restrain Sami. They listen to Scraggly Dude’s lies about being randomly attacked, and they let him go. The police hold Sami until Scraggly Dude is far enough away. A bystander who witnessed the whole ordeal AirDrops Sami a picture of Scraggly Dude.

Sami sends the picture to Marty for identification, and he updates him on the deal with the Belmonds. Sami calls an impromptu meeting with his students and asks his father to stay with Molly and Henry in his absence. Sami also calls Lenore Spikes and asks for a meeting with Thomas and Victoria, as well as for travel expenses to the Costa del Sol in Spain.