The Good Samaritan

Shortly after Laura’s visit, Ryan receives a phone call from Johnny, who informs him that someone broke into their grandfather’s room and vandalized his wedding photograph by scribbling out Charlotte’s face. Ryan instantly knows that Laura is responsible and understands the act is a calculated, personal threat.

Johnny is alarmed and urges Ryan to take action before Laura escalates. However, Ryan feels regret for how his past actions have drawn his family into the conflict. He decides to wait, hoping that Laura will make a mistake that will get her fired and believing that her boss, Janine, will eventually intervene.

A few days after her meeting with Ryan, Laura returns to work at the End of the Line office. She learns from her coworker, Kevin, that Janine is away on a trip with a man she’s been dating—presumably Tony. Suspicious, Laura enters Janine’s private office and finds her diary, which details a recent meeting with Ryan Smith. Laura then goes to the camera room and successfully recovers a deleted video file from the surveillance system’s hard drive.

The video shows the meeting between Ryan and Janine, where Ryan confesses his entire history with Laura. By turning up the volume, Laura is able to hear snatches of Janine’s whispered promise to help Ryan expose her. Laura searches Janine’s office for the Dictaphone that Ryan mentioned but cannot find it. Before leaving, she permanently deletes the video file, resolving to get revenge on both Ryan and Janine at once.

During the new school term, Ryan’s parents inform him that they can no longer afford the mortgage payments on his empty house. This prompts Ryan to decide that he will sell the apartment he once shared with Charlotte. He resolves to put the conflict with Laura behind him and move on.

Later, at school, Ryan approaches Effie and apologizes for his past inappropriate behavior. Effie responds with cynicism, asking if he is only improving her grades to ensure her silence. Ryan does not deny this. Despite her lingering suspicion, Ryan feels he has made amends and believes his conflict with Laura is finally ending.

A few days after Ryan puts his apartment on the market, Laura poses as a prospective buyer named “Charlotte Smith” to gain access. She meets with an estate agent, Andy, who gives her a tour. When left alone, Laura goes into the bedroom and finds Charlotte’s wedding dress hanging in a wardrobe. Putting on gloves, Laura removes an object from her handbag and places it inside the wardrobe with the dress. Before leaving, she turns the thermostat up to its highest setting. On her way out, she also steals a small, unspecified item from a bureau.

On Saturday, Ryan returns to his apartment and is hit by intense heat and a foul odor. In the bedroom, he makes a horrifying discovery: Charlotte’s wedding dress has been smeared with blood, and a dead pig fetus has been left in the wardrobe. He calls the estate agent, Andy, who confirms that a woman giving the name “Charlotte Smith” viewed the apartment the previous day.

Consumed by rage, Ryan drives directly to Laura’s house. He goes to the back garden, where he sees Laura standing inside, filming him with her phone. She begins to taunt him with pig-like grunting noises. Pushed beyond his limit, Ryan searches for an object to shatter the glass door and get to her.

Laura watches Ryan’s rage build, a reaction she carefully orchestrated. She got the pig fetus from Effie, who took it from her school’s science lab. Now, with her phone recording, Laura deliberately provokes Ryan further from behind her kitchen door. As she expected, he picks up a brick and hurls it through the glass.

The moment the glass breaks, two police officers, whom Laura called moments earlier, storm into the garden. They tackle Ryan and place him under arrest. Laura immediately switches her demeanor, playing the role of a terrified victim. She begins to cry, thanking the officers as they lead Ryan away.

Two days after his arrest, Ryan is released on police bail. His brother, Johnny, picks him up from the station. Johnny is furious when he learns that Ryan did not report Laura’s escalating provocations. Ryan explains that he was afraid of incriminating himself. Although frustrated, Johnny reluctantly agrees to retrieve Ryan’s car from Laura’s house. However, after doing so, Johnny declares that he is finished helping. He tells Ryan that he must accept the consequences of his own actions and that, in this conflict, “Laura has won” (285).

Three days after Ryan’s arrest, Laura accompanies Effie to a meeting at her school with the head teacher, Mr. Bruce Atkinson. In his office, Laura formally accuses Ryan of harassment and grooming, presenting the video of his rampage in her garden as proof of his dangerousness. Effie supports her mother’s claims with a convincing and detailed lie, fabricating a story of sexual assault.

To seal the accusation, Effie plays a selectively edited audio recording of Ryan’s apology to her, which Laura prepared. The clip makes Ryan sound guilty and manipulative. Convinced by the evidence, Mr. Atkinson promises to take immediate action. In the car afterward, Laura praises Effie for her performance, triumphant that she has her daughter back on her side.

The morning after the meeting, head teacher Bruce Atkinson summons Ryan to his office, where he is met by two other senior staff members. They officially inform him of Effie’s accusation. Ryan denies everything, but he is caught in a lie when he falsely claims that Effie has never been in his car. In response, Atkinson plays the secret audio recording of Ryan’s apology, which confirms that he gave Effie a ride. His lie exposed, Ryan is suspended with immediate effect and given a letter detailing the decision. Humiliated, he is escorted from the school grounds, realizing that Laura has succeeded in destroying him.