Sam returns home late from work smelling of alcohol and Monica’s distinctive lavender perfume. After searching Abby’s drawers, he confronts her with a bag containing crystal meth. Abby begins to question if she could have a drug addiction without knowing it.

The next morning, Abby is confronted by Sam and Monica. Sam says that Monica has concerns over allowing Abby to adopt her child due to her drug dependency. Consequently, they want her to attend a drug rehabilitation program. Realizing how the drug could have gotten into her system, Abby accuses Monica of dosing her coffee at work. She points out that Monica could also have copied her keys and planted the methamphetamines in the apartment. Sam says that Abby is “embarrassing” herself and begs her to be honest. Taking Abby aside, he states that if the surrogacy agreement falls through, he will still support Monica, as the child is his son.

Abby meets with Gertie and shows her a photograph of Monica. When Gertie says that Monica’s face is “familiar,” Abby cries uncontrollably and tells her former assistant everything. As Gertie comforts her, Abby receives a call from Denise.

Denise apologizes to Abby and admits that she believes she made a mistake in firing her. After catching Monica searching her office, Denise found a bottle of Adderall (a form of amphetamine) in Monica’s drawer. The discovery made her suspect that Monica had been drugging Abby’s coffee. Denise invites Abby to her office at eight o’clock that evening to discuss the situation privately. When Abby arrives, Denise is slumped over her desk, stabbed to death. The police arrive and confront Abby with the murder weapon—her missing letter opener.

When Abby is questioned at the police station, she explains why Denise asked her to come to the office after hours. The detective reveals that Adderall is a prescribed medication and could not have been the cause of Abby’s positive drug test. Abby is shown a message sent from her email address threatening to ruin Denise and asking to meet. The detective informs Abby that she faces life imprisonment unless she confesses to the murder. Abby asks for a lawyer and is released without charge. Sam picks Abby up from the police station but does not seem to believe her claim that she was framed.

Abby’s mother believes that her daughter is innocent and wants to hire the best legal representation. However, Abby insists that Sam has already hired a good lawyer.

Abby’s attorney, Robert Frisch, does not believe that his client is innocent. He encourages her to accept a plea bargain, reducing her sentence to 15 years. Sam believes that Abby should follow Robert’s advice. The prospect is unthinkable for Abby, who imagines Sam and Monica raising the baby together.

On the way home, Abby sees Chelsea walking past and shouts at Sam to stop the car. She chases after Chelsea, who does not respond to her name. When Abby catches up with her, Chelsea admits that her real name is Taylor Reynolds and that she is a struggling actress. Monica paid her to pose as her roommate. Taylor reveals that one of her friends is a former roommate of Monica’s but would not have given a good reference.

Taylor gives Abby the contact details of Monica’s former roommate, Cynthia. Cynthia describes Monica as a “psychopath” with an uncontrollable temper and recalls that she often had violent arguments with her boyfriend. The boyfriend disappeared, and a rotting stench emanated from Monica’s room in the following weeks. After Monica left, a sharpened stake was discovered under her bed. Cynthia gives Abby the address of Monica’s parents.