Sydney has a nightmare in which her future daughter is swallowed by a giant hydrangea bush while Sydney is trapped and drowns in her kitchen. After waking up, she feels guilty for forgetting to call Malik and sends him a voice message downplaying the events in Raleigh. Later, she receives an email from a reporter informing her that the popular true-crime podcast The Unforgotten is considering an episode on the missing girls.

Joyce’s story helps Sydney form a new theory that Michael and Raymond were partners who hunted girls together, with Raymond’s creepy reputation serving as a cover for the charismatic Michael. She speculates that Carol found Sally’s bracelet, confronted Michael, and was then murdered. To cover his tracks, Michael filed a missing-person report and later asked his sister to retract it, leading the police to believe that Carol was alive and well. The realization that Michael has her home address fills her with fear. Determined to find more proof, Sydney uses Zillow to identify a house next to Raymond’s former property that had been built in 1920 and never successfully resold, hoping to find a long-term resident who might have witnessed something.

Sydney visits the house next to Raymond’s overgrown former property and meets Jeremy, a registered nurse caring for his elderly father, Alvin. Alvin, who has Parkinson’s disease but a sharp memory, lived in the house when the girls disappeared and agrees to speak with her.

Alvin recalls the night of July 4, 1964, the day after Geraldine Williams went missing. He was awake rocking Jeremy against his shoulder when he looked out his kitchen window into Raymond’s yard. A firework suddenly illuminated the scene, revealing Raymond standing near a large hydrangea bush, leaning on a garden tool and looking winded. Alvin tells Sydney that he saw dark splotches covering Raymond’s light-colored T-shirt and believed it was blood.

After pulling into the parking lot of the police station, Sydney receives a message from her fertility nurse, who reassures her that recent spotting is a normal and positive sign of embryo implantation. At the Raleigh Police Department, Sydney is initially dismissed by a desk officer, but Detective Bruce Higgins, who sometimes works on cold cases, overhears her and agrees to take her statement.

Sydney presents her full theory about Michael and Raymond, detailing the accounts from Joyce and Alvin and giving Higgins the bracelet belonging to Sally Dunn. Higgins makes no promises but agrees to speak with his commander. As Sydney leaves, she’s confronted in the lobby by Yvonne. She sternly warns Sydney that she’s risking a defamation lawsuit if she continues to make accusations against her brother.

Back in Los Angeles, Sydney worries about Yvonne’s legal threat. On Friday morning, the day of her pregnancy blood test, the episode of The Unforgotten about the missing girls is released. She and Malik listen together as the podcast details the case, calling it the story of the “Raleigh Six, and the Creek Killer” (236). The episode features Joyce’s story and refers to Michael as “Suspect B” to avoid legal issues. Afterward, Sydney shares the podcast widely.

Later that day, the fertility clinic calls to confirm that Sydney’s pregnancy test is positive. Overwhelmed with joy and relief, she and Malik embrace and celebrate the news that they’re finally going to be parents.

On Thanksgiving morning, Sydney experiences pregnancy nausea while running an errand for Malik. She sees a news report that, due to public pressure from the podcast, the police are being urged to excavate Raymond Green’s former property, specifically the area around the hydrangea bush.

At Thanksgiving dinner, Sydney’s mother angrily confronts her for publicizing their family’s private history. Sydney pushes back, explaining that the family’s enforced silence about their traumatic past was damaging to her and Sasha. Grace ends the argument by claiming to have a headache and retreating to her bedroom. Afterward, a supportive Sasha tells Sydney that she’s finally ready to move out on her own. As Sydney prepares to leave, she receives a voicemail from Detective Higgins, who informs her that the police have secured a warrant and will begin excavating Raymond’s property the next morning.

Barbara video-calls Sydney to show her the police excavation underway at Raymond’s former property. That night, the community holds a vigil where six enlarged photographs of the missing girls are displayed on easels, including one of Carol that Barbara had arranged to have printed. Some time later, Sydney and Malik go to their first ultrasound appointment. They’re overjoyed when they see their baby and hear a strong, healthy heartbeat. In this moment of deep happiness, as Malik steps out of the room, Sydney checks her phone. Barbara has texted that the police found something.

The first remains discovered under the hydrangea bush on Raymond’s property are identified as those of Marian Bradbury. Soon after, two more sets of bones found near the creek are confirmed to be those of Sally Dunn and Geraldine Williams. Autopsies reveal that all three girls were strangled. Detective Higgins tells Sydney that there’s still not enough evidence to arrest Michael, while Raymond’s whereabouts remain unknown.

A news article from The News & Observer reports that a jewelry box was found buried with Sally, containing trophies from the victims, including items belonging to Bettie Brooks and Loretta Morgan, whose bodies have not been found. The article includes photographs of the fifth item—a high-school class ring inscribed with the initials “MEH”—which the police were asking the public to help identify. Sydney immediately calls Detective Higgins to report that the ring must belong to Michael, whose full name is Michael Eugene Hall. Soon after, Sasha requests an urgent meeting and reveals the results of a DNA test she took. Her online family tree shows that Carol had a child, and the database has identified a person named Wesley Jones as their cousin.