Everett has fallen asleep as Nic sorts through her father’s old things. It is three o’clock in the morning, and the world is “silent and waiting” (54). She goes downstairs and exits through the back door, heading into the woods. Though she’s passed through this forest many times, the nighttime veils everything and creates a strange sense of unfamiliarity. 

She arrives at the Carter property and sneaks to into Annaleise’s studio, a smaller structure set back from the main house. The inside is furnished minimally but tastefully, and the walls are covered in greyscale works of art: charcoal paintings, sketches, photographs. What strikes Nic about the art is that it depicts “[g]irls, all alone, all of them. Girls looking exposed and sad and full of some longing” (57). Nothing is amiss in the dwelling. There are no obvious signs of struggle or secrecy, and the fact that her suitcase and car are still here has led everyone to assume she didn’t leave town on her own accord. 

Underneath the bed, Nic discovers a box filled with more artwork that didn’t make it to the studio walls. She pauses on a sketch of Corinne. Nic has seen this sketch before, as it’s based on a photograph her friend

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