13. Ophelia

Ophelia wakes from a haunting dream about her deceased parents and begins investigating a helicopter crash connected to her father's death by contacting Laura, the daughter of another victim. She attends a video call with Alex to work on coursework, gaining unsettling glimpses of his family life, before receiving a cryptic text directing her to meet Laura in Inverness. With Colette's help arranging transportation, she confides her stalking concerns to her friend, suspecting Carmichael may be responsible.

The chapter opens with Ophelia's vivid nightmare in which she dances through Sorrowsong Castle toward a room filled with everyone she has lost—her parents, grandparents, childhood dog, and neighbors—only to be blocked by the ghost of Achlys. She wakes to grief and uses morning routines to anchor herself to reality. After texting with Vincenzo about her loneliness, she calls the number Nicholas provided to reach Laura, a girl whose father died in a helicopter crash. Laura answers tensely, confirms her father's death, and asks if Ophelia works for "those monsters" before the line drops and her number becomes unavailable. Later, during a video call with Alex to work on their persuasion report, Ophelia notices his comfortable home life—dirty bowls, multiple sisters including young Josie who will turn eight tomorrow and older model Fleur—triggering jealousy and conflicted feelings about her plans to destroy his father. The call ends abruptly when Fleur interrupts. That evening, an unknown number texts Ophelia with an address in Inverness and a warning that calls are too risky. Colette overhears her worry about transportation and volunteers her driver Eike for the following morning. Ophelia then confides in Colette about the stalking, showing her the emails and the tarn incident, and theorizes that Carmichael may be responsible. Colette creates a mind map to help organize the mystery.