20. Ophelia

Ophelia discovers horrifying evidence that her mother was having an affair and that her stalker Alan has been obsessing over her mother's photos—connecting him potentially to her parents' deaths. After a turbulent emotional confrontation with Alex about his father's criminal business dealings, they finally give in to their mutual attraction and spend an intimate evening together.

Ophelia struggles with missing Alex while trying to stay busy with swimming and studying. During a tutoring session with Dr. Bancroft, he cryptically warns her that Carmichael—who hated her mother—is a powerful man with global reach, implying danger if she upsets him. Ophelia receives flirty emails from Alex and agrees to meet him, but becomes panicked when a Friday helicopter lands. Alex comforts her through the noise, and they walk back to the mansion together. Ophelia discovers her dorm room door is ajar; inside, she finds a nightmarish collage of Polaroid photographs of her mother with her face scratched out, intimate photos of her in bed, and a Shakespeare quote written in red paint: "Villain, I have done thy mother." Among the photos is a letter from her mother to a lover, mentioning plans to leave with him to Spain or Portugal, revealing the affair and suggesting Ophelia's father may not have known. Ophelia realizes her stalker Alan may be the same person who ordered the hit on her parents. She and Alex argue about his complicity in his father's criminal empire and his stated goal to take over Green Aviation. Alex reveals his actual plan: to work with Carmichael to orchestrate a vote of no confidence against his father, temporarily assuming control before finding a replacement—his mother, sisters, and he are all trapped by his father's power. He insists he is not his father and that Ophelia is his selfish act, his therapy. Despite her reservations, Ophelia surrenders to him until midnight. They kiss passionately, and Alex guides her through intimate physical contact on his thigh. Afterward, a man working for Vincenzo delivers a new lock for her room and a box containing Alan's photos; he's obtained a fingerprint from her door. Ophelia and Alex spend the rest of the evening together watching The Fellowship of the Ring, eating ramen and Jelly Babies, and sharing increasingly tender moments, though Ophelia is haunted by the file on her laptop that could expose his father's crimes.