After Diamond Team chooses to use its single hint, Jameson Hawthorne announces that the hint must be earned. Savannah immediately selects door number two, and the game table transforms: the haystack puzzle drops away, revealing a poker-table-like surface with black chips, two card decks, and three objects—a silver hairbrush, a pearl-handled knife, and a glass rose.

Jameson and Avery explain that the challenge is not poker but a version of Truth or Dare designed to force cooperation, openness, and risk. Rohan and Savannah must collect three truth chips and three dare chips. For truths, one player draws a white card and asks the other a question, with the option to substitute an equally interesting question; for dares, a black card names one of the objects, and the drawing player must invent an appropriate dare involving it.

Rohan asks what prevents them from lying, and Jameson reveals that the chips contain sensors that monitor heart rate and other signs. A flagged lie or insufficient dare means the challenge fails, costing them the hint. Savannah’s poised voice contrasts with a body ready for conflict, making Rohan wonder what fear or anger the challenge is triggering.

After Jameson signs off with a French phrase, Rohan connects it to the duchess and the Devil’s Mercy. Rohan recognizes the phrase as a deliberate signal that Avery and Jameson understand what is at stake for him. Because of that, Rohan concludes that the game makers know he will not risk cheating.