The chapter opens with the trivia-night investigation framed more seriously: Detective-Sergeant Adrian Quinlan says police are considering all angles and motives, and Samantha reacts to the possibility that the death may be treated as murder.

Four months before the trivia night, Chloe tells Madeline and Ed over dinner that Chloe wants a playdate with Ziggy. Ed quietly reminds Madeline that Ziggy was accused of choking Amabella, but Madeline argues that they do not know Ziggy is guilty and decides to call Jane, remembering that Jane seemed isolated and devastated after the kindergarten orientation incident.

The dinner also exposes Madeline’s family tensions. Chloe repeatedly tries to understand whether Skye, Nathan and Bonnie’s daughter, is like a sister because Skye is Abigail’s half sister. Madeline responds with forced patience, revealing her discomfort with her ex-husband’s new family and Chloe’s enthusiasm for Skye.

Ed worries that supporting Ziggy could alienate Renata and Geoff, since Amabella identified Ziggy, while Madeline downplays how close they are to Renata and Geoff. The conversation is interrupted by Madeline’s concern that Abigail is not eating, and Abigail announces that she thinks she is going vegan.

Madeline immediately connects Abigail’s declaration to Bonnie, who is vegan, and rejects it sharply. Later interview fragments show other parents speculating that Madeline and Bonnie may have been fighting about Abigail on trivia night, while Bonnie presents herself as calmly working with Madeline to help Abigail through typical teenage issues.