Chapter Seventeen: Ascend

Lark teases Lachlan after discovering an explicit romance audiobook playing in his car, learning Sloane told him to read romance to connect with her. They drive to Club Pacifico to quietly pull records, trading banter and a brief moment of handholding as Lachlan warns Lark to be careful.

Inside the club, Conor loops the cameras while Lark and Lachlan slip into the office, copy laptop files, and photograph paperwork. Lark finds a $50,000 cash invoice for a contracting company. When a staffer enters, Lachlan drags Lark into a dark closet, holding her steady through a claustrophobic surge and vowing to protect her.

The charged closeness sparks a near kiss, but Lachlan refuses, saying it must wait until Lark truly forgives him. Back on the floor, Lark receives news: authorities now treat Headmaster Campbell’s disappearance as a murder. Overwhelmed, she retreats to the rooftop.

Sloane texts support, signaling unconditional love even if Lark did what she suspects. Lachlan joins Lark on the roof, and Lark shares the home invasion that killed her father, injured her mother, and seeded her claustrophobia. She thanks him for helping with Campbell; Lachlan calls the killing deserved.

They stand together in quiet understanding. Lachlan drives Lark home before heading to Leander’s. Later he texts a playful gold-star photo, and Lark, warmed by the fragile progress between them, picks up her guitar and begins a new song.