Chapter Seven: Justice

Lark spends the morning in her converted factory, methodically killing Patrick O’Neill—a married teacher who groomed students—by submerging him in glittered epoxy inside a plexiglass casket. She frames it as “sparkly justice” and a trophy-laced DIY coffee table, reciting victims’ names as Patrick drowns and leaving the resin to cure.

Preparing for her courthouse wedding, Lark steels herself to protect Sloane and her family by keeping her vigilantism and the sham-marriage motives secret. Sloane picks her up, distraught and skeptical, pressing for answers that Lark withholds while promising she’s chosen this path. They banter about telling Lark’s family, especially with Aunt Ethel’s declining health.

Outside city hall, Aunt Ethel arrives on Lachlan’s arm, clearly delighted, while Rowan worries. Lark and Lachlan trade barbs that barely mask their tension. Inside, Ethel presents her own engagement ring as Lark’s “something old,” insisting Lark accept it despite Lark’s protests that her sister Ava should have it. The gift underscores Ethel’s counsel that love is a choice, not just a feeling, and strengthens Lark’s resolve.

Called into the ceremony room, Lark commits without wavering. She and Lachlan exchange vows and rings before the clerk. When told to kiss, Lachlan softly brushes Lark’s hair aside, whispers an Irish vow, and kisses her with unexpected tenderness and longing. Lark returns the kiss while reminding herself the marriage is a strategic choice to safeguard loved ones—choosing love, but not her own.