Pip returns home from Cara’s house, where the atmosphere has remained strained because Pip’s investigation now threatens the stability of Cara and Naomi’s family. Pip has not told Cara or Naomi what she suspects about Andie’s secrets, because Pip fears that sharing too much could put them in danger from the real killer. At home, Pip briefly talks with Victor, Leanne, and Josh before heading upstairs to work.

On the landing, Pip notices that her bedroom door is slightly open, even though Pip remembers closing the door that morning to keep out the smell of Josh’s aftershave prank. Inside the room, Pip realizes her laptop has been opened and her papers disturbed. Most alarmingly, the photograph proving Sal’s alibi has been moved to the top of the pile.

Pip turns on her laptop and discovers that someone has typed the same warning into her production log hundreds of times: “YOU NEED TO STOP THIS, PIPPA.” Pip understands that the killer has entered her room, handled her research, and used her laptop. The threat is no longer remote; the killer has reached Pip inside her own home.

Pip tries to hide her panic from her family. She asks Leanne whether anyone came to the house, then invents a story about local break-ins to justify removing the spare key from under the doormat. When Pip checks outside, the key is still there but has clearly been disturbed, suggesting the intruder used it to get in.

That night, Pip cannot sleep. Every noise makes Pip fear someone is trying to break into the house, and she repeatedly checks the window for signs of a watcher outside. Eventually, Pip goes into Josh’s room and climbs into his bed, both for comfort and because Pip feels that Josh will be safer if she is there to watch over him.