Disclaimer

Feeling “stir-crazy” (109), Stephen leaves his house with a duplicate set of the photos. He eats lunch in Berkley Square, feeling secure among the other unknown diners in the park. When he finishes, Stephen gives the photos to the receptionist at Robert’s office.

Catherine takes the day off to prepare an elaborate meal for herself and Robert. She thinks about Robert’s role as the mediator between her and Nicholas, who have always been argumentative. Catherine hopes that she and Nicholas will become closer now that he has moved out. She relishes the normal tasks of the day, like shopping, putting away groceries, and reading. She calls her mother to chat, tiptoeing around her mother’s declining memory. Catherine starts cooking, but Robert doesn’t arrive as planned. Hours later, he texts that he is stuck at work.

Before Robert leaves work, he opens Stephen’s package: photos of Catherine and a copy of The Perfect Stranger. The images show Catherine and Nicholas on the beach, and some show Catherine in sexually explicit poses in a hotel room. Robert is shocked by Catherine’s betrayal and angry that Nicholas may have witnessed his mother’s affair. Nicholas didn’t say anything when they returned, but Robert now thinks his son was hiding something.