End of Story

Diana gets out an old video camera recording (VCR) and shows Nicky videos of a soccer game. Hope is filming and talking to Madeleine, while Sebastian expresses disgust at Cole, who is standing alone looking at his shadow instead of playing. They realize he is making origami, and Sebastian grows more frustrated. Madeleine says that he’s embarrassing, sharing that people at school tell him to hurt himself, so he often hides from them. Hope rages against the kids, and the video cuts to Madeleine dancing awkwardly at a talent show. Diana is surprised by the video. Freddy arrives to take Nicky to the house of Isaac Murry, Sebastian’s former research assistant. Nicky thanks Diana for sharing her story, but Diana is staring at the screen.

Madeleine is upset by the text message, wondering who could know Cole’s nickname for her. She texts back, “Prove it” (125).

Nicky asks Freddy if he’s ever thought about leaving. He says he sticks with the family. He tells her about his life, and Nicky likes him. His story, she thinks, is like Madeleine’s story. Nicky feels there’s still something he isn’t telling her.

Freddy drops Nicky at Isaac’s house. Sebastian’s former research assistant says writing memoirs will be a good way for Sebastian to soften his image. He tells stories about Sebastian and finds it odd that Sebastian isn’t putting out one final public plea to find his wife and son before he dies. He recounts seeing Cole shortly after Cole tried to die by suicide. Isaac describes the way Cole looked defeated by bullies, including his father. They are interrupted by a woman with blue hair. It is his wife, Detective B.B. Springer.

B.B. was one of the detectives investigating the Trapp case. She guessed Simone was the killer, trying to be the second Mrs. Sebastian Trapp. As Isaac walks Nicky out, he notices Freddy is taking a picture of them. He cautions her that B.B. always thought someone in the family knew more than they were revealing and advises Nicky to be careful.

Freddy says the only time Cole ever took the top bunk was the night he disappeared. Cole had said it was going to be a better year. Freddy begins to cry and admits that he sometimes made fun of Cole, too. He feels guilty that he didn’t stand up for Cole against other kids and Sebastian. They discuss scenarios of the disappearance and a group of conspiracy theorists called Trapper Keepers.

Madeleine is sure that the person text messaging her is Cole, as they have texted back multiple stories and memories. Cole texts that he needs her help to find out what happened to Hope. Madeleine wants to know what happened to Cole and asks if Sebastian knows he’s alive. Cole texts back that he doesn’t know and advises Madeleine to be careful. He says he will see her soon.

Diana comes in behind Madeleine, opening the door for Watson. Madeleine asks what Diana will do after Sebastian dies. Diana says she has much life to live despite the tragedies she’s experienced; she thinks she’ll move to another country. Madeleine is surprised by how much she is talking, as Diana is usually quiet. She is unexpectedly unhappy that Diana will be leaving. Diana asks Madeleine to go with her, and Madeleine is again surprised. Madeleine asks why her father didn’t ask Madeleine to write her memoirs; she worries that he thinks she isn’t a good enough writer. Diana assures her that he just didn’t want her to be preoccupied with his death. Madeleine feels both abandoned and worried that her brother seems to have returned with an agenda.

Nicky feels something watching her and notices a portrait of an anonymous, “ugly” child in her room. She kneels next to it and sees a red butterfly under the floorboards. It is next to Cole’s diary. She reads it. At the end of eighth grade, the entries turn dark and reference the bullying from students and Sebastian. Cole says he doesn’t like himself.

Jonathan takes Nicky sailing and lets her steer around the waters of San Francisco. They drink wine and talk about the city. He skirts the topic of where he’s from but brings up how interesting it must be to talk to Sebastian. He thinks Hope and Cole are either dead or don’t want to be found.

Madeleine hears her mother’s voice and runs toward the sound. Diana is watching old movies of the family at Cole’s birthday party. Sebastian is watching his son unhappily and makes a passive-aggressive birthday toast. Hope counters Sebastian, saying Cole makes them proud by having the courage to be himself.

Freddy walks in on Diana but does not see Madeleine watching them. He says his mother, Simone, was romantically interested in Sebastian. Diana grows uncomfortable as he talks about his own father suddenly dying and Simone still wanting Sebastian. He warns Diana to be careful and kisses her. She makes him leave. When Diana leaves, Madeleine goes to the TV and looks at young Cole’s face, thinking he could be anyone now.

Nicky is at Jonathan’s loft, where they watch a film version of one of Sebastian’s novels. The weather outside turns stormy. He asks if he can kiss Nicky, and she says no because she needs to leave before the storm. When she gets to the Trapp mansion, she realizes that she lost her key when her bag tipped over at Jonathan’s. Madeleine begrudgingly lets her in. Nicky tries to get Watson to go with Madeleine, but the dog refuses to leave Nicky.

Madeleine is unhappy that Watson went with Nicky. She wishes she had treated Cole better when he was a child and came to her room at night, scared and wanting comfort. She texts Cole about Nicky. Cole texts back, telling Madeleine to let her stay and keep their enemies close. Cole also suggests it might be a game their father is playing.

Sebastian tells Nicky to dress warm, as they will leave in 10 minutes. He adds that she can stay with them in San Francisco as long as she wants and can even die there.

They drive to a hidden spot on the coast, admire the view, and hike. He talks about how Hope’s grandfather survived the Somme and inspired Sebastian’s detective, Simon St. John. He asks what secrets Nicky has. She says she can’t have children, which makes her sad. They come to a labyrinth of low rocks on a bluff. He says he proposed to Hope in the center, and he and Madeleine would go sunrising there. Cole was also conceived in the middle. He asks what Nicky thinks happened to his wife and son, and she asks him if he knows. He shares that he dreamed of wolves in a forest tearing apart his father’s body on the day his own father died by suicide. Since then, Sebastian has tried to die by suicide twice, and he says he hears the wolves calling daily. Nicky brings him back to the question of his family, and he says he waits and hopes.

Madeleine hasn’t received a text back from Cole. She watches more home movies of her mother’s final birthday party on the night of her disappearance. Diana arrives, and they watch Hope open presents. They remember that she wore everything she received that night—a shawl, a necklace from Cole, and the cologne from Freddy. In the video, Cole hands her a red origami butterfly, and Sebastian gets angry. He tells Cole people don’t like him because he’s weak and begins listing the insults of the other students. He tells Cole not to cry even as Cole grows upset. The camera cuts. Both Diana and Madeleine are upset. Diana says she doesn’t remember Sebastian being that way and asks what was in the box from the front door. Madeleine tells her about the origami butterfly that Sebastian received. As Madeleine gets ready for the Midsummer party, Cole texts that he’ll see her that night.

Nicky FaceTimes her ex-boyfriend, who is taking care of her dog. He is worried she isn’t safe. She reads more of Cole’s diary and finds that Sebastian dislocated the boy’s shoulder and kept it from Hope. Madeleine enters, and says Sebastian is looking for Nicky. Downstairs, the party is beginning. Both put on their masks, and Nicky remembers the misspelled entry she’d read from Cole just before: “[S]omething exiting is hapening!!” (191).

They find Sebastian and get champagne. Madeleine sees Diana appear, looking beautiful in red and not wearing a mask. Madeleine looks for Cole in the crowd.

Simone is upset because the costume shop mistakenly sent her a Medusa mask. She says she took jewelry and perfume from Madeleine’s room to help her costume. Freddy appears just as guests begin to arrive.

Madeleine listens to her ex-boyfriend until she sees a pale blond man in a Zorro mask holding Watson. Freddy introduces him as Jonathan. She asks about his life. She suspects he is Cole and asks for his number under the guise of throwing a party for Freddy. Cole text messages Madeleine and says not to look nervous or look for him. Another young, blond man introduces himself as Timbo Martinez, someone helping Mr. Lightfoot write his next mystery book. Madeleine finds Diana by the maze out back. Diana asks Madeleine if she feels safe in the house. She says she wants to talk to Madeleine about Sebastian.

Nicky and Diana talk over the crowd about the origami in the box. Diana is uncharacteristically flustered; she says she finds Sebastian brutal after watching the home movie footage. Nicky overhears people talking and realizes everyone thinks Sebastian killed his wife and son. Jonathan follows her upstairs, where they look at the family portrait. He comments that Cole is a cute kid.

Jonathan says he thinks Simone is suspicious when it comes to Hope’s and Cole’s disappearance. They kiss and rejoin the party.

Jonathan wants to see the library. There is a person at Sebastian’s desk, holding Sebastian’s glass cube. He is wearing a frightening devil mask of the villain in Sebastian’s novels, Jack. The figure points Sebastian’s pistol at them, and Nicky tells him it won’t fire. Jack jumps up to run, but Nicky tackles him. He hits her in the face with the cube, and she, with her boxing training, punches him hard in the eye. When Jonathan tries to pull her off, her head hits him in the groin, and he goes down. She pulls the mask off. It’s Freddy. He jumps up and runs. At the bottom of the stairs, he skids into a champagne pyramid that crashes down. He escapes, and Nicky sees Sebastian looking up at her at the top of the stairs.

The family and Jonathan are in the library, minus Freddy. They discover he didn’t get into any of the locked drawers with important papers. On the typewriter, Sebastian notices a red origami butterfly inscribed with the words “Tell them what you did to her” (214). Sebastian collapses. Diana tells Simone to ask people to leave, and Madeleine takes Sebastian to bed. Diana asks if the butterfly was there when Freddy was in the library and Jonathan says yes. Nicky isn’t sure and thinks about the words “For Cole” (215), which were typed onto the paper of the typewriter.

Simone insists on spending the night. Madeleine won’t answer knocks at her door. Simone takes off her necklace and gives it to Diana, asking her to return it to Madeleine. Diana and Nicky talk about wanting to die, and Diana asks again if the butterfly was on the typewriter when they arrived. Nicky says she isn’t certain. Nicky watches Diana walk toward her bedroom and pause to look at something in her hand as the clock strikes midnight. For the first time, Nicky locks her door when she goes to bed.

Madeleine tries to contact Cole, asking if he is Freddy. There is no reply.

A woman’s body floats in the koi pond outside a San Francisco house. Someone opens a window and screams. They’ve found her.