Back from an auction with an invite to the Weldon Estate, Vega confronts her father and accuses him of using her as a stepping stone. He answers with cold contempt, saying the day she leaves the Richmond family would make him smile and sneers, "You're the one who should leave!" He calls her life worthless, says he might "let you off" if she departs sooner, and taunts that fencing at tomorrow's Weldon party will expose a bumpkin posing as nobility. The episode ends with Vega bracing for a public test that will determine whether she can stay.