The It Girl

Hannah thinks about Hugh’s revelation through the lens of Will’s recent anger and resistance to her investigation. She fears that Hugh has protected Will for the past 10 years by not revealing his presence on Pelham’s campus. Will surprises Hannah by greeting her at the train station. While she initially wants space from him to think through Hugh’s confession, the baby kicks, and she instinctively grabs Will’s hand to place on her stomach. Will feels another kick, and the couple relishes their love for the baby.

Hannah sleeps well and wakes before Will. Her suspicion about his involvement in April’s murder wanes. She realizes that Ryan, who lived on the other side of Will at Pelham, might be able to confirm or deny Hugh’s account of hearing Will in his room. She calls him while Will leaves to get breakfast, and while Ryan doesn’t remember seeing Will until lunchtime, he can’t remember if he could hear Will in his room. He confirms that the police didn’t search Will’s room the morning after April’s murder. Hannah hangs up and realizes that Will heard most of her conversation with Ryan.

Visibly angry, Will confronts Hannah, asking her if she believes that he killed April. Hannah is now more unsure than ever about Will and views his rage and proximity to her as a threat. Hannah asks Will if he murdered April, and his reply offers neither a confession nor a denial. Hannah grabs her phone and runs barefoot out the door. Will chases her into the street, where she narrowly avoids being hit by a taxi. She enters the cab and asks the driver to take her to Hugh’s apartment.

Hannah tells Hugh about the fight. He tells her that he’s confident he heard Will’s voice in his room on the night of April’s murder. Hannah is distraught and struggles to accept the realization that Will likely killed April. Hugh asks Hannah if Will can track her phone, and she reveals a blacked-out screen. Hugh cooks Hannah’s breakfast and draws her a bath. In the bathroom, Hannah feels very cold and starts shaking uncontrollably. Hugh tells Hannah that she’s in shock. He carries her to his guest bed and brings her a sweet tea, which Hannah drinks. She swiftly falls asleep.

Six hours later, Hannah wakes up feeling hungover. Hugh tells Hannah that he has made an appointment for her to give a statement about Will to the police. Hannah feels groggy as they enter Hugh’s car, and she drinks water from a bottle that Hugh gives her, noticing a chemical taste. She falls asleep again as Hugh starts driving. Upon waking, she realizes that Hugh has driven out of Edinburgh into a rural area. Hannah becomes skeptical of him as she fully awakens and asks him several times to turn around. Hugh, calm as ever, tells her to relax and nap. Realizing that Hugh must be April’s murderer, Hannah fears for her own life and that of her unborn baby. She discreetly calls Will, hoping that only the screen is broken.

Obviously, Hugh isn’t driving to the police station. Hannah confronts him, and he confesses to killing April and trying to frame Will for the murder. He drives to a cliff by the ocean, telling Hannah he plans to kill her by making her jump, which will look like suicide. He’s hoping the ocean currents will carry her body out to sea to erase all evidence.

Hugh reveals how he killed April. April had planned on faking her death to prank Hannah and asked Hugh to help her by walking Hannah back to their suite, acting like April had died, performing CPR, and then urging Hannah to run for help. April intended for Hannah to return with the police, at which point April would be alive and well, making Hannah look like a drunken fool. Hannah realizes that April planned this especially vicious prank to punish her for having feelings for Will. However, when Hannah left to get help, Hugh strangled April.

Hugh refuses to share his motives for killing April. Hannah’s phone has felt hot in her pocket for the duration of Hugh’s confessions, indicating that her call to Will was successful. Hugh pulls a gun from his pocket, hits Hannah in the stomach, and then makes her walk to the cliff’s edge. Just as Hannah thinks she’s about to die, Will arrives and tackles Hugh. As they grapple on the ground, Hannah dives for the gun, but Hugh recovers it first. Will dives between them, tackling Hugh again to protect Hannah. In the ensuing scuffle, the gun goes off twice. The following chapters clarify that it is Hugh who dies, while Will collapses due to his injuries yet survives.

Hannah, Emily, and Ryan take a funeral car to a crematorium for Hugh’s funeral. Hannah reflects on the deeply tragic nature of these circumstances and wishes that Will was there to hold her hand. She resolves to get through the funeral regardless.

Hannah visits Will in the hospital as his doctor gives him an update regarding his discharge the following day. He shares a news article with Hannah that exonerates Neville in April’s murder. Hannah also reflects on the night Hugh died, thinking about how Will almost died. The police initially suspected Hannah as the criminal, but Will recorded the phone call during which Hugh confessed to his crimes and his intention to kill Hannah. She remains unsettled because Hugh’s motives for murdering April are unknown.

Hannah calls November to discuss their shared memories of April, specifically April’s comments about Hugh. November remembers that April said she didn’t think Hugh belonged at Pelham. Hannah recalls how April discussed a friend from prep school who helped students cheat on their exams. She realizes that April must have known Hugh cheated to get into school and was using this knowledge as extortion—to coerce him to write prescriptions for her for dextroamphetamine. Hannah remembers how Hugh always seemed very uncomfortable around April but always gave in to her demands.

Geraint emails Hannah to let her know that he’s starting a new podcast focusing on April’s life instead of her death. In addition, he wants to cast light on what happened to April’s family after her death and how the media’s attention negatively impacted their lives. November will contribute to the project. He’ll play recorded interviews of Neville from prison as well. Geraint invites Hannah to contribute as a guest as a way to share her side of the story directly. Hannah declines, telling Geraint she’s ready to move on. She deletes her email folder labeled “Requests.”