SummaryWith the portrait's origin revealed, its interaction with Elara shifts. It no longer mocks her, but imposes its own memory of heartbreak upon her. The apartment physically transforms into the opulent Granville Ball of 1888. Elara is forced to experience Silas Thorne's humiliation firsthand, not as an observer, but as Silas. She feels his hope, his love, and the shattering cruelty of Evangeline's public rejection and the crowd's derisive laughter. The experience forges a brutal, empathetic bond between them. She now doesn't just know his story; she has lived it, and her own thirst for revenge is magnified by his.---The