Lucien confronts Mary, revealing he knows about her scam and his daughter's suicide after visiting her.
The fire welcomes, then turns on you. Revenge enters as something half with the living, half with the dead, hungry for pain and happy to dress itself up as answered wishes. Tarot cards get brushed aside right away. This is a warning for scam artists and grifters, and then the story drops into New York City noise, sales talk, and hunger. Everyone seems to be selling satisfaction, lunch, or whatever the next person thinks they need. Sorana feels like another promise. When she tells a man to return Monday, Dave hears proof that hope is still open for business. He hears opportunity everywhere. He pulls Mary toward the best restaurant he can name and barely slows down long enough to explain himself. Mary knows him too well for that. Her questions close in because the celebration sounds less like luck and more like Dave doing something stupid again. The wallet gives him up. He admits he took it from the weird man in the lobby while shaking his hand. Mary pushes back fast. They have already talked about risks they do not need, which makes his victory feel worn-in, dangerous, and too close to home. The cards look like bait: Dubai First Royal Mastercard, Palladium, J.P. Morgan Reserve, and a black Amex. Dave calls it salvation day. To him, the wallet is not petty theft. It is West Palm, a clean future, and Mary beside him. The romance curdles almost as soon as he says it. His tenderness is tied to the same con that may be walking them straight into the payback promised at the start.
