A whole month had passed since the hostage situation in the Pacific Ocean. During that time, the Diamond family worked on healing and moving forward with their lives. They attended therapy sessions individually and as a group, finding solace in sharing their experiences and supporting one another through the trauma they had endured. As for Bitsy and Helen, they tried to move on and act like nothing had changed, but to no avail. Just like before, Bitsy had turned to alcohol to cope with her feelings. And just like before, Helen turned to distracting herself with work and thinking ahead to the future (wealth and all) to cope.

Within the penthouse atop the Brandenham Hotel, Bitsy was only now rousing herself from a deep sleep exacerbated by her alcoholism.

The first thing to come out of the elderly hotel magnate's mouth was, "Helen! My drinkie drinkie hand is empty!"

Helen couldn't help but facepalm and sigh deeply. "Bitsy, you just woke up."

"Yeah, so? Get me my drink!"

Helen just sighed again. "Mind if I ask what kind of drink you want?"

"Does Lionel still have those Jell-O shots he served for that woman's bachelorette party last night?"

"I guess? You want me to ask him?"

"No, I want you to go rooting through the garbage to find them. Yes, I want you to ask him!"

Bitsy just watched as Helen went down to the bar without another word to get the Jell-O shots from the previous night's bachelorette party. Then, once she was sure Helen was gone, she decided to pass the time by going on her iPhone 13 Pro Max and watching TikTok videos, most of which consisted of cooking hacks of varying quality.

Meanwhile, Helen headed down to the bar to fetch Bitsy a Jell-O shot from last night's bachelorette party. She also hoped to talk with Lionel about what had happened back at Kauai while she was at it. It hadn't been easy dealing with the fallout. There were still too many emotions to process at once. Plus, there was only so much she could do before it all boiled over and she collapsed into an emotional heap. It wasn't that she'd condemned what Tree had done. She didn't. She felt betrayed because Tree would've sooner killed her than faced the consequences that came with killing seven people. Still, it wouldn't hurt to at least try to talk to someone about it. And honestly, who better than Lionel? He'd supported Helen through pretty much everything she'd been through. Maybe, just maybe, he could help her sort through her grief and pain.

"Was I wrong to support Tree?" Helen asked Lionel.

"I mean, she did kill seven people," Lionel replied. "And she almost killed you, so..."

"Gee, way to kick a woman while she's down, huh?"

"I'm just saying. You should count your blessings the police showed up when they did."

"Yeah, I... I guess."

Sensing he knew where the conversation was going, Lionel proceeded to change the subject. "Bitsy sent you down here to get her a drink, right?"

Helen nodded. "She wanted one of those Jell-O shots you served last night."

Lionel raised an eyebrow. "She must be really desperate for a drink if she wants leftovers."

"That's what I thought."

"Honestly, you could use a Jell-O shot yourself."

Helen was taken aback. "What, me? No thanks. I've already got a maladaptive coping strategy. I don't need another."

"Oh, come on, there's always room for Jell-O."

"Seriously, I don't want one. Drinking will just make me feel worse about everything." Pause. "Okay, give me another shot just for me."

"Alright, two Jell-O shots coming right up." Lionel fetched some leftover Jell-O shots from the previous night's bachelorette party and then handed them over to Helen. "Alright, here you go. You should be good to go."

"Thank you."

By the time Helen came back with the Jell-O shots, Bitsy had already immersed herself into a TikTok binge marathon.

Bitsy looked away for a brief moment to see Helen standing there with the Jell-O shots. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Giving you a Jell-O shot?" Helen replied with another question.

"I don't remember asking for two. Did you get the other one for yourself?"

"Yeah, you have a problem with that?"

Bitsy fell silent for a moment before then grumbling, "Just give me the Jell-O shot I asked for. I don't want to think right now."

Helen did so. More silence fell. This time, it lasted a bit longer, but the silence was palpable all the same. Where could they really go from here? Not everyone experienced the traumas Bitsy and Helen had. The ones who did may have handled them better, but who was to say that was absolutely true? For all Helen could've known, they could've been left neurotic wrecks instead, barely able to function in day-to-day life without breaking on everyone around them. It was a universal fact that everyone processed trauma differently. It was what made them human. Trauma could shape them the same way anyone shaped the world. That couldn't have been more apparent than with the hotel magnate and her personal assistant.

Indeed, after a while of saying nothing, Helen asked, "Do you want to be left alone for a while?"

"More than anything," Bitsy replied.

"If you say so."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Just go!"

And with that, Helen just left, a Jell-O shot in her hand. A window of opportunity popped up just as she was leaving, something about an invitation to Steven's 15th birthday party. Rather than seize that opportunity, however, Helen just let it pass by. She knew there was no chance of a repeat of what had happened with Doro's birthday party. Nevertheless, she wasn't about to jinx it. She and Bitsy had been through enough. Besides, there were so many more birthdays in Steven's future. It wouldn't hurt to miss one, and he certainly wouldn't mind if they did. They'd all survive.