The chap­ter opens with Olivia prepar­ing her bee­hives for her impend­ing absence due to Asher’s tri­al. May is a busy time for bee­keep­ers, and she spends the day tend­ing to her colonies, includ­ing those at an organ­ic orchard. She observes the intri­cate work­ings of the hive, com­par­ing it to a bustling city where each bee has a role. Olivia adds extra space for hon­ey stor­age, reflect­ing on the labor-inten­sive process of nec­tar col­lec­tion and the remark­able effi­cien­cy of work­er bees, which can car­ry half their body weight in nec­tar. The hive’s col­lec­tive deci­sion-mak­ing, exem­pli­fied by the wag­gle dance, serves as a metaphor for the demo­c­ra­t­ic process she hopes the jury will emu­late.

Asher’s tri­al begins the next morn­ing, and Olivia notices his healed wrist, now con­cealed by a watch that once belonged to her father. This detail prompts her to reflect on how both Ash­er and Lily used acces­sories to hide their scars, per­haps to shield them­selves from painful mem­o­ries. Olivia recalls her own past use of cloth­ing to con­ceal bruis­es, draw­ing a par­al­lel to Asher’s cur­rent strug­gle. The ten­sion is pal­pa­ble as Jor­dan, Asher’s lawyer, advis­es him to remain silent and com­posed dur­ing the tri­al, warn­ing of the adver­sar­i­al nature of the process. Despite Jordan’s attempts to reas­sure him, Ash­er is vis­i­bly anx­ious.

The arrival at the cour­t­house is chaot­ic, with media swarm­ing Ash­er and hurl­ing accusato­ry ques­tions. Olivia and Jor­dan shield him as they push through the crowd, empha­siz­ing the inva­sive scruti­ny sur­round­ing the case. Inside the court­room, Jor­dan con­tin­ues to coach Ash­er, stress­ing the impor­tance of main­tain­ing a neu­tral demeanor and using writ­ten notes to com­mu­ni­cate. Olivia posi­tions her­self to observe Asher’s reac­tions, while Gina Jew­ett, the pros­e­cu­tor, pre­pares her case. The scene under­scores the high stakes and emo­tion­al toll of the tri­al.

The chap­ter jux­ta­pos­es the ordered, col­lab­o­ra­tive world of the bee­hive with the tumul­tuous human dra­ma of the tri­al. Olivia’s reflec­tions on the bees’ col­lec­tive wis­dom con­trast sharply with the divi­sive and aggres­sive nature of the legal pro­ceed­ings. Her hope for a fair and rea­soned out­come mir­rors the hive’s demo­c­ra­t­ic deci­sion-mak­ing, but the chap­ter ends on an uncer­tain note, leav­ing the read­er to won­der whether the jury will rise to the chal­lenge or suc­cumb to the same chaos that sur­rounds the trial’s out­set.