Ricki meets with Ezra at a local Starbucks where she tells him of Della’s identity as Felice’s daughter. When Ricki asks where Ezra’s money comes from, he has another confession. After becoming immortal, Ezra returned to his hometown and confronted Sheriff Rourke—a wealthy man from an influential South Carolina family who had ordered the church fire that killed Ezra’s family. Ezra broke into his house and held him a pistol-point until the sheriff gave him $50,000. Ezra then distributed the cash to other families affected by the fire, as well as Sheriff Rourke’s secret Black descendants, invested in the town, and bought property all over the world.

Ezra’s romantic feelings for Ricki are just as powerful as hers are for him. Ricki is determined to break the curse so that he can become mortal, she can survive, and they can be together. They visit several spiritual specialists with no success. Their last visit is to Mistress Jojo—a goth Wiccan in Astoria who is certain that a simple Bond-Cutting Ceremony (in which a curse-renouncing sentence is repeated as Ezra snips a piece of twine with silver knife) will do the trick. Afterward, Ezra stabs himself in the chest with the knife and the wound promptly heals, proving the method ineffective.