Chapter 25: TWENTY-FOUR – Summary & Analysis
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Previous chapter: Chapter 24
Next chapter: Chapter 26
Book hub: Lost in Time Study Companion
Summary
Adeline rushes back to Daniele’s home, shaken after escaping Constance’s house. She insists Constance is the killer and shows Daniele the photos and video she secretly took. Daniele immediately downloads the evidence, then deletes it from Adeline’s phone to prevent remote hacking. She reveals that Constance, Hiro, and Elliott are coming over for a secret basement meeting, and that their phones will be left on the kitchen island—an opportunity to plant a tracker on Hiro’s device.
After Adeline inserts the tracking bug, she cannot resist eavesdropping. Hidden on the basement stairs, she overhears the scientists debate how to help Sam, who has been sent back to the Triassic. Hiro argues the only way to transport something large is to break it into pieces. Constance wants to tell Sam what to look for; Elliott insists silence is necessary to avoid being shut down. Daniele mentions an idea to send something Sam could find, but she spots Adeline and signals her to leave.
Later, Daniele installs a BuddyLoc app on Adeline’s phone, giving her access to Hiro’s location. When Adeline demands answers about Death Valley, Daniele replies only that it holds “the past. And the future.”
Key Events
- Evidence erased: Daniele copies Adeline’s footage of Constance’s “murder board,” then removes it from the phone to prevent Constance from discovering what Adeline knows.
- Elliott’s private investigation revealed: Daniele discloses that Elliott has hired a PI to follow her, causing Adeline to reconsider whether Elliott could be Nora’s killer.
- Tracker planted: Adeline plugs a small location-tracking device into Hiro’s phone while the scientists meet in the basement.
- Eavesdropping on the Absolom meeting: Adeline overhears the group discuss breaking an object into pieces, the impossibility of digging in Death Valley due to causality, and Daniele’s suggestion for helping Sam find something in the Triassic.
- Confrontation and nerve: Daniele catches Adeline on the stairs but later praises her boldness, saying, “Good for you. You need that for what’s coming.”
- BuddyLoc installed: Daniele installs a tracking app on Adeline’s phone, implying that if something happens to her, Adeline must monitor Hiro.
- Cryptic Death Valley clue: Daniele refuses to share the photos and video, but when pressed about what’s buried in Death Valley, she says it’s “the past. And the future.”
Character Development
- Adeline: Her paranoia sharpens into action. She plants a tracker, eavesdrops, and demands answers. Her fear is balanced by a growing nerve that Daniele openly encourages.
- Daniele: The master strategist reveals more layers. She is protective yet secretive, preparing Adeline for the possibility that she herself may not survive. Her willingness to arm Adeline with both a tracker and a taste of the truth shows she trusts the girl but not completely.
- Elliott: The revelation that he suspects Daniele of Nora’s murder forces Adeline (and the reader) to reconsider his guilt. His impatience and grudge-based logic make him appear more like a desperate father than a murderer.
- Constance: The contrast between her “murder board” and her fragile, kind demeanor deepens the mystery. Her desire to help Sam—even if it means defying Elliott—humanizes her, making it harder to cast her as the sole villain.
- Hiro: He remains the pragmatic engineer, focused on the technical challenge of sending information and objects across time without detection.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- Surveillance and counter-surveillance: The chapter is a chess game of who is watching whom. Elliott has a PI tailing Daniele; Daniele has a security firm; Adeline spies on the meeting; and everyone’s phones are potential listening devices. The location tracker on Hiro’s phone extends this motif into the digital realm.
- Causality and the constraints of time travel: The Absolom group’s discussion emphasizes that cause and effect are not as flexible as wishful thinking. They must plan experiments first because of causality, and Daniele flatly states that digging in Death Valley “doesn’t work that way.” The past cannot simply be excavated on a whim.
- The basement as a symbol of buried truth: The rare Nevada basement houses the literal secret meeting. Adeline’s descent down the stairs mirrors a plunge into the unknown. The echoey, muffled voices and her fear of creaking floorboards turn ordinary architecture into a tension-filled symbol of how close the truth—and danger—really is.
- Nerve as a survival tool: Daniele explicitly praises Adeline’s grit. In a conspiracy where secrets can kill, willingness to confront and demand answers is presented as a necessary weapon.
Why This Chapter Matters
Chapter 25 is the hinge on which the investigation and the time-travel conspiracy both pivot. On the whodunit side, Adeline’s certainty about Constance collides with new evidence that Elliott may not be the killer, resetting the suspect list and raising the stakes of her secret alliance with Daniele. On the science-fiction side, the eavesdropped conversation finally explains what the Absolom team is doing: breaking something into pieces and trying to guide Sam to it in the Triassic. The cryptic reference to Death Valley holding “the past and the future” plants a trail of breadcrumbs for the back half of the novel, while the installation of BuddyLoc and Daniele’s morbid preparation for her own disappearance signal that the danger is about to escalate sharply.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Daniele delete the photos and video from Adeline’s phone, and what does this reveal about her understanding of the danger?
Daniele knows that if Constance is truly a killer, she will try to find out what Adeline discovered—likely by hiring someone to hack the device. Deleting the evidence removes the immediate risk, though Daniele keeps the files herself. The move shows Daniele’s tactical mind: she doesn’t trust Adeline’s phone security and is willing to control the flow of information to keep both of them safe.
2. What do the scientists discuss about the “pieces” and Sam’s mission, and why is causality central to their problem?
Hiro explains that the object they need to send is too large to transport whole without giving away their power signature. Breaking it into smaller pieces is the only viable solution, but that makes it harder for Sam to locate them in the vast Triassic landscape. Constance argues they must give Sam hints, but Elliott fears outside interference. The causality constraint means they cannot simply dig up those pieces in the present because the experiments must happen first—causality must flow in the correct order.
3. How does Adeline’s eavesdropping and Daniele’s reaction reflect the novel’s larger theme of nerve versus caution?
Adeline risks discovery by lingering on the stairs, even when Daniele signals her to leave. Instead of punishing her, Daniele later praises the boldness. The novel repeatedly suggests that survival in this web of deceit requires more than caution—it demands the nerve to push for answers. Adeline’s transition from paralyzed fear to demanding to know about Death Valley shows character growth, and Daniele’s response signals that she may need Adeline to be fearless if she herself falls.