# Ending Quality Audit - Chapter 18

id: ending_quality | owner: codex | target: `output/chapters/chapter_18.md`

- `LANDS — scene 1 — final lines quoted: "He had left the chair empty and asked for nothing back... where it charged badly, and went to bed." — what closes the beat: June does not answer Theo; she relocates the phone. — pressure it cuts on: no repair scene.`
- `LANDS — scene 2 — final lines quoted: "She added *Also, is there decent ventilation?*... left the first one in drafts and closed the laptop." — what closes the beat: the Tasker question is not sent. — pressure it cuts on: good offer contaminated by rupture.`
- `LANDS — scene 3 — final lines quoted: "the phone facedown beside the bowl. Then she rinsed the bowl." — what closes the beat: the avoided dinner is paid by soup and silence. — pressure it cuts on: cohort care outside her room.`
- `LANDS — scene 4 — final lines quoted: "*and it worked. ok. sonia's tomorrow at 10...*" — what closes the beat: Mara converts the return into an in-person meeting. — pressure it cuts on: scarf return no longer avoidable.`
- `LANDS — scene 5 — final lines quoted: "not past the gallery, the foil level the whole time like she'd been told." — what closes the beat: June accepts the food-care logistics while avoiding the gallery. — pressure it cuts on: warmth without repair.`
- `LANDS — chapter-final — final lines quoted: "She filled the first nail hole. Wet spackle sat white beside the brighter paint." — what closes the beat: one physical repair, no stay/leave decision. — pressure it cuts on: Friday deadline and partial apartment repair.`

Strongest weak-ending candidate considered: the nail-hole close could have become symbolic summary. It survives because the final wording stays literal and does not explain the meaning of the filled hole.

Chapter verdict: `ENDINGS-CLEAN`.

REVISION ORDERS: none.
