Shona is responsible for the wave—when Emily didn’t meet her at the rocks, Shona went to look for her. Emily tosses Shona a rope, and Shona tows the boat toward the prison. Aboard, Emily and her mom catch Mr. Beeston talking into a shell and tie him to a chair. As they travel, Emily’s mom details how Jake saved her life and the two fell in love. They met in secret until he was caught and imprisoned by the merfolk. When they get close to the prison, Emily joins Shona in the water, and the girls dig their way through a weak point in the reef wall around the prison. Emily can fit through a hole but not Shona, and Emily carries on alone, thinking she’s going to see her dad and “desperately hoping it could be true” (165).

The prison’s main entrance is guarded by hammerhead sharks, so Emily finds a way in through bars on the underside of a tunnel. To hide from more shark guards, Emily darts into a cell, where she finds a merman making jewelry. The two stare at each other, recognizing familiar traits, and when the man knows Emily’s name, she realizes, “It was him.