Director Chase looks for Nadia in Syd's apartment. When Nadia confirms that she is the only one who has access to her laptop, Chase accuses her of overwriting the DSR security system by deactivating the alarms. Just then, an agent finds the bugged necklace that Sophia gave to Nadia.

Jack and Sloane arrive at the apartment. They then realize that Sophia must be the reason why several missions have been compromised. Jack postulates that Sophia is Elena Derevko, who unfortunately, had found them first. He points out that the string of orchestrated events -- Bill Vaughn's journal and Sloane's clone -- were her handiwork. Sloane adds that they can't let her assemble the Rambaldi artifacts. Later, Sloane tells Nadia that Elena will go to Lazlo Drake with the Rambaldi pieces.

Nadia flashes back to a year earlier in China, where she and Sloane met Drake. Sloane explains that Drake discovered a manuscript - a template describing how Rambaldi's artefacts should be assembled, bringing forth the final prophecy. Drake is taken with Nadia, but he refuses to share information since Sloane is still missing one artefact: the Sphere of Life. He says that Nadia is the only one who can retrieve the Sphere.

They then go to an underground cave in Sienna, where Sloane asks Nadia to obtain the Sphere in a box perched on a podium that is surrounded by stained glass floors. Nadia carefully walks on the creaking glass and opens the box. As she touches the Sphere, she sees a vision of destruction and refuses to bring the Sphere to her father. Sloane calls her a coward and attempts to walk across the glass floor by himself. The floor shatters and he falls through, impaling him. Nadia nurses him back to health.

In the present, Sloane tells the team about Drake and adds that in Elena's hands, Rambaldi's endgame is apocalypse. They attempt to locate Drake, who has been in hiding with the aid of Grayson Wells - a billionaire who financed Drake's earlier Rambaldi research. Sloane tasks the team to approach Wells, and says he will talk to Drake himself.

At Cannes, Sydney poses as a spoiled heiress in a jewellery store and brushes past Wells. She pretends to purchase a bracelet and charms Wells into putting it on her wrist. As Wells sees a Rambaldi mark on Sydney's hand similar to his, he offers to buy the bracelet for her. Later, Wells now tied to a chair, Sydney phones Sloane with the location.

Syd meets Sloane in Mexico. When she expresses her suspicions, Sloane tells her that he would never do anything to hurt Nadia. They approach a trailer; Drake lies dead inside. Syd finds a surveillance video recorded from a hidden camera, revealing Elena chatting with Drake. Before Sydney can listen to their conversation, Sloane stabs her with a tranquilliser and heads out to Elena's office.

Jack arrives in Katya's jail cell and demands to know Elena's operations. In response, Katya asks for a full pardon and immediate release. When Jack says he'll do everything he can, Katya reveals that Elena has been acquiring artefacts for several years through her front -- The Covenant. Katya says she can help him find her, but it is only Irina who can stop Elena from acting on her end game. Jack, if you recall, murdered Irina.

Finding out that Elena is in an industrial facility in Prague, Syd, Nadia and Dixon prepare to infiltrate. Dixon arrives at a loading dock and watches the guards put a prisoner in the van. Sloane emerges from the shadows and points a gun at Dixon. He asks for Dixon's trust and tells him to get out of there. Suddenly, Dixon is shot from behind by Elena and Sloane looks at Dixon regretfully before leaving.

At the hospital, Syd and Jack observe as Director Chase cares for Dixon. Jack admits that he lost sight of the one thing he knew to be true -- that Sydney's mother, Irina, would never hurt Sydney.

Jack crosses paths with Vaughn in an elevator. He says that if Vaughn honestly believes that he can make Sydney happy, then Vaughn has his blessing.

Dixon regains consciousness and talks to Nadia and Sydney. He tells them that he saw a shackled prisoner at the loading dock: Irina Derevko.