Harrison insists the painting displayed isn’t the same one he saw before. Sam tells him to keep quiet for now. He and Emily agree to turn the information over to Detective Mike Meadows, though Emily’s frustrated they’ve done all the work just to hand it off. When they tell Meadows, he dismisses their theory entirely, calling Reed’s death a random robbery gone wrong. Emily pushes back, demanding he take it seriously, but Meadows won’t budge.
Emily’s convinced Moira is at the center of the mystery. Digging into her background, she learns Moira was adopted at birth, later discovering her biological grandmother was artist Angela Wells. Emily reflects on her own parents’ deaths and how it changed the course of her life.
She flashes back to her school days, when her teacher accused her coding club of hacking the school’s bank account. The team was disbanded, and Grace (Emily) and her boyfriend, Aaron, agreed to be more careful about what they’d done.
At the bookstore, Noah calls Emily in with new information. He’s dug into Moira’s past and suspects she may not actually be related to the Wells family, though he has no proof. Emily agrees but says her priority is still finding Reed’s killer.
Meanwhile, Violet struggles to find a Christmas gift for Kyle. Sam stops by and asks Emily to join him in checking on Harrison. When they arrive at his building, they hear someone calling for help. It’s Piper, kneeling beside an unconscious Harrison.
Harrison is rushed to the hospital. Piper tells Emily someone destroyed her art canvas. Later, Sam reports that Harrison is stable but unconscious. He’d been attacked with a toxic substance and robbed. They find a painter’s rag at the scene, which Piper claims as hers because she uses turpentine to clean her brushes. Meadows arrives and promptly dismisses Emily again.
At the gallery, Emily sees Piper’s painting slashed. Piper tells her Meadows already took her statement and that she’s ready to quit the competition. Emily urges her not to give up.
Meanwhile, Noah invites Moira to the bookstore under the pretense of making peace, though Emily suspects an ulterior motive. He offers her a drink to “bury the hatchet.”
Back at the Under the Mistletoe, Emily gets a call from Sam. He’s discovered there was a third security guard on duty the night of Reed’s murder and plans to question Benny again.
Violet’s homemade gift attempt flops, so Emily steps in to help her craft something personal for Kyle.
Sam tracks down Benny and presses him about the cash Harrison gave him and the mysterious third guard. Benny insists he knows nothing. When Sam asks if he lied to Meadows too, Benny looks confused. Meadows, he says, never questioned him.
At the shop, Violet tries again, this time making Kyle a Christmas ornament. Noah arrives, holding a glass Moira used at the bookstore, hoping it contains her DNA. Emily reminds him they’ll need something to compare it to. Then she remembers Moira has Angela Wells’ paintbrush made from her hair on display at the exhibit.
Emily enlists Ray’s help to break in. Ray cuts the security cameras, Noah distracts the guard, and Emily sneaks into the gallery hidden inside a crate. She picks the lock on the display case and carefully pulls a single hair from the paintbrush. When the guard starts to suspect something, Sam arrives just in time, asking for directions and keeping him occupied until Emily slips out.
Emily delivers the DNA sample to Sam. He tells her Harrison has woken up and wants to talk.
At home, Emily allows herself a smile. She’s thinking about Sam and how rebellious he’s been lately. Another flashback shows her teacher being arrested for the school bank hack.
At Sue’s Diner, Sam and Emily meet with Harrison, who shows them a blurry photo of the missing portrait he found on his phone.
Afterward, Emily confronts Sam about investigating her past. He admits it’s true he knows she’s hiding something and only looked into it to protect her if she’s in danger. Emily confesses she’s afraid if he learns the full truth, he won’t see her the same way again.
When the photo is enhanced, it becomes clear: the woman in the portrait looks exactly like Piper. Moira clearly knew the painting’s secret.
Determined to finish this, Sam rejoins the force to fully work the case.
He brings Moira in for questioning and asks Emily to observe. Moira claims she didn’t notice any difference between the two paintings. Emily interrupts, asking how she first learned about Angela Wells. Moira admits she read about her in a magazine.
Sam accuses her of recognizing Piper as the true heir and trying to discredit her, destroying her contest entry and paying Reed to overlook a forged painting swap. Moira insists she didn’t kill Reed. She says Reed was alive when she left, but when Harrison threatened to leak the photo, she panicked, faked the robbery and stole his phone.
When Sam delivers the report, Meadows explodes, furious he didn’t step aside. Sam says he had to release Moira after her lawyers discovered her DNA was obtained illegally. She retracted her confession, but once a judge authorizes a proper warrant, she’ll be back in custody.
Elsewhere, Violet accidentally drops and shatters the gift she made for Kyle and panics. When he walks in, she covers her nerves with an impromptu interpretive dance. Kyle grins and says he loves it. His gift for her is a violet-colored pair of panda socks. It leaves her speechless. She realizes how thoughtful he is and feels guilty for mocking her dad’s old story about giving her mom socks one Christmas.
That night, someone breaks into the bookstore searching for the original painting. Meadows appears only to find Emily there. She exposes him as the thief. He’s arrested for Reed’s murder.
Under interrogation, Meadows confesses. He says he arrived early the night of the exhibit and saw Moira swap the paintings, then pay Reed a large sum. When he demanded a cut and Reed refused, a struggle broke out. Using Reed’s own gun, Meadows accidentally shot him.
With the case closed, Ray announces Piper as the winner of the art competition and the rightful heir to Angela Wells’ legacy. Piper gifts her painting, The Mistletoe, to Emily as thanks for believing in her.
Later, Sam finds Emily at the shop. He tells her his investigation into her past is over. He’s more interested in who she is now. They agree: no more secrets. Emily smiles, feeling a rare sense of peace and possibility.
Then, just as everything settles, she freezes. Across the street, she spots someone she thought she’d never see again.
Aaron.