S tracks Elizabeth down as she's checking out of the Algonquin -- most likely to find a new secret hiding place five feet to the left -- and vindicates awesome Blair so hard. "My dad left when I was a little girl. I don't know when, or if, I'll ever know why. But I want to know why you left. I know it must not be easy, but I don't think you would have come back if you didn't want to tell your story." Serena is great when she's transparent with herself, which she often is but not as often as that word implies. But this is where it gets real fucking sad, because every word Elizabeth says is a dagger to Serena's heart, and just watching the toll of this story on her is devastating.

"I was nineteen when [Lily] got pregnant. Nowhere near ready to be a [father]. We agreed I'd give the baby up for adoption." But then whence the picture of young Evelyn holding baby Chuck in that locket, that Serena's been holding onto since this morning like a lifeline? You just couldn't walk away from your [daughter]? "No. It was [Lily] who couldn't go through with it. Once [she] saw [her daughter], that was it. [Sh]e even asked me to marry [her]." Serena's intrigued by that: The Basstard is a literal bastard?

"Oh, no. And I wasn't about to be. I didn't love [her]. I told [her] that." So what, [Lily] blackmailed [him] and said [he'd] never see [S] again? Nope. Elizabeth was the one who told Bart to say she was dead. "It was the only way I knew that [you'd] never come looking for me. And that way I could go on with my life as if [you] never happened." Serena begs her to change the story, to have unbearable regrets; begs her father to think of her every second. Begs. But no. "[Lily/CeCe] sent me money every year to keep me away. But the truth is, [they] didn't have to. I didn't doubt my decision." Elizabeth gets worried by how low she's taking S, and finally apologizes. "I know this wasn't what you were hoping to hear," she says, and Serena's sad to know that it shows. "Now you know why it's better if I just leave. My son wants to hate me. I don't blame him."

Serena's eyes have gone dead, but she pulls it together at this one, because it's not true of Chuck any more than it is for her, or for any of us. "I've known Chuck my whole life, and he's better than anyone I know at pushing people away. I don't care what he says or does, but there's no child that doesn't want to know their parent." She gets up, she leaves, she's right. And because it's Serena, who is magical, even this total freaky acting-out on some random lady is going to bring them back around again. She's going to save the day.