Part 4, Chapter 12
Roark returns from his trip with Wynand and happily goes back to his office. He reads in the newspaper an article about the Cortlandt Homes; Gordon Prescott and Gus Webb are mentioned as associate designers. He goes to the construction site and sees that the skeleton of his building is still there, but with horrible, unnecessary additions.
Keating has fought hard to get Roark's plans to be built as they are, but his influence was not strong enough. As a result, the costs go up and Prescott and Webb are allowed to make additions that make no sense. Keating goes to see Roark, asking him what he's going to do, and telling him that he tried. Roark acknowledges that it was partly his fault for giving Keating a task he could not do. He tells Keating he won't do anything to him, and Keating leaves.
Roark goes to see Dominique, and asks for her help. He wants her to go the following evening to the Cortlandt site, on the way home from an appointment, have her car run out of gas in front of the home, and ask the night watchman to get help from a gas station that's a mile away. She is then to leave her car and hide in a trench until she knows she can go back to the car. Roark tells her that her condition must match the condition of her car. She agrees, knowing that he could do this without her help, but wanting to be part of it.
Topic Tracking: Doubles 10
Dominique drives away from a dinner party at which she was the happiest and most entertaining guest they ever had. She notices how perfectly polished the leather car seats are, and how fitting this is for the car's last night.
As the night watchman walks away from Dominique, she gets out of the car and goes to the trench to wait for the explosion. When she has heard it end, she gets up and runs back to the car, gets in the car and uses the broken glass in the car to cut up her body, making it look like she was in the car when the explosion happened. The police come and find her unconscious.
View More Summaries on The Fountainhead
