Climax

The story's decisive confrontation — where the dramatic question is finally answered.

The climax is where the question the story has been asking — will she get home, will they get away with it — receives its answer, at the highest point of pressure. Everything before it is escalation; everything after is consequence.

The craft test: the climax should be won or lost by the protagonist's choice, exercising whatever they've learned. A climax resolved by luck or rescue is the note readers write most often after 'late inciting incident'.