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'.
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