The Inheritance Games

On the way to the gala ball, Oren tells Avery that Drake has incriminated himself in the shooting and car attacks. Oren suggests that Drake gained access to the estate through one of the secret tunnels—which someone, likely a member of the Hawthorne Household—would have had to tell him about.

When Avery enters the ball, Grayson sees her and freezes. Avery reveals, “I thought I’d taken his breath away” (299). However, it turns out that the stylists have made Avery look like Emily, particularly with the hair and the necklace. Thea reveals that she’s the one who gave the stylists the photo of Emily to copy. Thea tells Avery, “It’s what Emily would have wanted” (300).

Avery goes to the bathroom, determined to undo the hair. However, the hairstyle is intricate with its many braids, and she can’t get it undone. Alisa insists that Avery return to the ball. Seated at the gala table dinner next to Grayson, Avery explains to him that she didn’t copy Emily’s style on purpose. However, she’s rattled. She accidentally knocks over Alisa’s wine: “As the wine stained the white tablecloth red, I realized what should have been obvious right from the beginning, from the moment the will had been read. I didn’t belong here in this world—not at a party like this, not sitting beside Grayson Hawthorne. And I never would” (304).

Avery retreats from the gala ball to a quiet room, where she finds Jameson. He reveals that he’s also solved the davenport clue and has the same information as her and Grayson: eight, one, one. There is one clue left, “Blackwood.” Jameson tells Avery he doesn’t care that she’s wearing “Emily’s braid” because he doesn’t care about Emily: “I broke up with her that night. I got tired of her little games. I told her I was done, and a few hours later, she died” (306). They’re interrupted by Grayson. Jameson leaves. Avery tells Grayson what Jameson told her about Emily. Grayson replies: “Did he tell you that I killed her?” (307).

Grayson leaves, and Avery is left alone. Xander finds her and brings her back to the ballroom, where they have one dance together. During the dance, he reveals he invested in cryptocurrencies at a young age and sold them; he’s a multi-millionaire independently of the Hawthorne estate, a fact that not even his brothers know. He also reveals that he “fake dated” Thea to protect Thea and Rebecca, who had a secret relationship. Emily found out about the liaison the night she died; she was angry and felt betrayed. The song and dance end before Avery can find out more. Xander tells her that he knows the final clue and instructs her to go back to Hawthorne House, where there will be a helicopter waiting.

Avery goes to Hawthorne House to find a helicopter waiting. Jameson is already there, and Grayson joins them shortly after. They fly over the woods and see a clearing in the shape of the number zero. They now have all four clues from the Red Will: eight, one, one, zero. Rearranging the numbers, they realize they are a date: October 18 (10 18). This is Avery’s birthday. It’s also the day Emily died. Jameson is enraged by the revelation, thinking its Tobias’s way of reminding him and Grayson that they let a girl come between them—and the disastrous results that it had. He calls Tobias a “sick son of a bitch” and tells Avery, “Congratulations, Heiress. I guess you had the good fortune of being born on the right day. Mystery solved” (316).

Like Jameson, Grayson believes the mystery is solved. He also thinks Tobias’s puzzle is about Emily and how she came between Jameson and Grayson. He tells Avery more about the situation. When Emily realized Jameson and Grayson were both attracted to her, “she turned it into a game. And God help us, we played. I want to say it was because we loved her—that it was because of her, but I don’t even know how much of that was true. There’s nothing more Hawthorne than winning” (320). Grayson reveals that the night of Emily’s death, Emily called him and told him that she’d chosen him. Emily wanted to celebrate by going cliff diving. Shortly after jumping off a cliff, Emily died, presumably because of her heart condition. Tobias blamed Grayson for the incident: “He said that what happened to Emily wouldn’t have happened if I’d put my family first. If I’d refused to play along, if I’d chosen my brother over her […] That’s what this is about” (321).

Unlike Grayson and Jameson, Avery doesn’t believe the game is over and the mystery is solved. She notices a self-portrait of Tobias Hawthorne signed “Tobias Hawthorne X. X. VIII” and realizes the roman numerals can be read as 10 (X) and 18 (XVIII). Behind the portrait, she located a keypad and inputs the code one, zero, one, eight. There, she finds a stained-glass octagon with a fresh riddle:

Top of the clock

Meet me at high

Tell the late day hello

Wish the morning good-bye

A twist and a flip

What do you see?

Take them two at a time

And come find me (324).

Avery tracks down Jameson to tell him that 10-18 isn’t the final answer but another clue. Jameson isn’t swayed, replying: “I told you, Avery. I’m not playing anymore” (327). She also tries to find Grayson, but Nash insists he needs some time to himself. Avery considers Jameson’s and Grayson’s theory: “Is this whole twisted game just a reminder—an incessant reminder—to put family first?” (327). However, she can’t accept it. She’s convinced there is more to find out.