The Inheritance Games

Upon arriving at school, Jameson leaves Avery’s side. Most people at the school seem to intently ignore her, but she’s soon approached by Thea Hawthorne-Calligaris, whose uncle is Mr. Calligaris—Zara’s husband. Thea doesn’t reveal her last name but is friendly, helpful, and the only person to approach Avery. She expresses concern about Avery living at Hawthorne House: “If there’s one thing the Hawthorne family isn’t it’s fine. They were a twisted, broken mess before you got here, and they’ll be a twisted, broken mess once you’re gone” (94). The two girls then run into Xander, who outs Thea’s last name and identity, warning Avery that Thea isn’t to be trusted.

Avery meets the school’s headmaster, Dr. McGowan or “Dr. Mac.” Dr. Mac suggests Avery take an elective called “Making Meaning,” which studies how meaning is conveyed through the arts and includes civic engagement with local museums, artists, ballets, etc. She notes that this will be useful for Avery’s future work with The Hawthorne Foundation, a charity—which Avery has never heard of until now. Dr. Mac is friendly and asks Avery about her passions. Avery tells Dr. Mac she wants to travel.

Avery talks to Max on the phone. Max reveals that reporters have contacted her family, trying to get information about Avery. She warns Avery against watching the news, where people are giving interviews about her. After talking to Max, Avery runs into Thea again. Now aware of Thea’s identity and on her guard, Avery makes a point of not being overly friendly. Then, Thea drops a bombshell: “Think what you want about me. But the last girl at this school who got tangled up with the Hawthorne brothers? The last girl who spent hour after hour in that house? She died” (102).

Rattled by Thea’s revelation, Avery retreats. She runs into Xander, who provides a pivotal clue: He reveals that Tobias wasn’t born with a middle name. He was born simply Tobias Hawthorne. However, he signed Jameson’s letter Tobias Tattersall Hawthorne and he signed Avery’s letter with the initials T. T. H. Avery asks Xander if he’ll show her his letter, but he refuses in a friendly way, saying, “Now, where would be the fun in that?” (105).

Avery retreats to the school’s “archive” (library) to unravel the mystery of Tobias Hawthorne’s middle name. From texting Alisa, she learns that he legally changed his name to add the middle name 20 years ago. She decodes “Tattersall” to mean “He left them all in tatters” (107). She then gets a text from Jameson. He asks: “I see it now, Mystery Girl. Do you?” and points her toward the note’s sign off: “Don’t judge” (108). She realizes it’s the only adage in the letter that’s incomplete. She texts Jameson back, asking “Does ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’ mean anything to you?” (108). He confirms, “It sure as hell does” (108).

Jameson and Avery meet back at Hawthorne House with a mission: Find a book that doesn’t match its cover. They start going through one of the mansion’s libraries, with Jameson warning her there are more rooms to go through and this project could take weeks. While they work, Avery reveals that she met Thea and what Thea told her about a girl dying. Jameson responds, “Her name was Emily” (112). From his tone, Avery can tell that the girl mattered to him.

While exploring the mansion, Avery runs into Grayson. He remains the one brother who is openly hostile toward her. In this instance, he tells her “You should be careful,” reiterating the message two times for emphasis (115). He threatens her, suggesting he’ll go after her family. She responds: “Or what? Or what happened to Emily will happen to me?” (116). His response is unexpected, Avery notes it’s “like I’d gutted him” (116). Avery realizes that Emily also mattered to Grayson.

Libby gives Avery some new gadgets, including a laptop and e-reader. She follows up on Max’s previous advice against watching the news, warning Avery that Drake is giving unflattering interviews about her. Avery’s curiosity is piqued, and she insists on scrolling through the headlines. She finds a video featuring a press conference from Skye and Zara, in which the two women imply that Avery manipulated Tobias into changing his will. They reveal that they have a team of elder abuse specialists looking into the case.

The next day, Avery talks to Alisa—her legal liaison with the law firm McNamara, Ortega, and Jones—about the claims Skye and Zara are making. Alisa assures her the lawyer will take care of it. Alisa reveals that if the current will is deemed null and void, the estate will be governed by Tobias’s previous will—which left his family even less. From Alisa, Avery further learns that the previous will was drafted 20 years ago in August—at the same time that Tobias legally changed his name to add the middle name “Tattersall.” Alisa also reveals that 20 years ago, Tobias lost a son, Toby, in a house fire. Toby’s remains were never found.