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Summary: Chapters 70–78
Chapter 70
Landon, the media consultant, explains to Avery that her job is to teach her what to say, how to say it, and how to recognize things she should avoid saying. She instructs her to deliver a line of gratitude if anyone asks about the SUV incident, which, initially, comes off sounding forced and insincere. Landon gently guides her to recognize that she has a lot to be grateful for, and Avery finds the correct tone for the line. They then go through rounds of practice questions, many of which are meant to cause a reaction. Again, Avery initially struggles with keeping her emotions in check.
Chapter 71
Avery leaves her session with Landon and finds her style team waiting for her in her bedroom. As they work, Libby comes in and hesitates before running to give Avery a hug. She apologizes for not having blocked Drake’s number and tells her that she has destroyed her old phone. While the sisters make up, one of the stylists asks Avery if she wants to look like a picture they were given. She does not think much of the question and agrees. They do her hair in a fancy braided updo, bring out the green in her eyes with bold makeup, and give her an emerald necklace to wear.
Chapter 72
Avery checks in with Oren, and he reveals that Drake has implicated himself in the crime while attempting to frame Libby as the mastermind. Given that he cannot be seen coming through the front gate on any security footage, however, Oren predicts that someone familiar with the house snuck him in through the underground tunnels. On the way to the charity gala, Alisa reveals that Avery will be seated at a table with other members of the Hawthorne family, including Zara. She instructs her to behave cordially towards them.
Chapter 73
When Avery arrives at the gala, reporters quickly begin asking her questions. She answers appropriately and heads inside. The first Hawthorne she comes across is Grayson, and he drops his glass the moment he sees her. Stunned, he reveals that she looks exactly like Emily. Thea eventually comes over to comment on Avery’s appearance, and Avery demands to know why she would manipulate the stylists into dressing her like Emily. Insisting that Emily would have wanted it, she admits that she did it to get back at the boys rather than Avery.
Chapter 74
In the bathroom, Avery attempts to take her hair down and asks Alisa, who comes in, for her help. She tells Alisa that the stylists dressed her to look like Emily, and Alisa apologizes. She insists that Avery get back out to the event, however, so that the press does not get suspicious. Avery agrees but demands that Alisa protect Libby. When she arrives at the Hawthornes’ table, Avery sits next to Grayson and attempts to explain to him that she did not dress like Emily intentionally. As she does so, her elbow accidentally hits Alisa’s wineglass, and her drink spills everywhere.
Chapter 75
Avery walks away from the event space and wanders down the dark museum hallways until she finds Jameson, alone, gazing at a painting on the wall. The image, Cézanne’s Four Brothers, is on loan from Tobias Hawthorne’s personal collection. Avery asks him if he even views her as a person, and he apologizes for how he has treated her. Jameson begs her, however, not to let him play the game alone and reveals that he broke up with Emily the night she died. He leaves the painting as Grayson approaches. Grayson asks about Avery’s conversation with his brother before suggesting that he was responsible for Emily’s death.
Chapter 76
Grayson leaves Avery alone at the painting, and she stays there until Xander comes to find her. He convinces her to return to the party and dance with him, and, as they do so, he reveals that he invested birthday money from his grandfather and sold it for one hundred million dollars. Avery worries that the press will think they are a couple from how close they are dancing. He insists that he excels at fake dating, explaining that he fake-dated Thea in order to help her and Rebecca hide their relationship from Emily. Unfortunately, Emily discovered on the night she died that her sister and best friend were dating, and considered it a betrayal. Alisa finally gives Avery permission to leave the gala, and as she goes, Xander instructs her to have a pilot fly her over the Black Wood.
Chapter 77
Avery gets into the helicopter waiting at Hawthorne House and finds that Jameson is already inside. Before they take off, Grayson gets in as well to Jameson’s disappointment. Flying over the Black Wood allows Avery and the boys to notice a ring of thinner vegetation, creating the number zero. Back on the ground, they try to figure out what the four numbers mean, and Avery wonders if they could be a date. She goes through the different possibilities and realizes that one of them, 10/18, is her birthday. Jameson refuses to believe that the clue is a date and eventually explodes in fury. Grayson explains to Avery that October 18th was the day that Emily died last year, and Jameson is convinced that his grandfather is sending him a message.
Chapter 78
Avery struggles to believe that October 18th is the end of the puzzle. Grayson apologizes to her for Jameson’s outburst and admits that he should have known everything was his fault, Confused, Avery asks for an explanation, and he begins to tell her the whole story. The Hawthorne boys knew Emily and Rebecca growing up, as they would come visit their grandparents at Hawthorne House twice a year. Emily’s parents were very protective due to her heart condition, so she played with the boys by sending them to go find various items around the house. After her heart transplant, Emily refused to be held back. Her family moved near Hawthorne House when she was sixteen, and she became obsessed with being around the boys and the experiences they could give her. They fought over Emily, but when she called Grayson to tell him that she only wanted him, he agreed to take her to a cliff called Devil’s Gate. She survived the jump, but her heart gave out minutes later. Grayson reiterates that he is responsible for everything that has happened.
Read an analysis of Grayson’s character development throughout the
novel.
