After Thea warns Avery that the last girl connected to the Hawthorne brothers and their house died, Avery leaves the cafeteria unsettled. Avery tries to find somewhere to hide before class, replaying Thea’s words and questioning whether Thea might have been telling the truth.

Xander Hawthorne appears from a lab carrying a smoking robotic dragon and tries to distract Avery with jokes. When Xander notices Avery’s mood, he correctly guesses that Thea has upset her. Avery refuses to discuss Thea, so Xander shifts the conversation to Jameson’s visit to Avery’s room and asks whether Jameson showed Avery his letter.

Avery admits that Jameson believes the letter is a clue. Xander then leads Avery through the school and reveals that Tobias Hawthorne was born without a middle name, complicating the significance of the signature on Jameson’s letter and Avery’s own letter with three initials. When Avery asks to see Xander’s letter, Xander refuses, making clear that he may also be playing the game.

Xander brings Avery to the school archive, calling it a safe place where Thea will not follow. Avery asks whether Xander is coming in, but Xander says he cannot and leaves without explaining why. Avery is left with more questions about the Hawthornes, Tobias’s clues, Xander’s motives, and the dead girl Thea mentioned.