Avery goes to school, then returns to Hawthorne House and tries to call Max. Max is still unreachable, and even Isaac Liu’s voicemail has been overtaken by Max, who warns Avery to stop getting herself killed and reminds her that Avery owes her Australia. Avery decides to see whether Alisa can arrange first-class tickets for the Liu family, even though Avery herself cannot travel until her required time at Hawthorne House is over.

Feeling unsettled by Grayson’s rejection and by Max’s absence, Avery searches for Libby. Avery follows piano music to the music room, where Libby sits beside Nan, both listening with their eyes closed. Seeing Libby’s faded bruises and her idle life in the mansion makes Avery think about Libby’s future, including a possible food truck or travel once Avery has more control over the inheritance.

Libby notices that Avery is upset and offers to make food, her usual way of caring for Avery. When Libby leaves for the kitchen, Nan orders Avery to stay. Nan says she has heard that Skye is leaving, and Avery bluntly answers that Skye tried to have Avery killed. Nan reacts with dark practicality rather than surprise, then laments the state of Alice Hawthorne’s children.

Avery asks about Toby, noting that Tobias Hawthorne changed his will after Toby died. Nan remembers Toby as a sweet, brilliant boy who was good until he was not, and she says his downfall broke Alice’s heart. Nan opens her locket and shows Avery a picture of Toby at sixteen.

Avery is stunned because she recognizes Toby’s face. Jameson enters and asks what is wrong, and Avery tells him that she knows Toby: he is Harry, the man she used to play chess with every morning in the park. Nan insists that this is impossible because Toby has been dead for twenty years, but Avery thinks of the timing of the disinheritance and her mother’s secret about the day Avery was born. When Jameson asks if Avery is certain, Avery takes Jameson’s hand and says she is sure.