Cover of The Inheritance Games (The Inheritance Games, #1)

The Inheritance Games, #1

The Inheritance Games

by Jennifer Lynn Barnes


Genre
Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller
Year
2021
Pages
335
Contents

Chapter 36

Overview

Avery finally examines Tobias Hawthorne’s Red Will using the red acetate Jameson entrusted to her. Instead of revealing a hidden message about Avery, the film isolates the middle names of the four Hawthorne grandsons: Westbrook, Davenport, Winchester, and Blackwood.

The discovery shifts the mystery toward the boys’ parentage and suggests Tobias embedded clues about the Hawthorne family itself inside the will. Alisa’s sharp reaction to Nash also hints at unresolved personal history within the household’s orbit.

Summary

On Sunday, Oren drives Avery to Ortega, McNamara, and Jones so Avery can examine Tobias Hawthorne’s Red Will. Alisa meets Avery in the firm’s nearly empty, highly secured modern building and explains that Tobias Hawthorne’s diversified assets require multiple legal divisions. Oren notes that the paparazzi presence has slowed but will likely return by the time Avery leaves.

Alisa leads Avery to a corner office where a copy of the Red Will waits on a mahogany desk. Alisa says Tobias instructed Alisa’s father to keep the copy there and show it to Avery or the Hawthorne grandsons if any of them came looking. When Avery asks whether Alisa told Nash, Alisa coldly replies that she does not tell Nash anything anymore, revealing lingering tension between them.

After Alisa leaves, Avery uses the square of red film Jameson gave her, remembering the clue: where there is a will, there is a way. As Avery slides the red acetate over the will, the red text vanishes. Most of the document disappears completely under the film, including the bequests to servants, family members, and Avery herself.

The only words that remain visible are the Hawthorne grandsons’ middle names: Westbrook, Davenport, Winchester, and Blackwood. Avery realizes that each middle name is also a surname and wonders whether they are the last names of the boys’ fathers. Avery memorizes the four names, then texts Jameson and wonders whether Jameson will share the discovery with Grayson.

Who Appears

  • Avery Grambs
    Investigates the Red Will and uncovers a clue in the Hawthorne grandsons’ middle names.
  • Alisa Ortega
    Brings Avery to the Red Will and reveals tension by refusing to tell Nash anything.
  • Oren
    Escorts Avery to the law firm and monitors paparazzi and security.
  • Jameson Hawthorne
    Entrusts Avery with the red film used to reveal the hidden clue.
  • Tobias Hawthorne
    Left instructions for the Red Will and embedded the clue Avery discovers.
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