Alisa comes to Avery in the morning and assures her that Zara and Constantine have no strong legal case against Tobias Hawthorne’s will. Alisa explains that Zara risks losing even more by challenging it because Tobias’s prior will left the entire estate to charity, giving the Hawthorne family less than the current will does.

Avery connects this to what she has learned about Tobias as a manipulator and asks when the old will was written. Alisa reveals that Tobias disinherited his daughters twenty years earlier, in the same month he legally added the middle name Tattersall. Avery interprets the name as a possible message and begins to suspect that disinheriting the family may have been Tobias’s true point.

Alisa then reveals the major Hawthorne family tragedy from that same summer: Tobias and his wife lost their youngest child, Toby, in a fire at a vacation home. Toby and three other young people died, though because of the fire and a storm, Toby’s remains were never definitively found. This explains why Skye previously insisted that Toby “disappeared,” not simply died.

Avery asks whether Zara and Skye could challenge the older will by arguing that Tobias was overcome by grief. Alisa says Tobias reaffirmed that will every year and did not change it until the previous year, when he chose Avery. This leaves Avery wondering what happened recently that made Tobias leave the fortune to her instead of charity.

Alisa shifts to public relations, identifying Libby as a major issue because Libby’s ex-boyfriend and mother are speaking to the press. Avery defends Libby’s right to be herself, but Alisa argues that Libby is vulnerable to people trying to exploit Avery’s inheritance. Avery reluctantly agrees to consider a one-time payment and nondisclosure agreement for Libby’s mother, but refuses to pay Drake; Alisa promises to silence him.

Finally, Alisa gives Avery a binder of information and says someone will come to help with Avery’s wardrobe and appearance because Avery is now the public face of the story. Overwhelmed by legal threats, family tragedy, public scrutiny, and the implied makeover, Avery leaves and decides to look for the house’s bowling alley rather than return to the library.