The Inheritance Games, #3
The Final Gambit
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Contents
CHAPTER 25
Overview
Avery opens Tobias Hawthorne’s sealed satchel and discovers that he has left her another deliberately constructed game. The first clue begins with strange objects and a distorted audio file, but Avery decodes the magnetic letters as chess notation for the Queen’s Gambit.
The revelation matters because it ties Tobias’s puzzle directly to Avery’s past with Toby, proving that Tobias anticipated her knowledge and intended her to play as more than a pawn. Avery heads to the game room and chooses to involve Max rather than Jameson, reflecting the strain between Avery and Jameson.
Summary
After Alisa leaves Tobias Hawthorne’s sealed satchel with Avery, Oren waits in the hall and Avery stares at the bag, certain that Tobias has left her another game. Avery wants to call Jameson, but their unresolved tension from the previous night makes opening the satchel without Jameson feel like an admission that something is wrong between them.
Libby arrives with cupcake pancakes and encourages Avery to open the bag. Their conversation briefly shifts to Libby’s wrist tattoo, SURVIVOR, and Avery suggests that Libby’s next tattoo could be LOVE, reminding Libby that her capacity for love is a strength, not a weakness. Avery then decides that this game is hers to play and opens the satchel.
Inside, Avery finds a handheld steamer, a flashlight, a beach towel, a mesh bag of magnetic letters, a USB drive, and a circular piece of blue-green glass that might be a decoder. Avery plugs in the USB and finds a file named AVERYKYLIEGRAMBS.MP3, which resembles an anagram of “a very risky gamble.” The audio plays as distorted noise with a barely recognizable voice, and changing the volume, speed, and direction does not make it intelligible.
Avery reasons that the other objects must reveal how to interpret the audio. She inspects the satchel, steamer, flashlight, and beach towel, but none produces a clue. When Avery sorts the magnetic pieces, she discovers a complete alphabet and digits one through nine, with extras: one B, three P’s, three Q’s, and three 4’s.
After considering the pattern, Avery realizes the pieces form chess notation rather than words: P-Q4, P-Q4, and P-QB4. Avery explains to Libby that these are descriptive chess moves for the opening known as the Queen’s Gambit, in which a pawn is offered as a sacrifice to gain control of the board. Because Tobias knew Avery had played chess with Toby when she knew him as Harry, the clue confirms that Tobias designed the puzzle specifically for Avery.
The chess clue sends Avery toward the game room. When Libby asks whether Avery wants Jameson or Max to meet them there, Avery chooses Max, signaling that Avery is still keeping distance from Jameson while following Tobias’s game.
Who Appears
- Avery Kylie GrambsOpens Tobias’s satchel, decodes the chess clue, and chooses Max over Jameson.
- Libby GrambsSupports Avery, urges her to open the satchel, and helps observe the clues.
- Tobias HawthornePosthumously drives the chapter by leaving Avery a tailored game and chess-based clue.
- OrenStands guard in the hall while Avery examines Tobias’s satchel.