Oren brings Avery the mysterious package after checking it, and Avery gathers in Hawthorne House’s circular library with Eve, Libby, and the Hawthorne brothers. The package contains an antique-looking, locked jewelry box with a recently added six-dial combination lock. Because Toby’s abductor previously sent a disk and a photo of Toby beaten, Avery fears the package is another escalation.

Grayson notes that the package reached Avery through school security, suggesting the sender can bypass Country Day’s protections and wants Avery to know it. Oren urges Avery to stay home from school, and Nash extends that warning to Xander, but Avery refuses to let the threat make her hide. Jameson, unusually cautious, agrees that the risk is not worth it, while Eve becomes frantic about opening the box immediately.

Oren says X-rays show a phone inside and is confident the box is not explosive. The Hawthorne brothers crack the combination as 15-11-32, which also unlocks the phone. Avery searches the phone and finds almost nothing except a countdown timer, a calendar entry for Tuesday at six in the morning labeled “Niv,” and one stored contact named “CALL ME.” Grayson and Eve search possible meanings for “Niv” or “N4,” including an SEC investment-related form, but no clear answer emerges.

Jameson offers to make the call for Avery, but Avery insists on doing it herself because the message was sent to her. A man with a deep, polished voice answers and identifies himself only as Luke. Avery demands to know where Toby is and what Luke wants, but Luke toys with her, calls himself an old man with a fondness for riddles, and implies that Avery understands the kind of game he is playing.

Luke confirms that the timer is counting down to their next call. He tells Avery she has the box and the phone and must figure out the next part before then. If Avery does not have an answer by the time the timer ends, Luke warns, Toby will suffer the consequences.