After Avery defeats Toby, Vincent Blake claims Toby as a Blake and chastises him for losing. Avery apologizes, but Toby tells Avery not to be sorry and says Avery reminds him of her mother, making the exchange feel like a goodbye. Avery wants to ask whether she will be allowed to see Toby again, but Blake turns away before Toby can answer.

Blake shifts attention to Eve, who is eager for his approval and the chance to win everything he has promised. Before Avery and Eve begin their final game, Blake has Grayson brought in. Relieved that Grayson is alive, Avery embraces him and rebukes his plan for reckless self-sacrifice, reminding Grayson that they are family.

Avery and Eve sit for the final chess match, with Eve playing white and Avery black. Eve proves unexpectedly formidable, appearing to have absorbed strategies from watching Avery play Toby. Avery recognizes that Eve is driven not only by wealth and power, but by a desperate desire to be accepted by Vincent Blake.

Avery sees a path to beat Eve in five moves, but realizes that winning this game would not solve her true problem. Blake would still keep coming after Avery through money, reputation, pressure, and manipulation. Remembering Tobias Hawthorne's advice to use being young, female, and underestimated, Avery decides to play the long game instead of taking the immediate win.

Avery deliberately lets Eve beat her in ten moves. Eve glows with triumph as Blake congratulates her and dismisses Avery and Grayson, but Avery uses the loss to appear panicked and impulsive. Avery begs Blake for another game, first offering him a favor, then raising the real stake: control of the Hawthorne fortune.

Avery explains that Alisa has prepared trust papers that would place Avery's inheritance under a trustee until Avery turns thirty. Avery offers to name Blake trustee if Blake beats Avery at chess, giving Blake control over the fortune's investments while Avery retains ownership. In return, if Avery wins, Blake must bury the Sheffield Grayson rumors, end his campaign against Avery, and extend Tobias Hawthorne's old armistice to Avery. Blake asks how Blake can know Avery will honor the deal, and Avery says they will call both lawyers if Blake accepts.