Weeks pass as Avery balances charity galas, prep school exams, nightly conversations with Jameson, and frustration over Grayson’s continued silence. The pressure of her public life and unresolved relationships remains in the background as she tries to stay focused.

At the Hawthorne estate’s shooting range, Avery practices with a gun under Nash’s supervision. Avery dislikes guns, but after being shot at, nearly blown up, and kidnapped since Tobias Hawthorne named her heir, she sees self-defense as necessary despite the estate’s security and her armed protection.

Nash praises Avery’s aim, then casually asks whether Alisa has brought Avery the trust paperwork. Avery recalls Alisa explaining that, because Tobias Hawthorne did not place safeguards around the inheritance, Avery could create a revocable trust managed by trustees such as Alisa and her law firm, supposedly to reduce pressure until Avery is ready to control the fortune herself.

Nash shifts the conversation into a fighting lesson, asking Avery to repeat their rule about fighting dirty. Avery recognizes that Nash is not subtle when it comes to Alisa, but she answers anyway: there is no such thing as fighting dirty if you win.