CHAPTER 81: GRAYSON

In the black-card suite, Gigi immediately questions Grayson about Eve and the man Gigi met outside. Grayson decides to tell Gigi part of the truth: Eve is Toby Blake’s biological daughter, connected to the Hawthorne family in a complicated way, and dangerous. Grayson warns Gigi to run and call him if she ever sees Mattias again, explaining that Grayson believes Eve caused the FBI to target Gigi’s mother.

Grayson and Gigi return to the puzzle box and retrace the steps for opening it. When Gigi shakes the box, the faux USB key falls out, allowing Gigi to unlock the final compartment. Gigi first wants to wait for Savannah, but after mentioning that Savannah and their mother fought about the trusts, Gigi shares an unexpectedly warm sibling moment with Grayson, including a hug and photos together.

Gigi uses Grayson’s phone to take and send the photos, and Grayson lets his guard down. After Gigi changes her mind and opens the final compartment without Savannah, she finds the journal inside. Grayson knows it is a duplicate, but he pretends to inspect it for the first time and identifies the strings of numbers as a code.

When Grayson leaves the room to make Gigi decaf coffee, Gigi looks through his unlocked phone and discovers evidence of his earlier deception. Gigi sees that the password photo Grayson sent her was not the same as the one in his photo roll, and Gigi realizes Grayson photographed Gigi’s key and that the key Savannah received did not work. Gigi connects those discrepancies to the faux USB key and asks whether Grayson already opened the box and whether the journal is real.

Grayson tries to claim that he was protecting Gigi, but Gigi presses him to explain what is in the journal and what has been removed. Because Grayson believes the secrets must remain hidden, Grayson cannot give Gigi the truth or the real contents of the box. Gigi concludes that Grayson has been sabotaging Gigi and Savannah from the beginning and demands the real discovery; when Grayson says he cannot provide it, Gigi tells him to stay away from both sisters.

Gigi opens the door as Savannah arrives in the hall. Savannah sees Gigi’s distress, looks at Grayson, and Grayson understands that his deception has cost him both sisters’ trust.