CHAPTER 59: JAMESON

Church bells ring, signaling movement after the latest stage of the Vantage game. Branford reaches the door first and finds it unlocked, allowing the group to leave. Jameson quietly tells Avery that the clue points them toward smugglers’ caves, which must be on the ocean side of the estate.

Jameson and Avery work their way through the massive manor, which Ian had described as more of a childhood home than his father’s properties. Jameson briefly thinks of Ian’s brothers, Simon and Bowen, but pushes the thought aside to focus on the game.

The pair pass through a banquet hall, another white room with a cathedral-like staircase, and finally a foyer that leads to the front door. Outside, Jameson sees gardens, distant rocks, cliffs, and the ocean, then immediately leads Avery toward the coastline.

Jameson runs through overgrown grounds, past koi pools and into a stone garden, despite pain in his ribs. Avery keeps pace and spots a closed gate ahead. When Jameson discovers the lock gives but the gate is stuck, Avery joins him, and together they force it open without needing to count aloud.

As they continue toward the cliffs, Jameson remembers that the key they are seeking might open a box containing his own secret, but he forces himself to focus on the challenge. At the cliff edge, the drop to the ocean is far too steep to descend easily. Avery draws Jameson’s attention to a section of cliff marked by wild poppies, matching the poppy Jameson found in the book, revealing the likely path or target.