The Inheritance Games, #4
The Brothers Hawthorne
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Contents
CHAPTER 53: GRAYSON
Overview
Grayson, Gigi, Savannah, and Acacia discover that Sheffield’s safe-deposit box contains years of photographs of Grayson, including one from his birth, proving Sheffield secretly watched the son he publicly rejected. The revelation forces Gigi to learn that Grayson is her half brother and shatters her view of her father. The box also contains petty-cash withdrawal slips marked “KM,” suggesting another trail in the investigation while deepening the emotional damage within Sheffield’s family.
Summary
Grayson examines the safe-deposit box and realizes it contains dozens of photographs of him taken throughout his life, from his teenage years back through childhood. The discovery unnerves him because Sheffield Grayson had apparently tracked him for years, despite having rejected him when they met.
Gigi pulls out more photos, including one of Grayson as a newborn in a hospital bassinet, and demands to know why her father had them. Grayson tries to stay controlled and explains that Davenport is his middle name and that the box’s alias, Tobias Davenport, connects to Tobias Hawthorne. Savannah then states the truth plainly: Sheffield had an affair with Skye Hawthorne before the twins were born, making Grayson Sheffield’s biological son.
Gigi reacts with shock, anger, and hurt as she realizes Grayson, Savannah, and Acacia already knew. She spirals through the implications, including her earlier mistaken ideas about Grayson and Savannah, and asks whether Sheffield had maintained a secret family. Grayson tells her Sheffield did not; he and Sheffield met once when Grayson was nineteen, and Sheffield made clear he did not consider Grayson his son.
When Gigi asks why Grayson is helping, Grayson says he is there because Sheffield is not, invoking Tobias Hawthorne’s belief in putting family first. Savannah rejects that bond, insisting Grayson is not their brother because Sheffield did not want him. Gigi, devastated by what Sheffield’s affair and disappearance imply about the father she thought she knew, accuses everyone of hiding the truth and runs from the room.
After Gigi leaves, Grayson searches the bottom of the box and finds a thick envelope. Instead of cash, it contains numerous petty-cash withdrawal slips with small amounts and a notation marked “KM.” Savannah lashes out at Acacia with bitter accusations about Sheffield’s possible other women, but Grayson rebukes her, saying Acacia does not deserve that. Savannah breaks down enough to admit she always knew Sheffield wanted a boy, and Acacia embraces her before deciding to leave the contents of the box to Grayson.
Who Appears
- Grayson HawthorneDiscovers Sheffield tracked him from birth and tries to control the emotional fallout.
- GigiLearns Grayson is her half brother and angrily flees after feeling deceived.
- SavannahReveals Sheffield’s affair, rejects Grayson as family, and breaks over feeling unwanted.
- AcaciaSupports her daughters through the revelation and leaves the box’s contents to Grayson.
- Sheffield GraysonAbsent father whose secret photos and withdrawal slips expose deeper deception.