After leaving Mellie’s earshot, Avery confronts Toby about whether he intends to keep Eve secret. Toby directs Avery to a car and tells Avery to drive north, but Avery demands answers about Eve, Avery’s mother, and Toby’s connection to Avery’s birth.

Toby admits that although Avery is not biologically his, Toby has always considered Avery his. Toby explains that Hannah had promised never to tell Avery about Toby or the Hawthornes, but Hannah’s “secret” about Avery’s birth was that Toby was present during a terrible storm, helped Hannah through labor when the ambulance was delayed, and brought Avery into the world.

Avery realizes Toby also influenced Avery’s name. Hannah had planned the middle name Kylie, after Kaylie, and Ricky’s surname, but Toby suggested “Avery,” making Avery Kylie Grambs an anagram for “A Very Risky Gamble.” Toby signed the birth certificate with Ricky’s name and then disappeared again because Tobias Hawthorne was still searching for him.

Avery challenges Toby’s lifelong exile, arguing that Toby chose self-punishment over Hannah and over everyone who loved him. Toby insists that the Hawthorne name and fortune are poisonous and that Toby must stay hidden now to protect Eve from the media, danger, and consequences that already surround Avery. Toby calls both Eve and Avery his daughters, devastating Avery and strengthening Avery’s desire for Toby to stay.

Avery tries one more time to stop Toby by revealing that Avery knows about Toby’s coerced adoption, the Laughlin connection, the postcards to Hannah, and Jackson Currie. Toby softens but still refuses to return. When Avery asks about the metal disk Toby once told Hannah was valuable, Toby snatches it from Avery and says Toby is taking it, leaving its meaning unexplained.

Toby kisses Avery’s forehead and implies seeing Avery again would be “a very risky gamble.” Before Toby can disappear, the warehouse door bursts open and Oren’s men enter. Oren steps between Avery and Toby and says it is time for a talk.