Avery waits in Tobias Hawthorne’s study for Libby and Nash to return from Cartago, while Oren stays close because security has been tightened. When the trophy display wall begins to rotate, Oren draws his gun and orders Avery behind him.

Zara Hawthorne-Calligaris emerges from the hidden passage with a gun, angry that security would not admit her normally. Her tense exchange with Oren reveals that Zara and Oren have been having an affair, though Oren’s loyalty remains with Avery. Zara lowers her weapon and demands to know the truth about the news report claiming Toby might still be alive.

Jameson, Grayson, and Xander arrive and take over the explanation. The brothers tell Zara the full Toby story, including the adoption revelation and Rebecca’s account involving the Laughlin family. Zara is shaken, especially by the cruelty surrounding the Laughlins’ daughter, but insists on hearing the rest because Hawthorne secrets always have more layers.

Libby and Nash arrive with the results from Cartago. Nash says they found his father, Jake Nash, along with a vial of purple powder. Nash reveals that Jake asked about Zara, and Zara’s reaction exposes a painful history: Zara loved Jake, Skye pursued him, and Nash was born from that conflict. Zara admits she cared for Nash as a child and had found Jake for Nash’s sake.

The group pieces together that Tobias Hawthorne sent Jake to Cartago as caretaker and instructed Jake to give Zara the vial if Zara ever came. The purple powder is the missing tool needed to reveal the hidden message on the blank page from True North. Xander produces the note, and Zara and the Hawthorne boys confirm that the powder, a makeup brush, and heat will uncover the invisible ink.