The Inheritance Games, #2
The Hawthorne Legacy
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Contents
CHAPTER 69
Overview
Avery uses the black light on the postcards and discovers they are unsent messages from Toby to her mother, addressed not as Sarah but as Hannah. The postcards reveal that Toby and Hannah were deeply in love, that Hannah cared for Toby after the Hawthorne Island fire while he was injured, amnesiac, and in withdrawal, and that Toby left something valuable for her in Jackson.
The chapter shifts Avery’s understanding of her mother from a woman with secrets to someone directly tied to Toby, Rockaway Watch, and the fire. Toby’s apology for the fire and for Hannah’s sister connects Avery’s mother to Kaylie Rooney and raises the stakes around what really happened on Hawthorne Island.
Summary
A black light reveals hidden writing on Avery’s mother’s postcards in the same handwriting as Toby’s wall messages. Each postcard begins, “Dear Hannah, the same backward as forward,” forcing Avery to confront the possibility that the mother she knew as Sarah had lived under another name. Overwhelmed by grief and shock, Avery asks to be alone, and Jameson unexpectedly orders everyone out, choosing Avery’s needs over the puzzle.
Oren remains nearby, and Libby stays with Avery. To steady Avery, Libby shares a childhood memory of Sarah caring for Libby during a neglected birthday week: Sarah baked cupcakes, dressed them in beads and colorful hair clips, tucked Libby in, and loved both girls tenderly. Libby’s story reminds Avery that, whatever secrets Sarah kept, Avery and Libby both knew Sarah as a loving and generous mother.
Avery begins reading the undated, unmailed postcards. One message says Toby hoped Hannah read a letter he left her and, if she ever needed anything, would go to Jackson for something he left there that had value. Avery realizes the postcards were not meant to be sent; Toby was writing to Hannah for himself, and the messages reveal a deep, unfinished love between Toby and Hannah.
Further postcards reveal that Toby had been badly injured after the Hawthorne Island fire, possibly unable to walk, and that Hannah helped him recover. Another message confirms that Toby had lost his memory, was suffering withdrawal, did not know who he was or what he had done, and behaved cruelly while Hannah changed his bandages and cared for him. Avery connects this to Tobias Hawthorne’s letter about a fisherman pulling Toby from the water and recognizes that her mother was in Rockaway Watch after the fire.
As Avery reads on, Toby writes that after his memories returned, he realized what Hannah had been hiding from him and promised to let her go, including a promise to Kaylie. The name Kaylie Rooney shocks Avery because Kaylie was one of the locals who died in the Hawthorne Island fire. In a final discovered passage, Toby apologizes to Hannah for leaving, for the fire, and for what happened to Hannah’s sister, revealing a deeper connection between Avery’s mother, Kaylie, and the tragedy.
Who Appears
- Avery GrambsDiscovers Toby’s hidden postcards and reevaluates her mother’s identity, past, and connection to the fire.
- LibbyComforts Avery with a loving memory that affirms Sarah’s kindness despite her secrets.
- Toby HawthorneSpeaks through unsent postcards revealing love for Hannah, amnesia, withdrawal, and guilt over the fire.
- Hannah/SarahAvery’s mother; revealed as Toby’s beloved caregiver after the fire and linked to Kaylie.
- Jameson HawthorneSteps back from the puzzle and clears the room when Avery asks to be alone.
- OrenRemains respectfully nearby as Avery processes the postcards and their revelations.
- Xander HawthornePrompts Avery to read the postcards before she becomes overwhelmed.
- Kaylie RooneyDead local from Hawthorne Island; Toby’s words connect her to Hannah and the fire.