Avery realizes that Emily Laughlin’s birthday is the same day as the memorial fundraiser Alisa has been preparing her to attend. In the car, Avery confronts Alisa for not mentioning that the event is for Emily, and Alisa explains that Country Day is building a chapel in Emily’s honor.

Avery also notices that Oren is not driving, an unusual break from his close protection since the will reading. The substitute driver says Oren is handling a situation but refuses to explain. Alisa avoids Avery’s questions and instead asks whether Avery knows why Jameson and Grayson took one of her jets.

At Hawthorne House, Avery discovers that Oren’s “situation” is Max, who has arrived unexpectedly. Max jokes about bringing spiritual aid to billionaires, but Avery quickly realizes that it is Max’s eighteenth birthday and that her parents may not have approved her leaving home. Max asks whether Avery has a spare bedroom, and Avery reassures Max that she has plenty.

During a tour of the house, Jameson calls. He tells Avery that Sheffield Grayson’s security is too strong for Jameson and Grayson to get near him unless Sheffield wants contact. Grayson has left their hotel information with a guard at Sheffield’s estate, so the brothers can only wait, and Jameson’s forced humor briefly gives way to heaviness.

After the call, Avery fills Max in on Jameson and Grayson’s trip to Arizona and their hope that Sheffield may know something about the old Hawthorne Island fire. Avery then gently challenges Max about why she is really there, but Max deflects. Avery lets the subject drop and tells Max one more unsettling development: that she must attend Emily Laughlin’s memorial fundraiser that night.