The Inheritance Games, #2
The Hawthorne Legacy
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Contents
CHAPTER 72
Overview
Zara reveals that Tobias Hawthorne’s hidden file strongly suggests Toby intended to burn down the Hawthorne Island house, though lightning likely triggered the fatal fire before anyone struck a match. The chapter reframes Kaylie Rooney as a scapegoat used to protect the Hawthorne name while also exposing the Rooney family as dangerous and tied to Avery’s mother’s past.
The discovery that “Jackson” means Jackson Currie, the recluse who may have saved Toby, gives the group a crucial new lead. Grayson, already in Rockaway Watch without Avery, becomes both an investigator and a potential target as Avery realizes how dangerous her mother’s hometown may be.
Summary
After returning to Hawthorne House shaken by her grandmother’s rejection, Avery arrives with Jameson and Xander to find Zara waiting in the foyer with the contents of the safe-deposit box. Zara explains that Tobias Hawthorne had hired investigators to reconstruct what happened before the fire on Hawthorne Island, and the file points to Toby having planned the blaze.
Zara says Toby had been in and out of rehab before his disappearance, met two other boys there, and traveled with them across the country. A waitress later told investigators that Toby had said he was going to “burn it all down,” and Zara reveals that Toby bought a large amount of accelerant before reaching Rockaway Watch. The arson evidence showed the house was soaked and the gas had been turned on.
The new information shifts the understanding of the tragedy: Toby and the others appear to have prepared for arson, but no one lit the fire. A lightning storm likely ignited the gas and accelerant before the plan was completed. Tobias Hawthorne buried the report to protect the family, and because Kaylie Rooney had a sealed juvenile arson record, blame was redirected toward her, aided by Tobias having the record unsealed.
Zara also reveals that Kaylie Rooney came from a dangerous Rockaway Watch family involved in drugs, which gives Avery new context for her grandmother’s violent hostility toward Hannah and the Hawthornes. Zara then explains that a reclusive fisherman named Jackson Currie may have pulled Toby from the water and nursed him back to health after the fire. Jameson realizes that Toby’s postcard instruction to Hannah to “go to Jackson” referred not to Jackson, Mississippi, but to Jackson Currie.
Grayson calls Avery on video and reveals that he has gone alone to Hawthorne Island and Rockaway Watch to investigate the connection to Avery’s mother. Avery warns him that Rockaway Watch and the Rooney family are dangerous, but Grayson refuses to retreat. Jameson tells Grayson to find Jackson Currie near the abandoned lighthouse, and Grayson accepts the lead.
Who Appears
- Avery GrambsProcesses Toby’s guilt, her mother’s dangerous origins, and urgently warns Grayson to leave Rockaway Watch.
- Zara HawthornePresents Tobias Hawthorne’s file and explains Toby’s planned arson, Kaylie’s scapegoating, and Jackson Currie.
- Jameson HawthorneAnalyzes the file, connects Jackson to Toby’s postcard clue, and directs Grayson toward Currie.
- Grayson HawthorneInvestigates Hawthorne Island and Rockaway Watch alone to help Avery despite obvious danger.
- Xander HawthorneListens to Zara’s revelations, reacts in horror, and objects to Grayson investigating without them.
- Toby HawthorneAbsent but central; revealed to have planned the arson and later been saved by Jackson Currie.
- Kaylie RooneyDead girl blamed for the fire; revealed as a scapegoat from a dangerous Rockaway Watch family.
- Jackson CurrieReclusive fisherman near an abandoned lighthouse who likely rescued and sheltered Toby after the fire.
- OrenPresent as security and reacts sharply when Avery realizes Grayson is endangered in Rockaway Watch.