Avery drifts through a series of dreams or near-death visions after the explosion. She runs through Hawthorne House and finds a dead girl at the foot of a staircase, first mistaking the body for Emily Laughlin before realizing it is Avery herself.

The vision shifts to the edge of the ocean, where Avery feels ready to be swallowed by the waves. Each time darkness approaches, Jameson Hawthorne’s voice pulls her back, keeping Avery tethered to consciousness.

Avery then hears Jameson confronting Grayson while Avery is unable to open her eyes or speak. Jameson accuses Grayson of freezing while Avery was dying and argues that Grayson uses sacrifice and emotional distance as a way to stay safe. The fight returns to Emily, revealing that Grayson’s past grief still shapes his response to Avery.

Jameson admits that he also tried to treat Avery as only a puzzle or game, but his feelings became real. He demands that Grayson see Avery as one of them and protect her, invoking the Hawthorne family motto in Latin. Avery hears the words but remains trapped in darkness as the sound of a wave overtakes the argument.

In a final dream, Avery sits at a chessboard across from Tobias Hawthorne. Tobias places symbolic objects on the board: a corkscrew, a funnel, a chain, and the metal disk. When Avery says she does not know what to do and may not want to play anymore, Tobias tells her that the game belongs to Avery’s subconscious and that she can stop if she chooses.