The Hawthorne Legacy

Jameson and Grayson arrive at True North. Jameson tells Avery what they learned: “Sheffield Grayson believes that Toby set the fire on Hawthorne Island” (161). Jameson also tells Avery that Sheffield made it clear he wants nothing to do with Grayson.

Avery goes skiing with Grayson. Grayson tells Avery: “[Skye] sought Sheffield Grayson out, Avery. The man blamed our family for his nephew’s death. He slept with her out of spite. God knows why Skye did it, but I was the result” (165). Grayson also tells Avery about a game his grandfather used to organize for him and his brothers: “To win the game, we had to shatter the ballerina. […] My grandfather told us that as you amass the kind of power and money he had—things get broken. People. I used to think that he was talking about his children” (166). Avery reassures him, “I’m not the glass ballerina” (167). Grayson tells Avery they can work together going forward, as friends. She notices how he emphasizes the word friend: “The word had edges” (167). Their conversation is interrupted by the paparazzi.