Avery has recovered from her injuries and is in her bedroom, preparing for her first day back to school, when she hears someone in the secret passage adjoining her room. It’s Thea. Avery follows Thea into the passage. Then, someone grabs Avery from behind and puts a cloth over her nose and mouth. As Avery loses consciousness, she hears Thea say, “I had to, Avery. They have Rebecca” (318).

Avery wakes up in a secret room in Hawthorne House, tied to a chair. The room smells like it’s been soaked in gasoline. Sheffield and Mellie are there. Sheffield reveals that he was behind the plane bomb, not Skye and Ricky. Sheffield has kidnapped Avery, hoping this will lure Toby/Harry out of hiding: “You are his daughter. He will come for you” (321). Sheffield used Mellie to get a piece of Avery’s DNA; Sheffield already had a piece of Toby/Harry’s DNA from the Hawthorne Island fire investigation. He ran a test, and it was a match. Sheffield believes that Toby/Harry is Avery’s father. Sheffield sends Mellie away, so it’s just Avery and Sheffield. Avery assumes Mellie betrayed her for money.