Avery explores Hawthorne House, starting with the bowling alley. When she enters her initials AKG into the scoring system, a message flashes on the monitor: “WELCOME TO HAWTHORNE HOUSE, AVERY KYLIE GRAMBS!” (127). She wonders if Tobias programmed this before his death: “Was it you? I asked out loud, addressing the words to Tobias Hawthorne” (128). Avery then goes on to the mansion’s athletic complex, where she finds Jameson, drunk and shirtless, scaling a rock-climbing wall. Avery again notices the scar on his torso. She follows him up and slips, but he grabs her hand and saves her. Avery can no longer deny her attraction to Jameson as she watches him: “Jameson Winchester Hawthorne is a very bad idea […] Stop looking at him. Stop thinking about him. The next year is going to be complicated enough without… complications” (129). She then realizes she’s being watched: Grayson is in the room and he’s seen her checking out Jameson.

Avery and Jameson resume their mission to find a book that doesn’t have a matching cover in the Hawthorne House libraries. They’re joined by Grayson, who reveals that his letter was identical to Jameson’s.