Annabelle's POV

"Or not."

Every single head turned to stare at me.

Xander was the first to speak.

"You came," his voice was filled with excitement. He had managed to get everyone in the same room, and everyone would be there to solve the final clue.

"Well, it doesn't matter if I am mad at anyone," I tilted my head in Jameson's direction. "I am not missing an opportunity to prove I am right."

"You already were Anna," Jameson's voice was full of anguish. He didn't look me in the eye when he spoke. He purposely avoided looking at my face.

I narrowed my eyes, "Of course, I was right about that. I'm talking about why Avery was here."

"You know why he chose me," Avery's face was filled with excitement. She needed to know. Everything she has done has brought her to this moment.

"One reason. There certainly is another."

As amazing as it was that her name was an anagram it couldn't be the only reason. Tobias Hawthorne picked her because of something deeper. This was merely a distraction from the truth.

I took a long look to survey the room.

Nash was worried about his brothers.

Xander was nervous and excited about the mystery ahead. He was also proud of his ability to keep everyone in the game.

Avery was ready for her mystery to be solved. Or she currently thought she was.

I skimmed over Jameson and Grayson. They both had mutual reactions to everything: anger, hurt, and blame. They both blamed themselves for everything.

"Together," Nash began, "This was meant for all of us together."

After Nash spoke, everyone finally started moving. One at a time, everyone went through the entrance to the door. I tried to go last.

"I didn't think you would come back this time," Jameson spoke. His voice was soft and his expression was fleeting. It was almost as if he couldn't decide whether he was angry or sad. He couldn't decide if he hated me or if he wanted me to forgive him. For the first time, I couldn't tell.

Out of everyone in the room, I always knew what Jameson was thinking and what he needed me to do. For the first time, he didn't know what he needed. I couldn't even help him until he figured it out.

"I was never one to stay away for good."

"This time was different."

I paused, "Did you want me to come back?"

The room was empty. The silence was tearing into me. All the air seemed to evaporate from my lungs leaving me me there to suffocate.

I didn't know anything.

"No."

The words hit me fast. He didn't lie.

I smiled watching his eyes finally meet mine, "After you then. It's not a horrible solution I promise."

—-------------------

The room was empty.

Well nearly empty.

In the middle of the room, there was a large black box attached to the floor. It had one keyhole, one for the golden key that was currently in my pocket.

"We need a key," Avery said walking towards the box and ragging her finger along the key slot.

I wanted to wait. There truly was no point.

I headed to the box. My hands slipped into my pockets to reveal my new possession. Once the box was unlocked, the sides unfolded, leaving a small wooden box in the center. On top of the wooden box was Avery's name.

I definitely was right.

"How long have you had the key?" Grayson's voice was sharp. It sounded like it could cut through ice.

I looked back at him, "Around 6 hours. I had my own puzzle to complete," before anyone could ask another question I continued, "Though this puzzle is now for the new Hawthorne Heiress."

Nash nudged her towards the box. She knelt down and Looked around for another keyhole or code. The previous second of panic on her face was gone. All she wanted to do now was solve the problem.

"The letters Heiress," Jameson spoke getting closer to her. Everyone was looking over Avery's shoulder now.

Avery reached for the letter 'A' taking it off the box.

"It's an anagram," Nash commented. "Rearrange the letters."

Slowly each of the letters was rearranged in alphabetical order.

Then she saw it. I recognised the flash of recognition on her face.

"You have got to be kidding me," her face was filled with excited shock. The answer had been underneath everyone's noses the whole time.

Jameson slid closer to her kneeling down as well, "What?"

Avery moved the letters around till the ward was revealed.

A VERY RISKY GAMBLE

"He kept saying that," Xander murmured. "That no matter what he planned, it might not work. That it was..."

"A very risky gamble," Grayson finished, his trailed to mine looking for an answer.

My head tilted, "I suppose it took everyone this long."

Avery turned around, "When did you figure it out?"

"Since the will reading."

Jameson's gaze turned sour, "You didn't tell me."

I shrugged, "I forgot about it due to all the chaos that was caused. I didn't remember until someone brought it up."

"Who," Avery's eyes widened.

"My brother Ethan asked how your middle name was spelt. He also said there was something wrong with your parent when I told him he was right."

Both Grayson and Jameson look disturbed.

"Your sixteen-year-old brother figured out the puzzle with no clues before me," Grayson was truly stunned.

I let out a laugh. "You can both be disappointed in yourselves later. I want to know what is in the box."

Aveyr placed the tiles into place popping the lid open. Inside were six letters. My name was written exactly like the first one I got on the day of the will reading.

Keep trying,

Please.

T.T H

I did try. I always tried. I don't think I could stop.

I nudged Grayson with my elbow.

"All good."

He nodded tersely. Grayson was not 'all good'. One day he would be, probably not for a while.

I looked towards Avery. She looked completely zoned out, her face sad. In her hands was a single sugar packet. 

"I met him," she said whispering. "Just once, years ago—just for a moment, in Passing. Tobias Hawthorne had heard my mom say my full name. He'd asked me to spell it."

I tilted my head in confusion. An old man who she didn't know and had never met before had asked her how to spell her name and it didn't raise red flags. Did her mother teach her anything about not talking to random people? Both my parents told me about stranger danger and they were both psychopaths.

"He loved anagrams more than scotch," Nash said calmly. "And he was a man who loved a good scotch."

"He would have kept track of you," Grayson said roughly. "A little girl with a funny little name." He glanced at Jameson, both of them seeming to be thinking about the same thing. "He must have known her date of birth."

"And after Emily died..." Jameson stared right at Avery. "He thought of you."

"And decided to leave me his entire fortune because of my name? That's insane." 

I could tell the more Avery thought out it the more insane it sounded. The more I thought about it, It seemingly made less sense. Tobias was always one to take many players out of the game at once. Kill twelve birds with one stone.

I pushed down the feeling, "You said it at the start Avery, He was never going to give them the money. He was always going to find something big to do with it."

"It was going to charity," she argued. Avery knew something had to be off with it. "And you're telling me that on a whim, he wiped out the will he'd had for twenty years? That's—"

"He needed something to get our attention," Grayson said. "Something so unexpected, so bewildering, that it could only be seen—"

"—as a puzzle," Jameson finished. "Something we couldn't ignore. Something to wake us up again. Something to bring us here."

"Something to fix everyone," I added.

"I told you, kid," Nash spoke. "You're not a player. You're the glass ballerina or the knife."

A/n

we only have one more chapter left of the first book!!!!

I actually cannot belive I have done this all. Thankyou all so much for reading!!!