Epilogue: One Year Later — What Happens Next for Avery and the Hawthornes

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

Chapter 87 opens one year after Avery Grambs inherited the Hawthorne fortune. She grants a single, carefully prepared interview at Hawthorne House, in a room the staff calls the Nook. The interviewer, a well-known humanitarian media figure, asks about Avery's life at nineteen.

Avery explains that her wealth never feels normal. She has traveled widely, collecting keepsakes from each place, and she describes the Nook as a space that bears her personal mark. When asked about Jameson Hawthorne, she smiles and says he is still a thrill seeker, but also much more. She reveals that the Hawthorne brothers turned her decision to give away most of the fortune into a game.

Avery confirms that she has given away 94% of her assets, keeping two billion dollars. She established the Hannah the Same Backward as Forward Foundation, named after a personal mystery she declines to explain. The foundation has a five-year deadline to distribute all the money, and it accepts proposals from anyone. The board includes Nobel laureates, activists under eighteen, domestic abuse survivors, and formerly incarcerated people. Avery says she wants the best ideas from anyone, anywhere.

When asked why she is giving away so much, Avery rejects the label of saint. She points out that she kept two billion dollars, which she cannot realistically spend in a lifetime. She says that at a certain point, a fortune is about power, and she does not believe anyone should hold that kind of power—certainly not herself. She wonders if Vincent Blake or Eve might be watching.

The interviewer raises the brothers' recent headlines: Grayson dropped out of Harvard, Jameson has had legal brushes on three continents, and Xander works as a mechanic. Avery corrects the framing. Xander works with Isaiah on new technology, Grayson left Harvard to focus on giving away the money, and Jameson's arrests stem from dares—specifically, dares Avery gave him. She adds that Nash tends bar and tastes cupcakes. She insists the brothers are exactly where they should be, no longer living under Tobias Hawthorne's expectations.

Avery deflects rumors of Nash's engagement to her sister. She then outlines her own plans: more travel, and after a gap year or two, she will study actuarial science at UConn to learn statistical risk assessment. She mentions that Jameson has already started talking about Yale's secret societies.

Finally, Avery reveals the real reason for the interview. She announces an annual contest with substantial prize money, which she calls The Grandest Game. Some years it will be open to the public; other years it will be by exclusive invitation. She says she will have help from the brothers, Alisa, Oren, Rebecca, and Thea. Holding up a gold card etched with a complicated design, she declares that the game starts right now.

Key Events

Avery grants her first interview in a year, at Hawthorne House, in the Nook.
She confirms she gave away 94% of her assets, keeping two billion dollars.
She reveals the foundation's name and its five-year deadline to distribute all funds.
She explains the foundation's open application process and diverse board.
She addresses the brothers' current lives: Grayson left Harvard, Jameson faces legal trouble from dares, Xander works as a mechanic, Nash tends bar.
She deflects rumors of Nash's engagement to her sister.
She announces plans to travel and to study actuarial science at UConn.
She unveils The Grandest Game, an annual contest, and shows a gold card.
She declares the game starts immediately.

Character Development

Avery has grown from a teenager thrust into a fortune into a deliberate architect of her own life. She no longer reacts to Tobias Hawthorne's games; she creates her own. Her decision to give away most of the money is not impulsive—she has thought through the mechanics of wealth, the limits of personal spending, and the moral weight of power. Her choice to study actuarial science shows a practical, risk-aware side that contrasts with the romantic adventure of travel and games.

The Hawthorne brothers have also evolved. Grayson has redirected his intense intellect from academic prestige to the foundation's work. Jameson remains a risk taker, but his dares now serve Avery's projects. Xander channels his inventiveness into technology with Isaiah. Nash, the most private brother, finds contentment in simple work. Avery's narration makes clear that they are no longer performing for Tobias; they are living for themselves.

Avery's relationship with Jameson is presented as a partnership. She smiles when asked about him, and she admits that his reaction to her giving away money was to turn it into a game. The chapter also shows her growing circle of collaborators—Alisa, Oren, Rebecca, and Thea—who help design The Grandest Game.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Philanthropy and power. Avery's central argument is that extreme wealth is not about spending but about power. She gives away money not out of saintliness but because she does not want that power. This reframes charity as a moral and practical choice rather than a virtue.

Legacy and self-determination. Avery redefines what it means to inherit a fortune. Instead of preserving Tobias Hawthorne's legacy, she dismantles it and builds her own. The foundation's name—a palindrome referencing her mother and Toby—ties her personal history to her public mission.

Games as identity. The chapter echoes the series' core idea that games reveal who people already are. Avery says the games Tobias gave his grandsons did not make them extraordinary; they showed that they already were. Now Avery creates her own game, The Grandest Game, as a way to share that experience with the world.

Experiences over material wealth. Avery's keepsakes from travel, her desire for experiences rather than yachts or jewels, and her plan to study risk all point to a life defined by doing, not owning.

Freedom from expectations. The brothers are described as finally free from Tobias's weight. Avery's own choices—dropping out of the expected path, choosing UConn, creating a contest—reinforce this theme.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 87 serves as the epilogue of the trilogy, showing how Avery has transformed the fortune and the family. It resolves the question of what happens after the inheritance by presenting a future that is active, intentional, and open-ended. The chapter also sets up a new narrative hook: The Grandest Game, which becomes the basis for a spin-off series. By ending with a gold card and the words "the game starts right now," the chapter invites readers to imagine the next adventure while closing Avery's story on a note of agency and joy.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Avery call herself "selfish" for giving away 94% of her fortune?

Avery explains that she kept two billion dollars, which she cannot realistically spend in a lifetime. She argues that at a certain point, wealth is about power, and she does not believe anyone should hold that kind of power. Calling herself selfish is her way of rejecting the saint label and acknowledging that her choice is also a personal preference for a life without that burden.

2. How does Avery reframe the Hawthorne brothers' recent headlines?

The interviewer presents Grayson's dropout, Jameson's legal troubles, and Xander's mechanic job as signs of going off the rails. Avery corrects this by explaining that Grayson left Harvard to focus on the giving-away project, Jameson's arrests come from dares Avery gave him, and Xander works with Isaiah on new technology. She insists the brothers are exactly where they are supposed to be, free from Tobias's expectations.

3. What is The Grandest Game, and why does Avery create it?

The Grandest Game is an annual contest with substantial prize money, sometimes open to the public and sometimes by exclusive invitation. Avery creates it because she likes challenges and wants to share the experience of Tobias's Saturday games, which showed the brothers they were already extraordinary. She plans to design the puzzles with help from the brothers, Alisa, Oren, Rebecca, and Thea.