The Hawthorne Legacy (The Inheritance Games #2)(92)

To Tobias Hawthorne, I’d been a tool.

“I understand,” I told the judge. And just like that, it was done.

“Congratulations,” Alisa said as we stepped out of the courthouse. Oren’s men cleared a path through the paparazzi, and I made my way to the SUV. “You’re an adult.” Alisa sounded pretty darn satisfied with herself. “You can write your own will.”

I leaned back in my seat and thought about how carefully my lawyer had been managing my public image, how much she wanted the world to believe that the firm was calling the shots.

I smiled. “I can do a lot more than that.”





Three hours later, I found Jameson on the roof. He was holding a familiar knife in his hands. He faked like he was going to toss it to me, and my heart sped up.

His eyes met mine, and it sped up more.

“I have a lot to tell you.” The wind caught my hair, whipping it around my face. “I met Toby, face-to-face. He has a daughter, but it’s not me. She looks just like Emily Laughlin.”

Jameson’s green eyes looked fathomless. “I’m intrigued, Heiress.”

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a coin. This felt more dangerous than riding on the back of a motorcycle or speeding down a racetrack or getting shot at in the Black Wood. This wasn’t just a rush.

This was a risk—one the old Avery never would have been capable of taking.

My eyes on Jameson’s, I uncurled my fingers, revealing the coin in my palm. “Toby took the disk,” I said. “We might never know what it was.”

Jameson’s lips ticked up at the edges. “This is Hawthorne House, Heiress. There will always be another mystery. Just when you think you’ve found the last hidden passage, the last tunnel, the last secret built into the walls—there will always be one more.”

There was an energy in his voice when he spoke about the House. “That’s why you love it.” I locked my eyes on his. “The House.”

He leaned forward. “That’s why I love the House.”

I held up the coin. “It’s not the disk,” I said. “But sometimes you have to improvise.” My heart was racing. I was vibrating with the same energy I’d heard in his tone.

And like Jameson, I loved it.

“Heads, you kiss me,” I said. “Tails, I kiss you. And this time…” My voice cracked. “It means something.”

Jameson shot me one of those devastating, crooked Jameson Winchester Hawthorne grins. “What are you saying, Heiress?”

I tossed the coin into the air, and as it turned, I thought about everything that had happened. All of it.

I’d found Toby.

I knew my mother’s secret.

I understood, more than ever, why my name had caught the attention of a billionaire who’d only met me once. Maybe that was all there was to it. Or maybe I was one stone meant for twelve birds, most of them still undiscovered.

Like Jameson had said, this was Hawthorne House. There would always be another mystery. Like me, Jameson would always be driven to solve them.

The coin landed. “Tails,” I said. “I kiss you.” I wrapped my arms around his neck. I pressed my lips to his. And this time, the joke was on me—because I wasn’t playing.

This wasn’t nothing.

This was the beginning—and I was ready to be bold.





ACKNOWLEDGMENTS


This book was written and revised in the spring and summer of 2020, largely while I was locked down at home with my husband and small children; The Inheritance Games came out in September 2020, mid-pandemic. Due to the tireless work and incredible support of my amazing publishing team, the book somehow managed to find its audience during this tumultuous time. More than any other book or series I have written, this one owes an incredible debt of gratitude toward the people without whom it simply could not have happened.

First, I would like to thank my incredible team at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. What you have done for the Inheritance Games series and for me as an author astounds and humbles me. I have no idea how I got so lucky as to work with a group of people whose enthusiasm, work ethic, generosity, and just all-around brilliance are so far off the charts that the chart isn’t even visible anymore. What all of you have done for these books—in unprecedented and incredibly challenging times, no less!—is more amazing than I could possibly say. I get tears in my eyes just thinking of all that this team has put into getting The Inheritance Games and The Hawthorne Legacy into the hands of readers.

Thank you to my incredible editor, Lisa Yoskowitz, whose brilliant editorial mind is only matched by the kindness and grace she extends to those she works with. Getting to work together again has been a dream come true.

Thank you to Megan Tingley and Jackie Engel; I cannot begin to express what an absolute joy it has been to be published by LBYR under your leadership.

Huge thanks to cover designer Karina Granda and artist Katt Phatt; the covers you have given The Inheritance Games and The Hawthorne Legacy are nothing short of perfection. I smile literally every time I see them!

To my incredible marketing and publicity teams, thank you, thank you, thank you for helping The Inheritance Games and The Hawthorne Legacy find so many readers. Thank you to Emilie Polster, who has been an incredible champion for these books from day one, and to Bill Grace, Savannah Kennelly, Christie Michel, Victoria Stapleton, Amber Mercado, and Cheryl Lew, for your tremendous work on The Hawthorne Legacy, as well as to Katharine McAnarney and Tanya Farrell, for your help with book one! Huge thanks also go out to the wonderful LBYR sales team: Shawn Foster, Danielle Cantarella, Celeste Risko, Anna Herling, Katie Tucker, Claire Gamble, Naomi Kennedy, and Karen Torres.