Inheritance Of Secrets

A key

I didn't know that it would be that date. I knew that it would be about Emily but not that date.

Tonight wasn't just for the two of them. It was also a reality check for me. A reminder of everything I tried to stop but couldn't.

Jameson would talk to me again. Grayson would go back to pretending he wasn't watching me every time I walked into a room. I would go back to being a pessimist who ignored expressing emotions.

I didn't want that though.

I also didn't want to be that girl climbing the lighthouse.

I wanted to be me, the me I had right before I gave up.

There was one way I could get that. I had one last challenge to win.

I moved towards the paper I left on the desk. Holding up towards the light once more I noticed something. It looked shiny. This meant the invisible ink was identifiable by black light but something else. A liquid.

Most likely a lemon.

My favourite.

I rummaged through the only place that had some sort of invisible identifier. It seemed as though there were too many drawers and cabinets at the reception desk.

I reached for the bottom cupboard. Inside was a mini fridge. I opened it. Little icicles lay along the sides, and a bag of frozen lemons lay in the middle of the shelf.

It took a moment to get them to reveal what was on the letter.

Which was almost confusing.

Dear Annabelle,

If you have received this letter I am assuming the first half of the puzzle has been solved. My grandsons did not listen to your warnings and you are thinking of me as a man who wants to hurt his grandchildren so they realise their faults.

In ways you are right. I knew that it would hurt them but they are family. they were slowly destroying themselves and not even you could save them.

You would have to stop playing the game, I cannot allow that. Both of them need you.

There is a key hidden in the room. It will unlock the doors and unlock the last box needed to solve the clue.

You won't be able to just give them the key.

There is a mystery there for you to solve.

You may struggle but life has much more certainty over death.

- Tobias Hawthorne

Tobias Hawthorne was a mystery. Something that seemed impossible to ever work out.

Every letter, puzzle, and clue seemed to lead to a different intention of his.

Luckily I am smart enough to figure it out.

He always knew Jameson would go to Avery. He wants the win the most and understands there will always be clues and things that will be useful during the game. 

Seemingly Jameson is probably the only one who would make Avery interested enough to play. Simply due to his natural delusion.

Grayson would start the hunt for the clues as soon as something evident was found. That's why the first task involved the book in the circular library. Grayson needed to watch his brother and a task like looking through books in an open area was perfect.

Nash would have always paid no attention to the game until he was necessary. The second his brothers needed him he would have been there.

He knew exactly how I would react. Jameson would pull me around getting me to join. I would but I was never fully there. Never fully invested. Not till the last clue we needed when for a second I felt the thrill of winning. That's why it needed to be something to devastate all of us. So I would run off to collect the key for the final clue. Alone.