Page 108 of The Grandest Game

Odette rubbed a thumb across the band of her watch, then turned toward Gigi Grayson.

“I don’t want it.” The sudden fierceness in Gigi’s voice surprised Lyra. “I never wanted anyone to hand any part of this game to me.”

Odette gave a brief nod, then her gaze shifted, sliding over Knox Landry and landing on Brady Daniels. “Care to hold out your wrist, young man?” Odette said.

Brady held out his wrist. Lyra still didn’t quite believe thatOdette was going to do it, but within seconds, Brady was wearing the watch.

Odette had just given away her spot in the Grandest Game.

Why?The question pounded through Lyra.

“This is the second time I’ve been given a place in this game that I did not earn.” Brady looked down, then up again. “Thank you, Ms. Morales.”

Silence greeted that proclamation, broken only by the sound of waves lapping against the dock.

“So that’s it.” Knox recovered his voice first, his words intense but eerily devoid of emotion. “I’m out of the game, Daniels, and you’re not. It must seem like justice to you. You couldn’t have planned it better.”

To Lyra’s ears, that sounded like an accusation. Did Knox think that Bradyhadplanned this? How was that even possible?

“Maybe,” Brady said, staring out at the horizon, “I just had a little faith.”

As the game makers and other players began to depart from the dock, Lyra kept her eyes locked on Odette, telegraphing a message she hoped was very, very clear:You aren’t leaving—not until you tell us what you know.

Odette made no attempt to follow the others up to the house. Grayson stayed put, too, and soon, the three of them were the only ones left on the dock.

“You’re out?” Lyra said hoarsely. Of all the questions screaming in her mind, she had no idea why she started there. “What about leaving a legacy for your children and grandchildren?”

Odette walked slowly to the edge of the dock and stared out at the ocean. “There are some legacies one does not wish to pass down.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Lyra said. A chill spread down her spine.

A light wind blew in off the ocean, lifting Odette’s hair off her back, punctuating the old woman’s silence.

“Since it appears you are reluctant to answer Lyra’s question, try mine.” Grayson’s air was that of a precision shooter, taking aim. “How long have you known that you were going to be leaving the Grandest Game?”

“From the moment the power was cut.” Odette tilted her head toward the sky. “Or maybe it was the moment you saw my drawing, Lyra.”

The lily.“How did you know?” Lyra whispered, the words clawing their way out of her. The dream always started with the flower.

“Whatdo you know?” Grayson elaborated.

Silence.

“Please.” Lyra wasn’t above pleading.

Odette turned slowly back to face them. “A Hawthorne did this,” she said. The old woman closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she repeated herself. “A Hawthorne did this. That is what your father told you, Lyra, prior to his final, dramatic display.A Hawthorne,” she repeated, emphasizing the words. “And the two of you assumed it was Tobias?A Hawthorne, and it never occurred to either of you that theAin that sentence might be an initial?”

An initial?Lyra stared at Odette, trying to make sense of that. She sorted through what she knew of the Hawthorne family tree. The billionaire,Tobias. His children,Zara,Skye, andTobias II. The grandsons,Nash,Grayson,Jameson, andXander.

Alexander.That made no sense. Xander was her age.

“Alice.” Grayson went very still, his eyes finding their way to Lyra’s, his body never moving. “My grandmother.Alice Hawthorne.She died before I was born.” Grayson’s head swiveled back toward Odette. “Explain.”

Odette wasn’t looking at either one of them now. “There are always three.” There was something eerie about the way the old woman said those words, like she wasn’t the first one to say them.

Like they’d been said many times before.

“Three what?” Grayson pressed.