The Final Gambit

Avery tries to crack the riddle that “Luke” gave her, with help from Libby, Eve, and the Hawthorne boys. As they struggle to figure out the riddle, they’re interrupted by a call from Thea. She tells Avery that someone has taken a photo of Eve standing outside Hawthorne House, and that the photo’s been published on the internet’s biggest gossip site. The photo has been published alongside a picture of Emily and an article about rumors that Emily was killed by Grayson and Jameson.

Avery texts Alisa, who helps with PR disasters. Xander suggests the Eve photo and Emily article are a “glitter cannon,” designed to make a mess—and distract Avery from solving “Luke’s” riddle. Avery realizes that “Luke” set up the PR fiasco: “‘He wants us distracted.’ He wants to run down the clock. He wants us to lose. Tick tock” (130).

The phone timer is at “6 HOURS, 17 MIN, 9 SEC…” (132). Avery and her friends still haven’t figured out what “Luke” wants. Avery calls Max, who suggests “NIV” stands for “New International Version,” as in the bible (133). Max realizes that the number combination used to open the locked box is a reference to a bible verse: “The book of Luke.