Avery explains to the players that she went from having nothing to being a billionaire because of Tobias Hawthorne and his games, and now she wants to offer others the same chance. Jameson tells them that the gems on their ball masks are real and are theirs to keep whether they win the game or not. He gives each player a small gold pin shaped like a key, telling them that these keys symbolically mark the shared experience they’re about to have: “Win or lose, you’re all a part of something now,” he tells them, and Avery adds, “You are not alone” (88). Xander sets up an hourglass filled with black sand, and Avery says that their story begins when the sand runs out.

The players follow Avery and Jameson out to the beach, which is covered with black sand. Jameson mentions that one object is still hidden that none of the players found. He tells them that they have an hour to find it and that they should “[l]eave no stone unturned” (92). Gigi watches the other players scatter to begin examining the rocks on the beach. Brady and Knox argue, and Brady stomps off toward the main house.