- Here's the truth as Harris understands it, which he kept out of the papers: Gat, Mirren, and Johnny died in a fire caused by a jug of boat fuel that overturned in the Clairmont mudroom.
- Cadence was on the island, but wasn't with them, and by the time she noticed the fire, it was too late. She tried to rescue everyone, which is how she burned her hands.
- When the firefighters arrived, Cadence was curled in a ball on the beach, unable to answer questions, so they took her to the hospital, where she was heavily sedated.
- Harris declined formal investigation of the fire's origins.
- The next summer, everyone went back to Beechwood, where they rebuilt Clairmont.
- By summer seventeen, everyone, including Cadence, was beginning to recover.