The Inheritance Games, #3
The Final Gambit
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Contents
CHAPTER 61
Overview
Avery shifts the investigation away from the old patent and toward Vincent Blake’s missing son, Will. By rereading Blake’s prodigal-son language, Avery and Xander theorize that Tobias Hawthorne may have been the true betrayer of the Blake family, while Will may have been the loyal son who wanted vengeance.
The Blake family seal in Tobias’s possession becomes a much more ominous clue, possibly once belonging to Will. Rebecca’s observation that William can also become Liam introduces a new and potentially personal connection to the disappearance.
Summary
Avery begins questioning whether Toby’s chosen William Blake poem was not only emotional but also a clue to deeper secrets. While Xander spends time with Isaiah, Avery, Rebecca, Thea, and the others wait in the SUV, and Avery has Oren circle the block to draw any paparazzi away from Isaiah’s garage.
When Xander returns, Avery shares her new theory: Vincent Blake’s current moves against Toby and Avery are not truly about the fifty-year-old patent. The patent number identified Vincent Blake as the enemy, but Avery now suspects the real motive is tied to Vincent Blake’s missing son, Will Blake.
Avery reexamines Vincent Blake’s references to the prodigal son and realizes Tobias Hawthorne may have been the betrayer in that parable, not Will. If young Tobias was welcomed into Blake’s world and then took money or power from him, Will may have been the loyal son who watched his father let Tobias escape punishment.
Xander and Avery connect that idea to the Blake family seals. Since Vincent Blake’s son may have been old enough to hold one before disappearing, Avery considers the possibility that the seal Tobias possessed originally belonged to Will Blake. That would make Toby’s hidden William Blake poem more than a literary choice; it could be a clue to Will himself.
Rebecca asks when Will Blake disappeared, and Avery searches for records. Avery estimates Will was last publicly photographed with Vincent Blake around forty years earlier, when Will was in his early twenties. Rebecca then points out that Will is a nickname for William—but so is Liam, reframing the mystery with a startling possible connection.
Who Appears
- Avery GrambsDrives the theory that Blake’s game concerns Will Blake, Tobias, and the family seal.
- Xander HawthorneReturns from meeting Isaiah and helps Avery analyze the prodigal-son clues.
- Rebecca LaughlinAsks about Will Blake’s disappearance and reveals William can also become Liam.
- Thea CalligarisWaits with the group and helps identify Vincent Blake as the parable’s father figure.
- OrenDrives the SUV around the block to divert paparazzi from Isaiah’s garage.
- Vincent BlakeAbsent antagonist whose prodigal-son references suggest a vendetta tied to his missing son.
- Tobias HawthorneRecast in Avery’s theory as the possible betrayer who took a Blake family seal.
- Will BlakeVincent Blake’s missing son, possibly connected to the seal, William Blake poem, and Liam.