The Final Gambit

The Blake family seal is symbolic of inheritance, wealth, and power, speaking to two of the book’s most central themes. Isaiah, Xander Hawthorne’s father, explains what the seal means: “[I]t meant you had Blake’s blessing to play in his empire as you wished—until you displeased him. If that happened, you were stripped of the seal and the status and power that came with it” (245). The seal shows how a person like Vincent can use his wealth and power to manipulate others—and illuminates the dangerous nature of inheritance.

The seal is also symbolic of the dangers of revenge. Skye Hawthorne, Tobias’s daughter and Toby’s sister, links the seal to the concept of revenge when she explains how Toby stole the coin before he left Hawthorne House: “I know that coin belonged to my father. I know that the great Tobias Hawthorne cross-examined me for hours when it went missing, describing it again and again. […] Based on our father’s reaction, Toby chose his revenge very well” (63). With the theft of the coin, Toby privately conveyed to Tobias that he knew Tobias was complicit in the murder of William Blake, Toby’s birth father. Tobias could not be sure that Toby would never use this knowledge against him; thus, Toby’s disappearance kept Tobias paranoid until the end.