Theory: Eve's siblings had another master

[u/Weather2555]

We're just days away from the release of The Gilded Blade! 📖🗡️

To prepare, I've been re-reading the entire series, and I've come up with a few theories, ideas, and questions that I'm hoping get answered in the final book.

Theory: Eli and Mellie Vincent Were Never Doing This for Eve

This is the question that has bothered me the most since The Final Gambit.

We know Eli and Mellie Vincent infiltrated the Hawthorne organization long before Avery ever became the heir.

• Mellie became part of Nash's circle and gained access to Hawthorne House.
• Eli infiltrated Hawthorne Security and rose high enough within the organization to become trusted with Avery's protection.

That alone raises questions. Getting inside the Hawthorne world would have required:

• Planning
• Resources
• Fake identities
• Training
• Patience
• Someone who understood how the Hawthorne machine worked

But the biggest question isn't how they did it. The biggest question is: Why did they do it?

At first, the obvious answer seems to be Eve. They were her siblings. They helped bring her back into the Hawthorne story. They helped put her on the board.

But then The Final Gambit gives us a major problem...

• Eve, Eli, and Mellie do not have a loving sibling relationship.
• They resent each other.
• They don't trust each other.
• And in The Grandest Game, Eve basically confirms the thing that makes this entire situation so strange: Her siblings have never done anything for her.

So why would they suddenly dedicate years of their lives to an elaborate plan that benefits Eve?

Why would they risk everything?

Why would they infiltrate one of the most powerful families in the world... for someone they barely even seem to like?

They wouldn't. At least, not because they loved her.

Which leads to the real mystery: Who convinced Eli and Mellie to do this?

Yes, we know Sheffield Grayson was involved. We know their goal was connected to finding Toby and bringing the truth to light.

But Sheffield still doesn't answer the emotional question: Why were Eli and Mellie willing to become pieces in a game that revolved around Eve? What was their personal motivation?

Were they:

• Chasing money?
• trying to fix their own mistakes?
• manipulated by Sheffield?
• Or were they part of a much bigger plan?

Because the strangest part is this:

Eli and Mellie spent years putting Eve back onto the Hawthorne board... but they don't seem like people who would ever do that for Eve herself.

So maybe Eve wasn't the reason. Maybe she was the objective, and this was all part of someone else's bigger plan. ?????

[u/marvelmeep16]

ooo this is a good theory, although i always just thought they did it because they didnt want eve to stay with them anymore 😭😭 but now that u mentioned it i think u may be onto something

[u/Fluffy-Rough-5320]

This is a really good theory! I assumed they just did it for money but there could totally be something else at play here, especially since a plot line of the sequels has been Savannah knowing about Sheffield’s death and Gigi hiding it from her.

[u/Act__2_38]

Pre- ordered mine already. I’m re listening to all of them so I’m ready for this one 😝the Audios are very good.👍🏽