Cadman & Gabriel: Chapter 62 Summary and Analysis
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
Cadman is alone in his office when an unsolicited email arrives from an anonymous address. The subject line, “Your Substitute Family,” catches his attention, and he opens it to find passwords and passcodes for digital ledgers registered under Gabriel Macmillan’s name. Inside the first account, Cadman discovers four Bitcoins valued at roughly £190,000. A second account holds an additional £70,000, built from regular monthly deposits that stopped shortly before Gabriel’s AZ addiction took hold.
Cadman is stunned. He had maintained a tight grip on their finances and never noticed any unauthorized withdrawals. As he digs deeper, he finds an abridged version of Gabriel’s internet and Metaverse search history. It reveals multiple searches for Italian investment properties, language courses, and a signed lease for a long-term apartment in Florence, Italy—scheduled to begin a week after The Family Experiment concludes. There is also a flight booked in Gabriel’s name. Cadman initially wonders if this is a Monthly Challenge, but he knows challenges only occur in the Metaverse, and he is firmly in the Real World.
The source of Gabriel’s hidden wealth becomes clear in a third folder. It contains hidden-camera footage and photographs of Gabriel in sexual encounters with other men. Cadman recognizes some faces from the celebrity party circuit, while others are unfamiliar. He cross-references the dates on the photos’ metadata against the deposits in Gabriel’s accounts—they match perfectly. A fourth folder reveals emails Gabriel sent soliciting sponsorship and brand-ambassador opportunities for River, offering to promote products in exchange for cryptocurrency. This is the very practice Gabriel had vocally protested when Cadman had announced similar plans.
Cadman’s realization is devastating. He had believed Gabriel had no choice but to fly abroad and prostitute himself to pay off debts. Instead, the evidence suggests Gabriel had been secretly accumulating wealth and planning an escape to Italy with River—leaving Cadman behind. Cadman had sold nearly everything to fund Gabriel’s recovery, and now he sees that Gabriel had been sitting on a considerable pile of savings all along. He had thought he was the one in control, but the truth is the opposite.
Through his Smart glasses, Cadman watches Gabriel and River, dressed in waders and thick jumpers, fishing for salmon in a fast-flowing river in the Scottish Hebrides—another trip Cadman had organized. He feels like a fool, but he is determined not to be made one. As he watches, a new email arrives from the same anonymous sender. It reads: “I can help you make this right.”
Key Events
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Cadman receives an anonymous email with passwords to digital ledgers in Gabriel’s name.
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He discovers two accounts: one with four Bitcoins (~£190,000) and another with £70,000 in monthly deposits.
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Gabriel’s search history reveals plans for a new life in Florence, including a lease and a flight.
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A third folder contains hidden-camera footage and photos of Gabriel with other men; deposit dates match the photo metadata.
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A fourth folder shows Gabriel soliciting sponsorship for River in exchange for cryptocurrency—a practice he had previously condemned.
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Cadman realizes Gabriel had hidden substantial savings while Cadman sold nearly everything to fund Gabriel’s recovery.
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Cadman watches Gabriel and River fishing in the Hebrides via Smart glasses, feeling betrayed.
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A second email from the same sender offers help in making things right.
Character Development
Cadman undergoes a profound shift in this chapter. Earlier in the book, he had experienced something like an epiphany during a family trek through Australia’s Blue Mountains, feeling part of something greater than himself. He had pared back his work commitments, cancelled meetings, and begun to prioritize being River’s parent and friend. But this revelation shatters that growth. His trust in Gabriel is destroyed, and his old instincts—control, suspicion, and a desire for retribution—resurface. The chapter ends with him watching Gabriel and River through surveillance glasses, a clear sign that he is reverting to a more manipulative and vengeful mode.
Gabriel is revealed to be far more calculating than Cadman ever imagined. He had been secretly earning money through sexual encounters and planning an escape to Italy with River, all while presenting a facade of dependence and recovery. His hypocrisy is stark: he had protested Cadman’s plans to monetize River, yet he was doing the same thing behind Cadman’s back. Gabriel’s actions show a deep capacity for deception and a willingness to exploit his own child for financial gain.
River remains an innocent pawn in this power struggle. He is unaware of the secrets surrounding him, and his presence in the fishing scene highlights the emotional stakes—both men are fighting for access to him, but neither is acting in his best interest.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
Betrayal and Deception are the central themes. Cadman’s trust is shattered by Gabriel’s hidden life, and the chapter underscores how easily appearances can mask reality. The anonymous email itself is a symbol of external manipulation, suggesting that someone—perhaps a rival or a viewer—is pulling strings to expose Gabriel.
Hidden Wealth and Cryptocurrency represent the invisible power that Gabriel has been accumulating. Bitcoin and digital ledgers are untraceable and anonymous, mirroring Gabriel’s secret activities. The contrast between Cadman’s financial sacrifice and Gabriel’s hidden savings highlights the imbalance in their relationship.
Surveillance is a recurring motif. Cadman uses Smart glasses to watch Gabriel and River, just as hidden cameras were used to record Gabriel’s encounters. This creates a cycle of watching and being watched, emphasizing the lack of privacy in the world of The Family Experiment.
Hypocrisy is evident in Gabriel’s condemnation of Cadman’s plans to monetize River while secretly doing the same. This hypocrisy fuels Cadman’s anger and deepens the sense of injustice.
Parental Sacrifice and Exploitation are also at play. Cadman sold nearly everything to support Gabriel’s recovery, while Gabriel was secretly planning to take River away. Both men, in different ways, treat River as a commodity—Gabriel through sponsorship deals, Cadman through his earlier schemes.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter is a turning point in the novel. It reveals Gabriel’s true nature and shatters the fragile family dynamic that Cadman had begun to embrace. The discovery of Gabriel’s secret wealth and escape plans raises the stakes dramatically, as Cadman must now decide how to respond. The anonymous email offering help introduces a new external force that could either aid or manipulate Cadman further. This chapter also deepens the theme of surveillance and control, setting the stage for a climactic confrontation. It forces readers to question who is truly in control and what lengths each character will go to in order to protect their interests.
Study Questions and Answers
1. How does Cadman’s perception of Gabriel change throughout this chapter?
Initially, Cadman believes Gabriel is dependent on him and has been forced into prostitution to pay off debts. The evidence reveals that Gabriel had been secretly accumulating wealth, planning an escape to Italy, and engaging in sexual encounters for money. Cadman’s perception shifts from pity and trust to anger and betrayal, as he realizes Gabriel had been in control all along.
2. What role does the anonymous email play in the plot?
The email serves as a catalyst for the chapter’s revelations. It provides Cadman with the passwords and evidence that expose Gabriel’s deception. The sender remains unknown, adding an element of mystery and suggesting that an external party is manipulating events. The second email, offering help, further complicates the situation and hints at future developments.
3. How does the theme of hypocrisy manifest in Gabriel’s actions?
Gabriel had vocally protested Cadman’s plans to monetize River through sponsorship and brand-ambassador deals. However, the fourth folder reveals that Gabriel himself had been soliciting such opportunities for River in exchange for cryptocurrency. This hypocrisy underscores Gabriel’s duplicity and makes Cadman’s anger more justified.
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