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Constantine was right – these scrolls would be impossible to sell. They’re priceless beyond belief, and any private collector would have to be so careful not to alert authorities that they wouldn’t want to touch them. Once a collection like this enters the underworld, it stays there – no museum displays, no scholars furiously translating and writing papers on the remarkable find, no earnestly enthusiastic Discovery Channel documentaries to make this remarkable find accessible from the living room of every house in America.
These cylinders have been back and forth across the world, never opened except to check their authenticity, prized not for their cultural and historical value but because they could facilitate Howard Malloy’s shady pharmaceutical deals. They likely facilitated the trade of the deer antler velvet that killed Noah’s brother.
The only person who might have seen this treasure for what it truly is, is Julian August. And now, me.
The daughter of the two men who stole this gift from the world, and the woman who hid it away.
This is my legacy.
“What do we do with them all?” Noah peers over the pyramid of cylinders.
I stare at the stack, the exact question buzzing through my head. This treasure is the key to securing my empire, to making certain I have the resources to topple Nero from his throne. But it also makes me a target. I have to be careful with my next move. No one can know about this treasure until we’re ready.
“These should be in a museum,” Eli breathes. He stares at the stack, eyes wide with awe. “I know some people at Berkeley. They have a world-renowned Classical archaeology department. I can call them to assess the collection and—”
I shake my head. “No. These scrolls are the key to our power. Brutus burned through my father’s money, then Eli made me buy a ton of loud wild animals, and with Grace’s article, Malloy Pharmaceuticals’ assets are frozen, so I can’t get access to that either. We need money to hold onto our empire and get the shipping routes working again, and this treasure will give us the collateral we need to make powerful alliances—”
Eli looks at me like I’ve sprouted two heads. “Hang on, you’ve only just found these documents again. You honestly want to send them back onto the black market? What about its historical value? What about the fact this is your father’s legacy? What if you at least had them translated, or scanned? That way they could be studied—”
I shake my head. “We don’t have time, and I can’t trust a bunch of scholars to stay silent. Not to mention the fact that I’m not the only one searching for this treasure right now. The sooner we get these scrolls out of this house, the safer they will be from Mackenzie.”
“If you give them to a museum, the treasure will be lost to Mackenzie forever.” Eli holds out his hands. “It sounds like the perfect plan to me.”
“Exactly – if we give the treasure away, we lose our ticket to my sister.” I grin. “I don’t want her to think there’s no hope. I’d like to draw her into a trap.”
Eli’s jaw clenches. “I can’t believe after all the trouble this treasure has caused, you want to send it right out into the chaos again.”
“How many times do we have to go through this? It’s not a matter of what I want.” I throw my hands up in the air. “It’s a matter of what’s best for our family. We have to make sacrifices. I don’t think you understand that.”
“I understand perfectly,” he says through gritted teeth.
An awkward silence descends over the room. I glare at Eli. After everything I said in the car, how can he not understand?
“We don’t have to make any decisions about this now,” George says quickly. “The most important thing is that we store the cylinders where they won’t get damaged and Mackenzie can’t find them. Then we can hash out our next move.”
Claudia
We stack the cylinders in the panic room, which has a built-in temperature-control system and dehumidification system. George does some online research and comes back with an ideal temperature range (bless you, George), and we plug that in and close the door.
Gabriel goes out and comes back with a spread of food, and we have a celebratory meal. Everyone is excited, talking about the manuscripts we’ve identified so far, wondering what secrets they might reveal. I smile and clink glasses along with them, but my mind is a million miles away.
Eli’s made it clear what he thinks. And under normal circumstances, I’d agree with him. But this isn’t normal. Nothing in my life is ever normal. The safety of my family is too important to let this treasure fall into the hands of a museum or university. I hate the idea of sending those scrolls off to some Russian oil baron who could accidentally drop one in the ocean, but I can’t think about myself. I’ll do what I have to do.
But not right away. This treasure is my birthright. It gives us the perfect opportunity to do what has to be done. Brutus was right about one thing – my father became a victim of his own moral code. He allowed others to overtake him because he refused to do what was necessary. I won’t make the same mistake, especially not when Mackenzie is so close. And so dangerous.
But how to use the treasure to draw Mackenzie out of hiding?
I slide out from under Noah’s arm and head to Howard’s office. Alone for the first time in hours, I drum my fingers on the desk as I turn over my idea in my head. I pull out my mobile phone and stare at it, my finger paused over Livvie’s number. I drop the phone. Pick it up. Stare at it some more.
I hit CALL.
Livvie picks up on the seventh ring. “Claudia August,” she says. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
I hear noise in the background – glasses clinking, voices chattering, soft piano music. “Where are you?”
“At one of Daddy’s restaurants with Eli’s parents. We’re celebrating Daddy’s new heir.” I hear a door swing. “I was at the bar when I saw your name come up, so they don’t know I’m talking to you.”
“How can they be celebrating? Eli hasn’t agreed to be Nero’s heir.”
