He Found My Treasure, But I Found His Secret Fortune
Previously: He thought he could steal my life's work and leave me with nothing. He was wrong. I found more than just sunken gold; I found the truth that would ruin him.
Unearthing the Truth
With a deliberate slowness that infuriated Damian, Hannah dropped to one knee in the snow. Her frost-nipped fingers, clumsy yet determined, worked at the rusted buckles of the canvas bundle. She ripped away the coarse, wet material, revealing not just the dull gleam of metal, but a blinding radiance. Sunken bullion, encrusted with the ancient barnacles of the sea, lay exposed.
Hannah Vance: "You cancelled my charter to steal my dive coordinates, Damian."
Damian’s smug smirk faltered, replaced by a flicker of irritated confusion. He hadn't expected her to find anything, let alone confront him. But Hannah wasn't finished. With a heave, she lifted the massive, barnacle-encrusted object onto the boutique's heated brass threshold. It was a towering 17th-century solid gold Spanish royal monstrance, its cross and uncut Colombian emeralds catching the warm light from the store, refracting it with blinding intensity.
Hannah Vance: "Eighty million dollars of royal Spanish gold, pulled from the reef you swore was empty."
Damian’s breath hitched. His eyes widened, pupils dilating as a chilling realization dawned. He stood frozen, his gloved fingers twitching, the arrogant facade crumbling into paralyzed shock. He knew what this was. He knew its true value, and it wasn't just monetary.
”He knew its true value, and it wasn't just monetary.