From Ruin to Riches: He Stole My Inheritance, But I Found a Treasure He Could Only Dream Of!
Previously: A cold winter dusk, a bitter confrontation, and a hidden treasure. He thought he had me beat, but he underestimated the depths of my resilience and the riches the sea can hold.
The Treasure Revealed
In a sudden, explosive movement, Jack shoved past Armand, his wet neoprene shoulder slamming into the magnate's chest. The ninety-pound salvage chest crashed onto the cathedral stone between Armand's feet with a bone-rattling thud, splattering icy brine. Armand staggered back, his sneer replaced by a mask of paralyzed terror. "Touch that permit and you choke on canal water, Armand!" Jack's voice, raw and rumbling with authority, cut through the wind's howl. Armand’s jaw hung open, his throat convulsively swallowing. With a wrenching metallic snap, Jack tore the padlock free and heaved open the heavy oak lid. Nestled within glistening sea-kelp and melting canal ice lay the prize: a 17th-century solid gold Spanish royal monstrance. Its radiant twenty-four-carat sunburst filigree, encrusted with uncut Colombian emeralds, caught the gaslight, blazing with blinding golden energy. Jack then thrust the stamped Admiralty salvage certificate against Armand's wet cashmere lapel with a sharp jab. "Eighty million dollars of pure Spanish royal gold recovered from the galleon abyss!" he declared, his voice thunderous with triumph. Armand’s skin turned ashen white, his pupils dilating in dizzying disbelief. His knees visibly trembled as he realized the magnitude of his miscalculation.”His knees visibly trembled as he realized the magnitude of his miscalculation.