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I pick up my wine and sip it. “Did you think she was lying?”
“No. But one person’s perception isn’t always the truth.” He flips through the notes. “This is irrefutable proof. They truly loved one another.”
“And my Father was a romantic.” Rubbing my finger across the writing, I swallow. “I gave up wishing for impossible things long ago, but seeing physical proof that he wasn’t a monster—”
“Makes the desire to know the man impossible to ignore?”
Nodding, I stare into my wine glass. “Grandmother showed me pictures of him and I can see why my Mama fell in love.” I slide my finger along my nose. “I think I got this from him.”
“And what a perfect nose it is.”
Snorting, I grab an eggroll and take a bite. “That is so not true.” He leans over and takes a bite of my eggroll. “Hey!”
“Never argue with the way I see you. I won’t stand for anyone speaking poorly of you.”
Shifting away, I eat the rest of my fried treat. “Fine. Just stay away from my food.”
“Was the key inside a book?”
“No.” I wipe my mouth. “The Fabrage egg fell off a shelf when we were moving things around, and I opened it to see if it was damaged. The velvet covering the bottom of the egg had come loose, and when I lifted it, I saw a key inside a small plastic case.”
I stand and grab the egg off the shelf. “Mama told a hundred stories about this silly thing, and I never knew what was true. She told me it was invaluable one second and worthless the next.”
“Do you think she knew about the key or the accounts?”
“I have no idea.” I hand Yuri the egg and watch him open it. “Lifting the velvet, I point to the key. “Her stories were always about the night my father gave it to her and how special it was.”
“Damn.”
“Exactly.” I pick up the painting and turn it over. “After we found the key, Stasia suggested we examine the things Mama spoke most often about. She loved this painting and often said it was her favorite gift from my father. I noticed the frame was loose before I brought it here, so it was easy to pry off the frame. The envelope taped to the back had the password inside.”
“Hiding in plain sight.”
“I guess that’s true of most things. It’s just a matter of knowing where to look.”
“We should have that appraised because it could be the real thing.”
“I would’ve argued with you a week ago, but now I think anything is possible.”
“Even marrying a stranger and falling in love.”
“So much love.” I slide my hand across his cheek and know that no matter what we discover in the Caymans, I am rich beyond measure.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Yuri
I sit beside my nervous wife inside a bank in the Caymans and feel her nails dig into my hand. “The worst has already happened.”
“Don’t say that out loud.” She lifts her hair from her neck. “Why is it so hot in here? Shouldn’t a fancy bank have air conditioning?” Pulling a handkerchief out of her purse, she dabs her neck. “What is taking them so long?”
“It’s been less than five minutes.”
“Feels more like a hundred.” She looks past the glass partition. “I don’t need the water that badly. Where is Mr. Boden? Did he go to the spring and pump the water himself?”
“No matter what happens, we’re fine. If the passcode doesn’t work, we have more than enough resources.”
“I know.”
