Royal Heiress (3 page)

“Is it urgent?” Matthew asked, not bothering
to read it.

“No. It’s just a request from the Olympians.
They want Queen Amanda to be their guest for a few days to
celebrate her good fortune.”

“I’ll give this to her when she’s done with
her current business.”

“Thank you. I’ll see you later then.” She
smiled at him as if she was hoping for something more.

But Matthew, either oblivious to the hopeful
look in her eyes or not caring, said, “Okay. Have a good day.”

Cara seemed slightly disappointed but
graciously turned and walked back to where her parents worked.

“She’s not going to give up on you until you
get married,” Katherine warned as they walked into the den.

“I know,” he groaned. “She’s a great person,
but I just don’t like her that way.”

“I understand her situation. Poor girl.” She
sat on the couch in front of the fireplace.

“I’ve never led her on. It’s not like I
flirted with her like Amanda does with all the men.”

Katherine liked Cara a lot and thought it
would be nice if Matthew married her, but it wasn’t her decision so
she kept quiet. Cara was the daughter of Kent and Stacey Russell
who came to live on Raz after one of her mother’s many adventures
as queen. Her mother led such an exciting life, and now Amanda
would, too. Katherine wished she didn’t envy Amanda so much.

“Did the magician find a suitable job for
you?” Matthew asked as he sat next to her.

“Yes, I think,” she answered. When she
noticed his questioning look, she explained, “He wouldn’t tell me
anything specific because then it would ruin the fun of finding out
what I am meant to do, but he did say I’m meant to be on another
planet.”

“Wow. That could mean almost anything.”

“That’s the problem. And he didn’t say when I
would find out either.”

They were silent for a moment.

“That is good news,” he finally said.

She furrowed her eyebrows. “How do you figure
that?”

“You won’t have to live in Amanda’s shadow
anymore,” he replied. “If you’re on another planet, you won’t be
compared to her.”

“That’s true. I hadn’t thought of it that
way. It would be nice to be appreciated for who I am for a
change.”

Any place free of Amanda had to be a good
place to be. Suddenly, she felt much better than she had in a long
time.

Chapter Three

A Local Bank

Cincinnati, Ohio

Planet: Earth

Jake sat at the desk as he waited for the
manager to bring him the safety deposit box. He readjusted his
black tie. He’d figured that since his real dad was worth millions,
then he should dress up in his dark blue suit. It was the only suit
he owned. Usually, he wore nice dress pants and a nice shirt. But
today…

Today was different. He felt different. He no
longer felt like Jake Stafford. He wasn’t sure whom he felt like,
and he had no idea how his inheritance was going to change his
self-image. He just knew he wouldn’t be the same ever again.

“Mr. Stafford.” The manager smiled as he set
the box on the table. “I hope you will consider keeping your
investments open through this bank. Your father was worth $130
million when he died. Now that wealth has accumulated to $2.1
billion. I thought if you knew this, then you would see we were
wise with his money.”

Jake tried to hide his shock but failed to do
so. “Yes, I’ll keep the money at this bank. I’m just here to see
what he left for me in the safety deposit box.”

The manager handed him the key. “The contents
of this box are private. No one has looked at them. The last time
William came to put something in it was twenty-four years ago. We
were instructed to only let his rightful heir open it.”

Jake’s hands trembled as he held the silver
key in his hand.

“The box is yours to keep, and you will want
to keep this copy of your father’s account information.”

Jake took the paper and box.

He shook Jake’s hand. “It is a pleasure to
meet you, and please let us know if there’s anything we can assist
you with.”

“Thank you,” he replied as he picked up the
box and stood up. He turned to leave.

“Oh, Mr. Stafford?”

He glanced back.

“Your father insisted we keep his identity a
secret. He didn’t want the public to be aware of his wealth. Do you
wish the same?”

He blinked. “Uh…yes.” He didn’t know if it
mattered or not, but he figured he could use the privacy for
awhile.

“Very well then. Have a good day.”

As Jake left, he was aware of people around
him, but he felt as if he were walking by them unnoticed. People
went about their lives, laughing and talking. No one suspected the
storm raging inside of him. Why did his dad bother leaving him the
inheritance when he couldn’t have cared less about having a child
in the first place? Jake was tempted to throw the box and the bank
information in the trash, to let his father know exactly what he
thought of him.

But something held him back. It wasn’t the
money. It was the unanswered question of what was in the box. What
would William Nichols consider so important that he had to secure
it for twenty-four years?

He took a cab to his hotel room where he
could open the box without anyone around. When he was sitting on
the hotel bed, he inserted the key into the box. It turned easily.
He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. It was now or never. He
carefully lifted the lid, as if the contents would jump out at
him.

His eyes widened in surprise when he realized
the contents were about the lost city of Atlantis. He had expected
a picture of his father, some personal letters or even more
investment information. But he hadn’t expected this.

He slowly removed the contents from the box.
He pulled the pages of information his father had collected
regarding the latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates for
Atlantis. Then he gathered all of William’s papers. Those papers
included how he’d get there in his private plane, copies of
correspondence he had saved with a man named Captain Reed, and what
he’d do as leader there.

It made little sense to him
as he read through the papers. Finally, he saw another piece of
paper. All it had was an Italian address, phone number, and the
words
man in white
scrawled on it. He studied it, as if examining the paper would
somehow answer all his questions.

He sighed and put it down. The man in white.
What did that mean? He stood up and walked over to the window of
his hotel room. Outside, people went about their business as if
everything was fine. They seemed so carefree, as if their lives
were fully intact. He felt like an outsider looking into a warm and
receptive world that he could no longer penetrate.

Life was much easier before he heard the
contents of his mother’s letter. Overnight, his entire world had
come crashing in on him. The man he thought was his father really
wasn’t, and he had to live with the fact that his life had been a
total lie. He wished he could go back to his state of blissful
ignorance.

His job at the gym might not have been his
dream job, but he had found contentment there. He was beginning to
think of settling down and finding the right woman to marry. None
of those concerns mattered anymore. He had lost his identity, and
it was time to establish his new role in life, whatever that
entailed.

Walking back to the bed, he picked up the
piece of paper with the address of the man who lived in Italy. He
wondered what the chances were that this man was still living
there. It was a long shot, but he had to find out.

As the phone rang, he almost hung up. He
didn’t know this person and hesitated to waste the man’s time, but
he had to know more about his father if he was going to be at peace
with himself.

The man picked up and greeted him in
Italian.

He gathered his nerves and said, “Hello. Do
you speak English?”

“Yes,” the man replied. “Who is this?”

At least he spoke English. He breathed a sigh
of relief. That made his job that much easier. “We’ve never met,
but I think you knew my father. His name was William Nichols, and
he left your number in a safety deposit box at a bank. I just found
it a few minutes ago.” He paused then asked the most obvious
question someone in his position should ask, “Did you ever meet
William Nichols?”

There was an agonizing moment of silence
before the man replied. “Yes, I did meet him on several occasions.
I wasn’t his friend. We were acquaintances.”

“I never met him. It was during my mother’s
funeral that I found out he was my father. I thought if I called
you, you might help me make sense of the contents I found in the
safety deposit box.”

“I will do what I can.”

“This might sound strange, but it’s full of
information about a place called Atlantis.”

The man gasped in surprise.

“Does that sound familiar to you?” Jake
asked.

“Very much so.” He paused for a moment.

Jake waited for the man on the other end to
continue.

“My past with Nichols revolved around
Atlantis and our desire to bring it back up from the ocean,” he
finally said.

“So Atlantis really did exist?”

“Yes. It did. Perhaps we should discuss this
matter in person. There are many details involved, and I would like
to see those papers your father left behind. I can meet you where
you are calling from.”

“I’m in the United States.”

“I can fly there.”

“Okay.” His heart raced. He hadn’t expected
to meet him in person. “Let me give you my current address. I am
staying at a hotel for the time being.” He read off the address and
phone number to him.

“I will take the first flight out of
Italy.”

“Did you even write my address and phone
number down?”

“Oh, there’s no need to. I have it
memorized.”

He was ready to argue with him, but the man
sounded so confident, he decided not to. Worse came to worse, the
man would forget and never meet him. If that was to be the case,
then he would be in the same situation he was now, surrounded by
unanswered questions.

“Okay then,” Jake replied. “Let me know when
you’re coming into Cincinnati, and I’ll pick you up at the
airport.”

The man agreed and hung up.

Jake stared at the phone, more bewildered
than ever. He was one step closer to getting his past settled. All
he could do was wait for the man to show up. He gently hung up the
phone and put the papers back into the box. He had done what he
could do at the moment. It was time to wait.

***

Royal Palace

Planet: Raz

Queen Amanda looked exhausted as she entered
Katherine’s bedchamber later that evening.

Katherine frowned as she put her wood carving
tools down on the table. “Since when did you stop knocking?”

Amanda’s eyes widened in surprise. “You’re my
sister. I didn’t think I had to knock.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’ve asked you many
times to knock before coming into my room. I may not live here much
longer, but while I am, I would like to have some privacy.”

She laughed. “But I’m your sister. I have
special privileges.”

She didn’t comment. Instead she turned back
to her hobby.

“What are you making today?” Amanda asked as
she threw herself on her sister’s bed.

“None of your business.”

“Why are you being so snippy with me? Oh, I
know why! It’s because you’re watching all the men coming to court
me and not you. I understand. I think I can even help. You need to
make yourself more presentable to men. Wear something appealing.
Men love dresses. You never wear make-up. I think if you made an
effort to look better, it would bring out the beauty you already
possess. You’ll be surprised at how many men will notice you
then.”

Katherine whirled to face her. “You have no
idea what a pain you are to deal with ever since you became queen.
You act like everyone is your servant.”

She blinked in surprise. “Aren’t they? I am
the queen, after all.”

“You just don’t get it, do you?” She shook
her head, trying to determine if it was even worth the effort of
explaining.

“Get what?”

“Just because you’re the queen, it doesn’t
give you the right to be insensitive to the needs of those around
you. A queen is to be just, fair, and compassionate. She needs to
rule from her head and her heart.”

Now it was Amanda’s turn to get upset. “I
can’t believe you would say such mean things to me. Of course, I
care. I care very much about other people.”

“When?”

“I can’t believe what I’m hearing. You’re
jealous. Yes, that’s what it is. You’re jealous because I’m the
queen and you’re not.”

Katherine bit her lip at the truth. She
didn’t want to admit it, especially not to herself.

“Things will work out for you, Kathy. You
have tremendous talent. You just need to find a place for it. As
far as finding a suitable husband, once I get married, you won’t
have such a difficult time. Most of my suitors just want to be the
king. They aren’t interested in me.”

This was the last thing Katherine wanted to
hear. She shook her head in irritation. “What makes you think I
want your leftovers?”

“I didn’t mean for it to sound like
that.”

“But that’s what they will be,” she said.
“You just don’t get it.”

“Then explain it to me.”

“It’s not fun to be second best. Even the
planet thinks you’re better than me.”

“Isn’t the queen supposed to be the best
person on the planet?”

Any chance Katherine thought she might have
of a genuine conversation with her sister flew right out the
window. “I feel sorry for whoever marries you.”