�Is Jenai still in her room?� Kevin asked putting his suitcase by the front door.
�Yeah,� Jakob said. �Nick, Kris, and the babies are with her.�
�Is she packed?� Kevin wanted to know.
�She�s finishing up,� Jakob replied.
�Good,� Kevin said. �We have to leave soon. We have a 3 � hour drive to the airport and our flight leaves at 3: 15.�
�Yeah,� Jakob said.
�What about the others?� Kevin asked.
�They�re ready and are outback waiting to go back home,� Jakob said.
�I�m going to go see if Jenai�s ready,� Kevin said.
�In the meantime I�ll take the luggage out,� Jakob said, as Kevin walked back the hall.
Kevin got to Jenai�s room and she walked out smiling, �Just the man I was looking for.�
�You�re happy this morning,� Kevin stated. �What�s going on?�
�I have some great news for you,� Jenai said. �Come in and I�ll explain everything.� She went to walk in, but stopped. �Hell get the others and I�ll meet ya�s in the parlor.�
�I hope you don�t plan on telling us you�re engaged,� Kevin said. �Because I swear to God I won�t have it.�
�What�s wrong with that?� Nickolas asked smiling and Kevin glared at him.
�I�m warning you, Carter,� Kevin rebutted.
�Don�t mind him,� Kristin said. �He�ll have to accept it sooner or later�if it ever happens and I hope it does.�
�Yeah, yeah,� Jenai said.
�I�ll never accept it,� Kevin stated.
�Yeah, yeah,� Jenai said. �Now go get the others.�
�Alright,� Kevin said walking away and back to the parlor.
�Are they ready?� Jakob asked picking up some suitcases.
�Uh, Jenai wants to share something with us,� Kevin replied opening the patio door. �Summer! Aaron! Dannika! Get in here!�
�What does she want to share?� Jakob asked.
�I have no idea,� Kevin said. �But with Jenai it�s never good.�
�Is everyone here?� Jenai asked, as they stepped into the parlor.
�The others are coming,� Kevin said.
�Ok,� Jenai said putting a silver case on the table. The clock chimed and Jenai looked to see that it was 9:00 a.m. She continued looking at the clock and smiled.
�What�s with the case, JJ?� Kevin asked and she looked at him still smiling, as the door opened and the others walked in.
�What�s going on?� Summer asked after walking inside.
�Have a seat,� Jenai said and they all did so. �So I�ve been thinking this past week.�
�That�s not good,� Jakob said and Jenai glared at him.
�About what?� Kristin asked.
�About what�s in this case and if I should share with you or not,� Jenai replied and they just looked at her. �What�s in the case you�re thinking?�
�Exactly,� Jakob said. �What�s in the case?�
�It could be a million of things,� Jenai began, �clothes, personal documents, jewelry�money.� They looked at her interested.
�Jenai,� Kevin said raising an eyebrow.
�I was also thinking about buying you, Kristin, Alexis, and Brianna a place by the beach,� Jenai stated.
�Jenai,� Kevin repeated still with a raised eyebrow.
�You need money for that, JJ,� Nickolas pointed out.
�I know that,� Jenai said unlocking the case. �What I have in this case will surprise you all.�
�You said it was old family memories,� Kevin replied.
�Uh, kind of it is,� Jenai said and she sighed. �Before I show you what is in here I want you to know that I didn�t mean to lie to you and I�m sorry. It was an issue about trust and I didn�t know who to trust, but now I do. I can trust you and that gives me a warm tingly feeling inside.� She smiled and they laughed at her. �And also it was about a promise I made to Gram Stevens.�
�Alright,� Kevin said. �Show us what�s in it.� Jenai nodded and opened up the case. She looked at it a moment then turned it towards them and they looked at the contents.
�Holy shit,� Summer said.
�Is that�I thought�� Nickolas began and he looked at her closely.
�How much is that exactly?� Kevin questioned.
�Eight hundred million,� Jenai replied.
�Holy shit,� Summer repeated.
�That�s a lot of money,� Dannika stated.
�Where�d you get it?� Jakob wanted to know.
�Gram Stevens,� Jenai answered. �I told you she was worth a lot.� She smiled.
�I thought you didn�t have any of it?� Kevin questioned. �I thought you gave it away?�
�Just the $50,000 we got,� Jenai said and she sat next to Nickolas. �Before Gram died she gave me the case and said it was mine to do what I want with. She told me not to open it until my parents dropped me off.�
�So she knew what was going to happen,� Aaron said and Jenai nodded.
�Why didn�t she take you in herself?� Jakob asked.
�She was on her death bed and I wasn�t very popular with the rest of my family,� Jenai said. �It don�t matter any, because I�ve been happy with the Richardson�s.� She looked at Kevin and smiled.
�Why didn�t you say anything about the money?� Jakob asked.
�I told you it was a trust thing,� Jenai said. �Plus Gram warned me about the trouble and betrayal that would come with it.� They looked at her. �I didn�t believe her of course, but I still hid the money away so no one would get hurt. People got hurt anyway, because they found out about the money.�
�It�s not your fault,� Nickolas said. �You did what you thought was best.�
�He�s right,� Kevin agreed. �The good lives that were lost were just acts of God.�
�I guess,� Jenai said and they nodded. �But the money isn�t the only thing that I hid from everyone.� They looked at her, as she looked at the clock.
�Yeah, we soon have to leave,� Kevin said. �We have to pick Justin up at the hospital yet.�
�Right,� Jenai said. She got up and walked over to the clock. They watched her take the clock off the wall and walk back over.
�What are you doing?� Kevin asked. Jenai just smiled and opened the back of the clock. She removed a panel and they watched, as she took out a black cloth bag.
She took out the contents smiling and said, �Aren�t they the most beautiful jewels you ever saw?�
�Where�d you get those?� Nickolas asked and Jenai continued smiling.
�You didn�t think Gram was a self-made millionaire did you?� Jenai asked in return and held up one of the jewels. �This is the last piece of the Heart Diamond of A� man Soo. Not a scratch or crack on it.�
�Excuse me?� Jakob said, as she held up the other jewel.
�And this is a Jeweled Flower,� Jenai stated still smiling. �Oh and I got something else.� She handed the two pieces to Nickolas and took something else from the bag. �This gold amulet was worn by A� man Soo up until the day she died. It is worth�� They watched her take something from the case and page through it. �It�s worth 100,000,000 American dollars.� She looked at them. �And that flower is worth $20,000,000.�
�What about the diamond?� Kevin asked.
�According to the appraiser its worth is undetermined,� Jenai said reading from the book. �And according to Grams the buyers have given up to $200,000,000 just for a piece of the Heart Diamond. That size too.�
�You mean to tell me she sold this diamond off piece by piece just to make money?� Nickolas asked and Jenai nodded. �What a waste.�
�Nick, you�ve seen what this diamond does to people,� Jenai stated. �Gram knew that and a lot of people were willing to pay lots of money for just a small piece. She found the best buyers and made her millions.�
�How did she find the flower and necklace?� Dannika asked.
�A�man Soo�s treasure,� Jenai said and they looked at her shocked. �She gave the gold dishes and stuff like that to archaeology places and places like that. The jewelry she kept for herself and sold it all except for these two pieces.�
�How do you know all this?� Kevin asked.
�Her journal,� Jenai said holding up the book.
�Oh,� Kevin said.
�So you got this stuff with the case?� Dannika asked.
�Yeah,� Jenai replied. �She also had a letter in it telling me not to let anyone know I have it. She said it would bring death to me if anyone knew of its existence. When I learned to trust someone with my life I was allowed to share.� She sighed. �She wasn�t so fortunate in her friends like I am today.� She took a deep breath. �When she was dying she told me she wanted to take me to a place where she was many many years ago when I got older. I had no idea what she was talking about until I opened the case. There was the money, the black cloth bag, and a map.�
�A map?� Kristin said and Jenai nodded and took something from the case. She unfolded it and laid it on the table.
�It leads to A� man Soo�s temple where she found the diamond and treasure,� Jenai said.
�It�s in the desserts of Egypt,� Nickolas said.
�According to Gram�s journal that�s where she found it,� Jenai stated. �She was studying archaeology and looking for some Egyptian artifacts and came across it. She didn�t tell anyone and kept it hidden from the world. Even when she started selling the stuff. She put the diamond in the heart shaped nook and it opened the door to A� man Soo�s treasure.�
�Why didn�t she keep it all?� Summer asked.
�She had no one to share it with,� Jenai replied. �Plus she didn�t trust anyone; not even Gramps.�
�You didn�t trust anyone either,� Jakob stated.
�Nope,� Jenai said. �So I made Gram Littrell the clock and stuffed the jewels inside.� She sighed. �I figured that if someone found the money at least I would still have the jewels. Who the hell�s going to look in a clock?�
�Not any of us,� Kevin said. �That was great thinking.� She smiled. �How�d ya hide the money?�
�There were a few loose boards in the back bedroom closet and I stuffed the case under the floor,� Jenai stated.
�You�re amazing,� Nickolas stated.
�I know,� Jenai said and she picked up the journal and paged through it. �According to this, the temple is about a ten days walk from Egypt�s biggest pyramid; which would be Khufu�s Great Pyramid, Cheops. She said they weren�t allowed to use any motorcars, but they had horses, camels, and wagons for the trip.� She smiled. �So who wants to go to Egypt?�
CHAPTER 33
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