The Fortune Teller(79)

“Liliya was your grandmother,” she said.

His eyes filled with immense relief that she finally understood.

“But how?” Semele asked weakly, sitting down on the couch. “How did you get this manuscript?”

Theo sat beside her and tried to explain. “Right after the Gulf War, antiquities began to make their way out of Iraq—a lot of them,” he stressed. “Museums and libraries were looted. When my grandmother heard that a manuscript about an ancient deck of cards had been taken from Baghdad to Jordan, she had her buyer make an anonymous offer. My family paid a fortune.”

Semele was well aware of the ongoing looting in the Middle East. Countless manuscripts and artifacts had found their way to New York, London, Moscow, and Rome. Most were sold discreetly. The trade in stolen items was the ugly underbelly of her industry, but to her knowledge, Kairos had always avoided handling questionable works. “Then she translated it?”

“No.” Theo shook his head. “She waited.”

Semele frowned, not understanding. “For what?”

“For me.”

It took her a moment to realize what he was saying. “You translated the manuscript?”

He nodded. “Nettie told her I would.”

Semele remembered Ionna’s story. Nettie had told Liliya her future. Nettie had also told her tormentor, Evanoff, countless secrets while she was drugged. Liliya would have heard all of them. Her conscious mind had been with them in the room.

“Nettie foresaw that Ionna’s manuscript would find its way to Liliya,” he said.

“So Liliya knew she should look for it,” Semele finished. The thought made her head spin. Where did the thread begin and where did it end?

“My grandmother was adamant that I learn Greek, and my parents supported the idea. I thought they were all mad collectors, that they were trying to turn me into one of them. I hated the lessons. You should have heard the arguments—and the bribes.” He smiled, remembering. “My grandmother gave me the manuscript when her health was failing. When I finished the translation, I finally understood. The story was my grandmother’s story too. She read my translation days before she died.”

The look in his eyes made Semele’s breath catch.

“Nettie saved my grandmother’s life. My grandmother made a vow to Nettie that she would safeguard the manuscript until her heir could claim it.…” His eyes would not let go of her. “You.”

Semele couldn’t find the words. What he was saying was too much.

“My grandmother made us promise we would do everything in our power to deliver the manuscript safely to your hands. But I didn’t know who you were, where you were. All I knew was your first name. When my father died he had already chosen a firm to handle the collection. Our estate attorney showed me the details. That’s when I saw your name. I realized my father had found you.”

Semele felt goose bumps traveling down her arms. For the first time she could see the Bossards and what they meant to her family clearly. Theo Bossard was the ally she hadn’t known existed.

“I’ve waited years to meet you, Semele.”

His confession left her speechless. The powerful connection she’d felt since that first day they’d met enveloped her in the deepest warmth.

Theo reached for her hand and leaned forward. His lips brushed hers with surprising gentleness, a tender introduction. She answered back with a feather kiss. Each touch was a question and an answer. Better than their stolen moment in the gallery, here he was telling her that he was hers.

The sound of her phone brought them back. Semele pulled away. “It could be the hospital,” she said.

She grabbed her cell, catching it on the last ring. “Hello?”

As she listened to Oliver, her body began to tremble. He was crying. She told him she was coming and hung up, looking wildly around the room. “I … I have to go—the hospital. I have to…”

Theo was already on the hotel phone calling for his car. “I’ll drive you.”

She hurried to gather her things while Theo put the manuscript pages back in the case. They took the elevator downstairs without a word. Semele clutched her arms around her middle, as if it would keep her from falling apart.

A driver waited outside in a Land Rover. Theo helped her into the back and climbed in beside her. Semele kept her mind numb, trying not to think. She didn’t want to break down in the car.

They were halfway to the hospital when her cell phone rang.

It was Mikhail. She answered immediately.

“Semele, I just heard the news. I’m so sorry. I know how close you two were.…” Mikhail let out a pained sigh, followed by a long silence. “I know this is a difficult time. Can you call me this evening? I’m afraid we’ve been unable to push back the review in Beijing.”

“You’re kidding. I’m not going to Beijing,” she erupted in disbelief.

“I need you to go to Beijing. There will be repercussions if you don’t go,” he said with unmistakable firmness.

“That doesn’t matter to me anymore. I quit.”

“You don’t mean that. We can talk tomorrow—”

“I’ve made up my mind.”

“Semele, I’m trying to protect you!” Mikhail shouted. “Get on the damn plane!”