“That’s easy. According to my people, there’s no record of a green diamond this big ever being found, much less one called the ‘Serpent’s Teardrop’. Based on that, the transfer of it through the years had to be done between private parties,” Slate replied.
Nodding, Zane glanced at Ian. “Did your parents ever hear of a green diamond showing up in Scotland?”
“No. Yesterday afternoon, they went to my castle and checked the records but found no mention of it…which didn’t surprise them because my father knew every shifter in Scotland back then and none of them were wealthy enough to buy it for the sums listed in the bills of sale,” answered Ian.
“I expected as much,” Zane said.
“I don’t understand. What do you mean?” asked Reif.
“Last night, I examined each document and I noticed something strange. It appears they were all written by the same person.”
“That can’t be,” Reif said. “I found them in different places and look at the dates…all different.”
Holding his hand up, Zane said, “Hear me out. But first, Reif, did you ever get help from ‘the man’ before when you were searching for the item they wanted you to steal?”
“Shit. Hmmm, I don’t think so but I might have. It’s been 500 years so I can’t be positive.”
“Okay, but would it be fair to say, it wasn’t a regular occurrence?” asked Zane.
“Definitely.”
“Good. Finally, did you ever have to give up because you couldn’t find items?” asked Zane.
“Nope, never. Some took a little longer than others but I always managed to get them.”
“Zane, why all the questions for my mate?” asked Brian.
“I’m getting to it now. As I said, I thought they were all written by the same person but I’m not a handwriting expert. So I sent the docs to a friend of mine who’s one of the world’s leading handwriting experts and he confirmed my suspicions. Once I knew they were forgeries, I searched the dark web to see if I could find the person who did them.”
Pulling out a sheet from his stack of papers, Zane continued. “About a year ago, someone was searching for a forger. Several people responded, asking what the job entailed. Here’s the list of documents they wanted forged,” he said, handing the list to Logan who, after reading it, gave a low whistle before passing it to Reif.
Shaking his head, Reif was dumbfounded at what Zane had turned up. “I get what you’re saying but I can’t believe it. It has to be a coincidence. I found the originals, like the diary. Fuck, I held it in my hands.”
“I get you,” said Zane, “but there’s more you should know. After finding who took the job, I hacked his computer and found these.” He handed over a number of documents to Logan.
Shuffling through them, Logan’s eyes narrowed at what he saw. “Bro, how do you know these aren’t copies of the ones Reif found?”
Handing over another stack of paper, Zane replied, “Because there’s a cache of emails between the client andthe forger about the work the forger was doing. The last email from the forger has all of the fake documents attached and, the very last one is confirmation that funds were being transferred to the forger’s bank account.” Zane waited while the documents were passed around the table, noticing the expressions of anger, worry, and disbelief on different faces.
“Let’s say you’re right,” Reif said. “How do you explain the page I found in the diary? It was bound into the book.”
“He’s got a good point, there,” said Logan.
“I thought of that, too. I asked a friend that question and here’s his answer.” Zane pulled out an email and handed it to his brother.
After reading it, Logan looked at his brother in disbelief. “What the fuck…you’ve gotta be kidding.”
“What?” asked Reif, taking the email from Logan, reading it and then handing it to Brian. Slumping back in his chair, he stared into space, in shock, as if his whole world had crashed around him.
“I’m not kidding, bro,” said Zane. “The diary was stolen prior to Reif discovering it among the archives. It was recovered two days later but the thief was never found. Jared gave me the name of the person who was hired to steal it and my guess is it was taken apart and the page Reif found was inserted and then the diary was rebound before it conveniently showed up again.”
“But what about the others? If they are all fakes, who…how…” Reif couldn’t finish his question as he tried to understand what it all meant.
“Setting aside for a moment the documents you were supplied with, I’m pretty sure all the others wereplanted,” Zane continued. “I haven’t found the person who did it yet, but I will. Regarding the “clues” that were actually given to you, it was probably because they couldn’t figure out where to plant them that wouldn’t raise your suspicions. I’m sorry to say this, but I’m pretty sure these assholes were playing you.”
Playing me? This was all a hoax? But why? What would they gain from it?It just didn’t make any sense.For a thousand years, he and his father enriched the vampires and witches…so why would they send me off on a wild goose chase?Thinking it over, he suddenly figured it out.Oh, my gods!“They wanted an excuse to keep my people enslaved!” Reif jumped to his feet.
“Kieran, help him!” shouted Zane. “Wait, Reif. Don’t let anyone know you’re on to them.”
