Fort Worth, Texas, May 2, present day

I fear she may be mad.

She is good to me and I believe she loves me. But I have heard tales of her treachery, her evil, her witchcraft. I have heard she is not my real mother.

I must find out. Somehow, I must find out the truth.

A knock on her open office door made Karessa Austin close the tattered diary and look up. She smiled at her assistant, Joy. "Is everything ready?"

"All unpacked and ready for you to inspect."

Excitement surged through Karessa's body. A new display for the museum always gave her goose bumps. It was better than sex.

Well, at least better than the sex she'd experienced lately.

She followed Joy from the executive offices of The Gage-Austin Museum. Walking down the lushly carpeted hallway made her feel closer to her parents. They'd died nine years ago when she was twenty-one, but not before establishing this beautiful museum close to Trinity Park.

"Did you have the chance to read your great-grandmother's diary?" Joy asked.

"Part of it. I'll read more after I've looked at the display."

"Have you decided yet what you'll do with the house?"

Karessa shook her head. "No. That's something else I'll have to look at later. I have no idea why my Aunt Grace left me that old Victorian."

"You told me she never married, never had any children. You're the only family she had."

"I know, but I have no use for a house that's over a century old. I run a museum, but I like modern conveniences. My condo works perfectly for me."

Karessa pushed open the heavy metal door that led to the back room of the museum. Deliveries were made here, as well as any unpacking that had to be done. This is where she looked at all the items that came into the museum and decided if they should go in an existing display, or if a new display should be created.

She loved her job.

Her warehouse manager, Marco, smiled as she approached him. "You'll love all of these, Karessa."

Karessa returned his smile. Marco was thirty-five, dark from his Italian heritage, and built like Conan the Barbarian. If he didn't work for her, she'd jump his bones in a second.

I can fire him, at least for a weekend. We can have wild monkey sex, then I'll rehire him on Monday. With a body like that, he's got to be incredible in bed.

Karessa sighed as her hormones jumped for joy. They'd love it if she did exactly that. Unfortunately, her conscience wouldn't allow her to take advantage of her employee.

Darn it.

Shifting her attention back to the large crates on the warehouse floor, she watched as her men opened them and carefully removed the paintings of Thomas Abernathy. Her heartbeat sped up at the sight of the beautiful paintings of charming English cottages. The thatch roofs, white walls, cloudy skies, colorful flowers...they all combined to create the masterpieces for which he'd been famous.

There were seven in all, donated to the museum by Abernathy's granddaughter. She could've picked any museum in the world to display her grandfather's paintings. The fact that she'd picked The Gage-Austin made Karessa so proud of her parents and the museum's sterling reputation.

"I have the letter Ms. Abernathy sent with the painting," Joy said. She opened the portfolio she always carried with her. "She said she would've donated all eight in the series, but one painting was bought by a private collector for, and I quote, 'an obscene amount of money'."

"I can believe that." Karessa stood before the painting called Twilight and stared at it. How she'd love to have this hanging in her living room. Too bad she couldn't slip it into her purse and take it home with her. "Did she mention the collector's name? Maybe we could make arrangements for him or her to lend it to us for the showing."

"Yes, it's right here. His name is Maxwell Hennessey."

She shivered at the sound of his name, but not from pleasure. Maxwell Hennessey was the lowest form of scum on the earth. She hoped she never saw him again for the rest of her life.

"Do you want me to contact him?" Joy asked.

"No," Karessa said quickly. Realizing her voice sounded sharp, she cleared her throat and smiled at Joy. "No, that's fine. We'll have a wonderful showing with the seven painting."

"Are you sure? I can contact Ms. Abernathy and try to find--"

"That won't be necessary, Joy."

The puzzled look in Joy's eyes didn't surprise Karessa. Normally, she would jump at the chance to have a full collection on display. But she'd rather eat raw liver for a week than have anything to do with Maxwell Hennessey.

It wasn't exactly an uncommon name, yet Karessa had no doubt the Maxwell Hennessey who owned the eighth painting and the one she'd been involved with five years ago were the same man. Max collected things of value and beauty. He liked to possess things...including the heart of a naive twenty-five-year-old who fell in love much too quickly.

"Joy, will you take care of this? I'd like to leave a little early and drive out to my great-aunt's house."

"Of course. The Egyptian display is set to come down from the Red Room Friday. Do you want this collection set up there?"

"That'll be perfect. I'll want the flowers changed, too...something with an English garden theme."

"I'll take care of it."

Leaving the details in her capable assistant's hands, Karessa left the room and returned to her office. She began gathering up her things, intending to go home after she drove by her great-aunt's house. She'd have to talk to a real estate agent about selling the house and thirty acres as soon as possible.

She hadn't seen the house since she was a young teenager. Her great-aunt had been quite wealthy, and loved to travel. Rarely did she stay at home for longer than a month at a time. When she did light long enough for a visit, she always went to Karessa's condo with gifts, mementoes, and pictures of her trip. There's been no reason for her to go back to Aunt Grace's house.

Her great-aunt's death from a stroke a month ago had been a shock. She'd always been so healthy, so vivacious, Karessa assumed she'd live forever. Now, with Grace's death, Karessa no longer had any family. She was totally alone.

Where did this horrible case of self-pity come from? Straightening her shoulders, Karessa picked up her briefcase and purse from the bookshelf behind her desk. She glanced over her desk to make sure everything had been put in its place. The tattered diary on the corner drew her attention. She'd planned to leave it here, where it could be locked up in the safe. On impulse, she picked it up and placed it in her briefcase so she could finish reading it at home.

* * * * *

Max Hennessey closed The Washington Post, folded it neatly, and laid it next to his plate. The article he'd expected to find wasn't there. That meant his source hadn't lied and nothing had been leaked to the press.

At least, not yet.

Rumors of hidden treasure often brought out the ones looking to make a quick buck. More often than not, rumors of hidden treasure were forgotten as soon as they were heard. Getting something for nothing would be too easy.

Max had become a multi-millionaire by following those rumors.

He had plenty of time. He'd finish up his business here in Washington, D.C. before he headed for Houston. Once in the Lone Star State, he'd contact his source again for exact instructions on where the bearer bond was hidden.

As long as he stayed away from Fort Worth, he'd be fine. He didn't want to take the slightest chance that he might run into Karessa.

Thinking of the beautiful blonde still caused a sharp pain in his chest. He'd deceived her and dumped her when the lure of fortune proved too much to resist.

Money in the bank didn't make him less lonely.

He picked up his cup and sipped the cooling coffee. He'd wondered many times how his life would be now if he'd stayed with her, if he hadn't let greed color his judgment.

There'd been women since Karessa. He was a healthy forty-year-old man who greatly enjoyed sex. He knew women found him attractive. Finding an available bed partner had never been a problem.

Finding someone to love was an entirely different matter.

"May I warm your coffee, Mr. Hennessey?"

Max looked up at the lovely brunette waitress. She'd been especially attentive to him for the three days he'd been at this hotel. He had the feeling it would take very little encouragement for her to warm his bed as well as his coffee.

Smiling, he held up his cup. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Time to move in for the kill. "As a matter of fact, there is. I'll be leaving town in a few days and haven't had the chance to do much sight-seeing. Business hasn't let me play tourist.

"It would be a shame for you to leave Washington without seeing the sights."

"My thoughts exactly. So..." He glanced at her name tag. "...Leslie, would you be interested in showing me around town, perhaps have dinner with me tonight?"

She smiled. "I'd love to."

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