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CHAPTER

2

TORONTO, ONTARIO

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23

MATTHEW RUSHED BACK TO TORONTO on the first flight he could get out of Alaska. The plane had touched down at Pearson International Airport around three o’clock in the morning.

Now it was nine o’clock, and he was in his office, feet up on his desk with a book in his lap. He wasn’t reading at the moment, though, but rather admiring how the stained-glass ornament on the window caught the morning sunlight and painted his floor with strokes of color.

His suite was situated in the south wing of his father’s estate, a 26,000-square foot mansion in Toronto’s affluent Bridle Path neighborhood. That was how William Connor did things—big.

Only two other people shared the mansion with him and his father: Lauren Hale, their housekeeper, and Daniel Iverson, the property manager whose duties varied widely.

Yes, Matthew lived at home, but the house was palatial, with plenty of space to stretch out in. His father lived his life and respected Matthew’s privacy. And Matthew’s two-story suite with loft had all the amenities most would want in a house. He had walk-in closets, a private bathroom, an office, a living room, and a king-size bed. To top it off, a wall of windows extended from the first floor to the second-floor ceiling on one side, and he had a balcony with a view of the tennis court in the backyard. All that and he was rarely even home. When he wasn’t traveling for an expedition, he was away for recreational purposes.

He looked down at the tome he’d been reading. It was dedicated to the Emerald Tablets, and he was reacquainting himself with the legends that surrounded them—not that he’d ever actually forget such an intriguing “myth.” But brushing up on them seemed like a good use of his time, especially given that he was too excited to sleep and needed to kill some time before approaching his friends.

When he’d mentioned Robyn and Cal to Alex, she seemed hesitant to bring in more people, but he, Robyn, and Cal were a package deal. She’d take all three of them or he’d decline her offer. The line had gone silent after his ultimatum, and just when he was starting to regret putting it to her that way, she’d said, “Tell me about them.” So he had.

Robyn’s work as a curator at the Royal Ontario Museum and her love for ancient culture, with her special enthusiasm for Egyptian history, made her ideal for the expedition. Cal was a renowned photographer, and his work appeared in many prestigious magazines, including National Geographic. He took a little more selling, though. Alex already had someone on her team who took pictures, but there was weakness in her word choice. Matthew had managed to capitalize on that slip and finally sold her on the importance of having a professional take photographs. Of course, if the Tablets were found, they’d be kept out of the media and away from Cal’s lens. But if they found the pharaoh’s tomb, that was fair game.

Matthew glanced at his desk and his closed laptop, wishing that he could look at the cartouche and hieroglyphics that Alex and her team had found. But she had been adamant about not sending them through cyberspace. She wouldn’t even share the details of the expedition until he could get to a secure phone line. But, man, it had been nice to hear her voice.

When he’d worked with Alex on a different dig in Egypt five years ago, he’d just gotten his doctorate, and he was wide-eyed and curious, soaking in everything around him. He had spent his days yapping her ear off about the pharaohs and what life must have been like in ancient Egypt. But his fascination with the legend of the Emerald Tablets was never far from his mind since the day he’d first learned of it. And from there, he’d found himself obsessing about other myths.

At the time, Reda Ghannam, the Egyptian Minister of Antiquities—then and now—had told him to get his “head out of the sky.” Matthew hadn’t been able to gather the courage to correct the idiom. But the man’s point had been clear, even if Matthew decided not to heed his advice.

And really, clinging to the intangible had come to define him. He was borderline obsessive about trying to prove the existence of what everyone else had given up on. It had become his life purpose, and it was the legacy he’d leave behind.

Legacy. That was what he was thinking about when he was losing his grip on the glacier. He didn’t want to die without leaving behind a legacy.

Many people said that having children was the way to create a legacy, but legacies came in many forms, and they weren’t always flesh and blood. Restoring artifacts and lost cities to the world had to be, in itself, a legacy. People would enjoy his discoveries long after he was gone. And if that wasn’t a legacy, what was?

He turned his attention back to his book, realizing that he had steamed through it and only had a handful of pages left. First, he’d finish up, and then he’d go see Robyn at the museum.

There was a knock on the door.

He straightened up, removed his legs from his desk, earmarked the page in his book, closed it, and flipped it over in his lap with the cover facing down. “Come in.”

Daniel entered holding a tray with coffee. “Good day, sir.”

“How many times do I need to tell you not to call me ‘sir’?”

“Call it an occupational hazard.”

Daniel had worked for his father for as long as Matthew could remember. And in the past few years, he had also helped Matthew prepare for his expeditions by arranging local contacts, flights, passports, legalities, and things like that. Daniel often presented Matthew with a buffet of potential expeditions to tantalize him. But today that wouldn’t be needed.

Daniel held the tray out in front of Matthew. “It’s made just the way you like it.”

“You have no idea how badly I need this today.” Matthew picked up the cup and took a long draw. “Thank you.”

“Of course.” Daniel pointed at the book on Matthew’s lap. “Is that the reason you need the coffee?”

Matthew tightened his grip on the book and covered more of it with his arms. “Yes and no. I hardly slept last night.” He took another sip of the brew.

“Let me guess, sir—Matthew—you can sleep when you’re dead?”

Matthew smiled at Daniel’s dry attempt at humor. “Something like that.”

Daniel set his tray on a corner of Matthew’s desk and sat in a chair across from Matthew. His gray, Norwegian eyes fixed on Matthew. “The tomb of a missing pharaoh, eh? That’s exciting.”

“That’s right.” Matthew had told Daniel that much earlier this morning, and that’s all he would share. The Tablets would remain with him, because the fewer people who knew, the better.

Daniel was still watching him, as if he expected an elaboration, and while Matthew owed him no explanation, he wanted to extend something.

“From the look of it, the tomb may belong to a son of Khufu.” Matthew delivered this with mild excitement. But when compared to the Emerald Tablets, the Tablets would win every time. Even if the pharaoh’s reign had previously been unknown.

“Then you have your mind set on this expedition?” Daniel came across leery and unconvinced, proving the man’s strong detection skills once again.

“An opportunity like this? How can I refuse?” Matthew leaned back with his coffee, careful not to upset the book that was still on his lap.

Daniel remained silent for a few seconds. “We’ve always communicated openly.” He paused, seeming hesitant.

Matthew gestured for him to continue.

“I just never expected the day to come when you’d go back to working on a regular archaeological dig.” Daniel scanned Matthew’s eyes.

Matthew held the man’s gaze. “Because it’s not in search of a legend?”

“That’s right.”

“Well, this is a unique opportunity for me.” Matthew shifted in his chair. “And it’s intriguing. Khufu was buried beneath his pyramid, so why would his son be buried nearly two hundred miles away from him? Something’s not adding up.”

Daniel nodded slowly, still unconvinced. “What do you need me to do for you?”

“I’ll take care of this one.” If Robyn and Cal were joining him, it would only be another awkward thing to explain. If Matthew were just taking part in a regular archaeological dig, there’d be no reason for them to go.

Daniel’s gaze drifted to the book in Matthew’s lap again. “Very well.” Daniel crossed his legs. “And when do you plan to leave?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

Daniel uncrossed his legs and leaned forward. “Tomorrow? Why the rush?”

“The—” Matthew clamped his mouth shut. He’d almost said the Emerald Tablets. “If I want to be a part of this historic find, I have to move quickly. Alex and her team are already under way.”

“Beg your pardon, but he’s been buried this long—”

“And that’s why he needs to be found.” Matthew looked past Daniel toward the door, giving Daniel the nudge to leave.

Daniel settled back into his chair. “You said Alex. Do you mean Alexandria Leonard?”

“That’s right.” Matthew was impressed by Daniel’s memory. “You remember her?”

“I do. She came to visit once.”

“Wow. That was a long time ago. She only stayed a couple days.”

“Yes, but she got you to play tourist with her—the CN Tower, Canada’s Wonderland, the zoo. You even went to a Blue Jays game.” Daniel inclined his head.

“I know,” Matthew said with a laugh. “And I hate baseball.”

Daniel watched him knowingly, and Matthew felt his old feelings for Alex coming to the surface. When he’d gone to Egypt that first time, it hadn’t been long since he and Robyn had broken up. He’d been vulnerable, and the first chance he got, he’d invited Alex to Toronto. He’d whisked her around the city in a poor, pathetic attempt at stealing her heart away from her fiancé. Vying for her affections at the time was not one of his more noble moments.

“She was engaged, if I recall correctly,” Daniel said. “So she’d be married now…”

“Unless she’s already divorced.” That came out too quickly for his comfort, and he struggled to backpedal. “Statistically, most marriages do end in divorce.”

Daniel pulled his head back and tucked his chin downward. “Uh-huh.”

“Anyway…” Matthew looked at the clock on the wall: 9:30. Robyn should be at work now, and he wanted to speak with her before he broached the subject with Cal. “Well, I better get going.” He stood up, hugging the book about the Emerald Tablets to his chest, and exited the room, no doubt leaving behind a confused and curious Daniel.