all owner, the grimy c

er faded shirt and patched jeans. A lazy sigh escaped him. "

what she looked like. A

man Imperial piece known as the Venus of the Sea-was worth m

ined a blank

ey swiped it, his greed silencing an

at her, a dismissiv

caugh

Young

g with excitement, cut t

His eyes weren't on her face. They were locked on her closed fist, burning wi

A titan in the a

My child," he breathed. "May I

expert would recognize the coin instantly, and Theodore's trembling hand

ened h

as he pulled a loupe from his pocket. He raised it to his eye, hol

azy contempt was gone, replace

p shattered

lmost wet. "It's real," he whispered. Then louder, h

t, overwhelmed by the discovery.

steady. "What a

te. "Five million doll

owd. Heads turned. Every e

forward, fingers hooked into claws, but Theodore'

wisted with raw, ugly greed. He jabbed a trembling finger at June. "T

her like trash. Now the scent o

ice. "The transaction is complete.

g to a venomous threat. "I say it's mine, so it's mi

hick with pity. A skinny teenager with n

ned. "Barnaby

aised

o absolutely assured, that

r voice carried a lethal edge. "The rule of the marke

he silenc

ng that rule is the los

adn't expected a teenager in faded jeans t

d, though his voice cracked with sudden fe

smi

terly devoid of warmth. The kind

she said softl

the crowd. They moved with the heavy, delib

ket's e

led sound. He took a

nt. Theodore clutch

room, Jase Bryant stopp

A teenage girl staring down a grown man twice her size-a

across Jase's face. A flicker

. He didn't ca

ing to see exactly ho