The Midas Legacy

4

The lobby’s hubbub seemed to fade as Nina stared at the old lady. ‘That’s… that’s not possible,’ she said. ‘My grandmother died a long time ago.’

‘Yes, I imagine that’s what Laura told you,’ said Olivia, with a small, sad shake of the head. ‘But I can prove that I am who I say. If you’ll let me.’ A glance at the crowd. ‘Perhaps somewhere more quiet?’

Nina was caught between the urge to find out more and telling the impostor — she had to be! — where to go. The former won out. ‘We’re just on our way home. You could meet us there.’

‘Er, Nina?’ said Eddie. ‘We’re putting our three-year-old daughter to bed, remember?’

‘I wouldn’t want to keep Macy awake,’ Olivia told them. ‘I can meet you at your convenience.’

‘No, that’s okay. It’s okay,’ Nina repeated to her disapproving husband. ‘We’ll make it quick. If that’s all right?’ she asked Olivia.

‘That will be perfectly fine,’ the older woman replied. ‘I’ll take a cab. What’s your address?’ Nina gave it. ‘I’ll see you there. Don’t worry — and don’t you worry either, Mr Chase. I’ll explain everything.’

Nina and Eddie watched as she departed. She might have been old, but she still had a steady and determined pace. ‘Wait, she knew who I am. And Macy,’ Eddie said with a frown.

‘That doesn’t mean she really is my grandmother,’ said Nina. ‘She could have just googled me. Hell, I wrote about my parents in the book, so it’s not as if it’s a great secret.’

‘If you don’t believe her, then why’d you invite her to our house?’

‘Because…’ She wasn’t entirely sure herself. ‘Because there’s something about her that… that makes me think she might be telling the truth. I don’t know if she actually is,’ she added, seeing his look of incredulity. ‘But I want to find out for sure.’

‘She’d better not be trying anything on. If this is some con trick…’

‘Eddie, she looked about ninety. She’d have to be one hell of a grifter to try the long-lost-relative routine on us at that age.’

‘Some people never change, however old they get.’ He took her hand. ‘Come on, let’s find out what she’s after.’

The journey home did not take long, but there was little conversation on the way. Despite Eddie’s attempts to engage with her, Nina found herself gazing out of the window, replaying the meeting with Olivia in her mind.

The old woman couldn’t possibly have been telling the truth. That would mean her own mother had lied to her through their entire life together. Nina couldn’t accept that. And why on earth would Laura Wilde have told her daughter that her grandmother was dead if that were not the case…

‘We’re here,’ Eddie said.

‘Huh? Oh. Right.’ Composing herself, she got out as Eddie paid the fare.

A yellow cab was waiting outside their building. ‘Hello again,’ Olivia said as she emerged. ‘I’m glad you agreed to see me.’

‘With a claim like yours, I could hardly say no,’ replied Nina.

‘Thank you.’ The old lady surveyed the surrounding buildings. ‘Quite a nice area. Your grandfather and I once lived not far from here. We had a wonderful view of the park.’

Nina recalled her mother once pointing out a Fifth Avenue apartment building as a childhood home, but said nothing, not wanting to give the woman any hints about her past that she could weave into a fictional narrative. ‘Come inside,’ she said instead as Eddie joined her.

They entered the building. ‘So what were you doing at the premiere?’ Nina asked Olivia. ‘A Grant Thorn action movie doesn’t really seem like your kind of thing.’

Olivia laughed. ‘Oh dear me, no. It was awful nonsense, all shouting and wobbly cameras.’

Nina smiled at Eddie as they boarded the elevator. ‘Told you.’

‘No, I’m quite well known in New York’s social circles. There are few events to which I can’t get an invitation if I choose. In this case, I came specifically to see you. I watched the first five minutes for politeness’ sake, then had a meal at a little place around the corner before coming back. And,’ she went on, with a faint sigh, ‘when I realised who the characters at the beginning were meant to be, it ended any desire I had to see more.’

‘What do you mean?’ asked Nina, wanting to see if her guest shared her emotions about the opening scene — and why.

Olivia’s emerald eyes turned upon her, sadness clear in them. ‘The names were different, but they were meant to be your mother and father. My daughter, and her husband. I didn’t want to watch what happened to them.’

‘Nor did I,’ Nina said, lips tightening.

The elevator arrived at the eighth floor. Eddie led the way into the apartment. ‘Holly?’ he called in a low voice. ‘We’re back.’

The thump of a pair of excited little feet jumping from a bed told both parents that any hopes their daughter might be asleep had come to nothing. ‘Daddy!’ cried Macy, running down the hall to greet them. ‘Mommy, hi!’

Eddie embraced her. ‘Ay up, someone’s still awake when she shouldn’t be. You been giving her coffee, Holly?’

‘No, just a few lines of coke,’ said the Englishman’s niece as she followed Macy out of her bedroom. Holly Bennett was currently on the third year of her American Studies degree, spending it in the States as part of an exchange programme. Her eyes grew wide as she saw that her uncle and aunt were not alone. ‘Ooh, sorry! Didn’t realise you had company.’

‘It wasn’t planned,’ Eddie told her pointedly.

‘Holly, this is Olivia Garde, a… friend,’ said Nina. ‘We met her at the premiere.’

‘How was the film?’ Holly asked excitedly. ‘Was Grant Thorn there?’

‘Ludicrous, and yes. Olivia, our niece Holly, and our daughter. Macy.’

Olivia smiled at Macy, who hugged Nina before taking cover behind her, regarding the visitor uncertainly. ‘She’s very pretty. How old is she?’

‘She’s just had her third birthday.’

‘She’s three? They grow up so quickly, don’t they?’ Her expression turned wistful. ‘I can see the family resemblance. She looks a lot like you — and like Laura. She certainly has the same hair.’

‘Daddy said my hair means I’m a handful,’ announced Macy proudly, showing off a strand of her deep red locks.

Nina gave her husband a stern look. ‘Did he now?’

‘Might have done,’ Eddie replied with a grin. ‘Come on, young ’un. It’s way past your bedtime.’

‘But I want to stay up with you!’ Macy objected.

‘And I want a Ferrari, but we can’t always have what we want.’ He kissed her. ‘Mummy needs—’

‘Mommy,’ Nina said over him.

‘—to talk to her friend.’

‘What about?’ asked the little girl.

‘Grown-up stuff, you wouldn’t be interested. Now, how about me and Holly put you back to bed? We can tell you a story.’

Macy squeaked with excitement. ‘The one about the eggs with legs!’

‘I told you to send it to my publisher,’ said Nina.

‘I’ll type it up tomorrow,’ he replied. ‘Say night-night to Mummy, Macy.’

‘Night-night, Mommy!’

Nina smirked as Eddie groaned. ‘Fighting a losing battle, aren’t I?’ he said as he and Holly headed for Macy’s bedroom.

Nina waved to her daughter, then turned back to Olivia. ‘So. I think we have some stuff to talk about.’

‘We do,’ the elderly woman replied. She was carrying a bulging leather satchel. ‘As much as I dislike playing the little-old-lady card, may we sit down? This is quite heavy.’

‘Sure. This way.’

Nina led her guest into the lounge, gesturing to an armchair. After peering at the numerous framed photographs decorating one wall, Olivia sat and placed the satchel on a coffee table, Nina sitting opposite. ‘I wouldn’t expect you simply to take my claim at face value,’ she began as she opened it, ‘so I brought proof.’ She carefully drew out a plastic sleeve containing several photographs. ‘I see you have a picture of your parents there.’

Nina glanced towards the wall. The image was of her teenage self with Henry and Laura Wilde, taken at an archaeological site in Turkey. ‘Yeah.’

‘I have some family photos of my own. Please, take a look.’ She slid the sleeve across the table.

Nina took it. The first photograph was visible through the protective cover — and it gave her a momentary shock.

She recognised the smiling figure at the centre. It was her mother, a few years younger than Nina in the photo on the wall. With her were two people she knew only from pictures: her grandparents, Thomas and Olivia Pearce.

She looked up sharply at the old lady. Even though several decades had passed, there was still a definite resemblance between the woman in the still and the one sitting before her.

‘Yes, that’s me,’ said Olivia. She tapped the red-haired woman in the picture with a well-manicured nail. ‘That was taken in, let me think… 1966. We were living near New Haven at the time. Tom, your grandfather, was an executive for General Electric in Fairfield.’

‘And what were you doing?’

‘Whatever I wanted. My family, the Gardes, were wealthy and influential. I went back to my maiden name after Tom died — not immediately, I hasten to add. That would have been very disrespectful. But there were… social advantages, one could say. More so for your mother than myself. I wanted the absolute best for her, to open the right doors, which is why she adopted it too.’

Nina nodded, keeping her face neutral. Again the story matched what she knew of her mother’s background, but there was nothing so far that couldn’t have been unearthed with diligent genealogical research.

She carefully slid the clutch of photos from the sleeve. More images of her mother and grandparents, the giant tail fins of a car in the background of one dating it to the late 1950s or early ’60s. Time advanced jumpily as she flicked through them, her mother growing from a little girl into a young woman—

The last photo — and again she felt an emotional jolt. This featured only her mother and grandmother against a backdrop of trees and flowers. Laura had recently turned eighteen.

There was a reason Nina could date it so precisely. ‘Excuse me,’ she said, going into the main bedroom. She opened the wardrobe and took a cardboard box from the top shelf. Lifting the lid, she quickly found what she was looking for and returned to the living room with her prize.

It was another photograph, which she put down on the table next to the final one from Olivia’s collection: its twin. ‘Mom told me that was the last photo she had of her mother before she died,’ she said, a tremor in her voice. ‘Spring 1972. The Shakespeare Garden in Central Park. Now you’d better have a damn good explanation for why you have that photo, and how, if you really are my grandmother, you’re alive and well despite what my mom told me. Because if you don’t…’ the tremor became barely contained anger, ‘then age be damned, I’m going to kick your ass out on to the street.’

Olivia did not speak for several seconds, then the corners of her mouth slowly creased upwards. ‘It’s been a long time since I heard that tone of voice,’ she said. ‘You really are your mother’s daughter.’

Nina was unmoved. ‘I’m still waiting for an explanation.’

‘And you certainly deserve one. I assume you think I’m pretending to be your grandmother to bilk you out of the money your fame has brought you — something like that?’

‘The thought had occurred.’

‘I don’t blame you for being sceptical. But I assure you, I am your grandmother — and Laura’s mother. The reason she told you I was dead was that we had… a falling-out. A very serious falling-out.’

‘About what?’

‘About your father.’

‘What? Why?’

Olivia gave her a sorrowful look. ‘Everyone makes mistakes in their life — mistakes where they are one hundred per cent convinced they are in the right until the sky falls on them. The greatest mistake I ever made was thinking I knew what was right for Laura better than she did. When she met your father, and fell in love with him practically overnight, and wanted to marry him and search for Atlantis with him… I thought she was throwing everything away, that she was turning her back on her family’s legacy for a penniless archaeology student with a crackpot theory.’ A deep breath. ‘I was wrong. I’ve never been more wrong, and the greatest regret of my life is that I never got the chance to ask her forgiveness.’

It took Nina a moment to process what she had just heard. ‘So you’re telling me that Mom told me you were dead — that she lied to me — because you had an argument?’

‘It was quite a serious argument,’ the elderly woman clarified. ‘I forbade her to marry him — in fact, I told her she couldn’t keep seeing him. Now, knowing your mother, how do you think she took that?’

‘Probably the same way I would have.’

‘Exactly. And I’m sure you also remember what she was like once she had decided to do something. She was—’

‘Stubborn.’

Another tiny smile. ‘Determined was the word I was going to use, but yes. It all happened very quickly; I don’t think she had even talked about me with your father before they decided to get engaged. When she told me, the discussion became very heated, to say the least, and she…’ Any trace of humour vanished, replaced by regret. ‘She turned her back on me. She told your father that both her parents had died in the car crash, not just Tom, and once it had been said, she stuck with it.’

‘So you are saying she lied to me my whole life.’

‘I was dead — to her, at least,’ said Olivia. ‘The last time I spoke to her was shortly after she graduated, before her wedding. Our positions hadn’t changed, I was still trying to talk her out of it, so… that was it. She wanted nothing more to do with me. She could have contacted me at any time, but chose not to. And I’m ashamed to say that I made no further effort to reach out to her either, even after you were born. Determinedness — stubbornness — is very much a family trait, especially in the women. Your husband may be right about it coming with the hair.’

‘So why’ve you come to me now?’ asked Nina, still not sure what to believe.

‘For one, I’m eighty-nine years old. You’re my closest living relative, and I realised that if I ever wanted a chance to get to know you, it would have to be now. But there is something else; something I thought you should have.’ She reached back into the satchel, withdrawing several packed manila folders. She opened the topmost. ‘These were your mother’s. Her notes.’

Nina almost lunged to take out the first page when she saw what was written on it. ‘This is her handwriting!’

‘You recognise it?’

‘I’ve still got all her research. My dad’s, too. They were the basis of my entire theory on how to find Atlantis. They were nine tenths of the way there — they’d just got some of the details wrong. If they’d had more time…’

‘Laura was always fascinated by the legend of Atlantis. It was why she studied archaeology in the first place. Well, I probably influenced her too. I was something of an amateur archaeologist in my youth,’ Olivia added, on Nina’s questioning look. ‘I was never dedicated enough to match her achievements, though. Or yours.’

Nina turned back to her mother’s notes. She had indeed recognised the handwriting, but at the same time she could tell that Laura had been younger when she wrote these notes than while seeking Atlantis with her husband. The calligraphy was more upright, less assured, but also with remnants of childish flourishes like circles above the lower-case letter ‘i’ instead of dots.

She switched her focus to the words. Atlantis leapt out at her. She read on from it.

Interesting. Even at this early stage, Laura had already developed the premise that the Atlantean empire had spread well beyond merely the Atlantic and Mediterranean. Nina knew from her own discoveries how far afield the ancient peoples had travelled, but in the 1970s such thoughts were considered the domain of cranks and New Age fabulists. But her mother apparently believed that the Atlanteans had sent an expedition along what would later become known as the Silk Road through Asia, travelling as far as the Himalayas—

Another word jumped out at her with almost physical force, making her flinch. ‘This — this can’t be real!’

‘It hasn’t been altered in any way — to be honest, I wouldn’t know where to start.’ Olivia pushed the other folders towards her. ‘Everything here was written by Laura, before you were even born.’

‘That’s just it!’ Nina protested. ‘It can’t have been written then. This,’ she waved the sheet of paper, ‘mentions Talonor, Atlantis’s greatest explorer. But nobody even knew he’d existed until the Talonor Codex was found in Atlantis — which was only discovered ten years ago!’

‘By you.’

‘Yes, by me, but that’s irrelevant. Mom couldn’t have known about Talonor before she met Dad. Nobody could. It’s not possible.’

‘If you read her notes, I think you’ll find some answers,’ Olivia told her. ‘Not to everything, because even Laura never found them. But you’ll understand how she could know something that was still hidden from the world until you found it.’

Nina fixed her with an angry look. ‘So why don’t you just tell me now and save me the time?’

‘Because it’ll be better for you to see it for yourself.’

‘No!’ snapped the redhead, jumping up. ‘I don’t accept that Yoda “you cannot be told, you must learn for yourself” bullshit. There are times when directness is the right approach, and this is one of them!’

Olivia raised an eyebrow. ‘I see directness isn’t a problem for you.’

A fuming Nina was about to add more when the door opened. ‘All right, keep the noise down,’ rumbled Eddie. ‘We just got Macy to sleep. What’s going on?’

‘Nina was doubting the authenticity of what I’ve shown her,’ Olivia told him.

‘And what’s that?’

‘My mom’s research,’ said Nina. ‘About Atlantis.’

Eddie peered at the thick folders. ‘God, she made as many notes as you. Although are you saying this lot isn’t real?’

‘I don’t know,’ Nina admitted. ‘This is her handwriting, I’m certain of it, and these photos,’ she indicated the pictures, ‘are definitely of her and… and Olivia. But she talks about Talonor, the Atlantean explorer—’

‘Yeah, I remember who he is, love,’ said Eddie, smiling.

‘And she couldn’t possibly have known about him,’ Nina pressed on. ‘The Codex wasn’t found until over a decade after she died.’

Olivia stood. ‘As I said, the best way for you to find answers is by reading her work. It will explain things, I promise. And I hope, when you see that, you’ll want to speak to me again.’ She produced a card from her purse. ‘My number is on there.’ When Nina didn’t take it, she placed it beside the folders. ‘It’s getting rather late, so I think I should be leaving. I’ll call a cab; there’s no need to see me out.’

‘It’s no problem,’ said Eddie, escorting her from the room — his glance at Nina telling her that he wanted to make sure she was out of their home.

He soon returned. ‘Okay, obvious question: is she really your grandma?’

‘I’m reserving judgement,’ his wife replied. ‘But I’ve got the feeling that… she might be.’

‘But you told me your grandparents were dead.’

‘That’s what I thought! My mom always said they died in a car accident when she was eighteen, before she started at Columbia. But…’ She swapped the page of notes for the Central Park photograph. ‘I can’t deny that she looks like an older version of the woman in this picture — hell, she looks like an older version of my mother.’

‘Of you too,’ Eddie pointed out.

‘Great, so if nothing else, at least now I know what I’ll look like when I turn ninety.’ Nina picked up the page again. ‘This was supposedly written before my parents first met in 1974. My mom was already looking for Atlantis, even back then. But… Well, you know who Talonor was,’ she said. ‘I don’t see how she could even have heard of him, never mind tracked the route of one of his expeditions.’

‘Olivia said to read all that lot to find out,’ said Eddie, regarding the collection of notes. ‘Are you going to?’

Nina let out an exasperated snort. ‘I’ll have to, won’t I? I can hardly ignore it.’

They both turned as Holly entered. ‘Everything okay?’

‘Sure,’ Nina answered. ‘How’s Macy?’

‘She’s soundo. I’ll get going.’

Eddie handed her several bills. ‘Thanks for looking after her.’

‘Hey, no problem, Uncle Eddie! I loved doing it. Any time you need me again, just let me know. I’m only a subway ride away.’

‘Get a cab home,’ he told her, passing her another banknote. ‘There’s a lot of weirdos around after dark.’ He cast a meaningful look at Olivia’s card.

‘Okay, thanks,’ said Holly. ‘See you again soon.’ She hugged him, then waved to Nina. ‘Tell Macy I said goodbye.’

‘We will. Thanks,’ Nina replied. Holly grinned, then departed.

‘She’s a good kid,’ said Eddie.

‘She is,’ Nina agreed with a smile, which turned into something more pensive. ‘Do you think I’m a good mom?’

The question surprised him. ‘Course I do.’

‘Because if Olivia really is my grandmother, that means my own mom lied to me — and my dad — about her my whole life. And they had such a huge fight that they never spoke to each other again. It was so bad that my mom told me she was dead rather than try to repair the relationship.’ She looked towards her daughter’s bedroom. ‘I don’t ever want that to happen with me and Macy.’

‘Well, one day she’s going to be a teenage girl,’ said Eddie. ‘Then she’ll hate you no matter what.’

‘Gee, thanks!’ But the wisecrack had disarmed her. ‘So when did you become an expert on the thought processes of teenage girls?’

‘I’ve got an older sister, remember? Lizzie and my mum used to argue all the time.’ He picked up one of the manila folders. ‘So what’re you going to do with this lot?’

‘Read it.’

‘You really think your mum wrote all this?’

‘If it’s a forgery, then somebody’s gone to an insane amount of trouble. There must be two hundred pages here.’ She pulled out a sheet at random. ‘It’s definitely her handwriting.’

‘Two hundred pages? She really was as bad as you.’ He tugged off the tie he had grudgingly worn for the premiere. ‘I’m going to bed. You coming?’

‘Sounds like a good idea.’ She put the folders on her desk, pausing to peruse the loose page. ‘I’ll be right in.’

He paused at the door. ‘No you won’t.’

‘Hmm?’

‘You’re going to start reading it right now, aren’t you? I can tell.’

She hurriedly put the page down. ‘No, I wasn’t, I…’

He chuckled. ‘It’s okay. I know what you’re like — but considering what that stuff is, I don’t blame you. If someone gave me a bunch of letters from my mum, I’d want to read ’em straight away too.’

‘Thanks, honey,’ she said with a smile. ‘Are you the most understanding husband in the world, or what?’

‘I’m the sexiest, definitely.’

‘Uh-huh.’ They both laughed. ‘I’ll see you in a little while, then. Thanks.’

‘Don’t stay up too late. Night, love.’

‘Goodnight.’ They blew each other kisses, and Eddie left her with her mother’s work.

Nina stared down at the folders. Where to begin?

At the beginning, she decided with a smile. She found what appeared to be the oldest pages, and started to read.