Chapter 546

“This is the treasure you brought back?”

Randy and Erica leaned over the suitcase, peering through magnifying glasses at the contents. Debra sat to the side, sipping her tea. She had already seen everything in the suitcase earlier. Except for the sapphire ring, there were no noteworthy items.

Erica rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Based on my knowledge of jewelry, Melody’s collection here is worth at least 300 million dollars.”

Randy stood up, shaking his head. “Not quite. If you add in the one Debra is wearing, it’s at least 1.3 billion.”

“Leaving 1.3 billion just lying around at home? She sure knows how to live,” Erica said with a touch of sarcasm.

“No kidding,” Randy agreed, slapping the table lightly. He looked confused as he continued, “But what’s all this ‘treasure’ talk you did before? Does it have something to do with these jewels?”

Debra set her teacup down. “According to Andrew, the four prominent families back in the day were the Potter, Frazier, Houston, and Osborne families. The Nichols family rose to power later. But recently, when I went into the ancestral hall with Juan…”

Marion suddenly interrupted, his voice sharp, “Why did he take you to their ancestral hall?”

Debra paused, a bit thrown off by the question. Ancestral halls were typically off-limits to outsiders, reserved only for direct family members. She let out a nervous laugh. “He just took me to have a look around.”

“Really?” Marion’s eyes narrowed, a glint of suspicion flickering behind them.

Debra cleared her throat, quickly changing the subject. “Anyway, that’s not the point. The point is, while we were in the hall, I noticed two plaques.”

Randy frowned. “Isn’t that normal?”

“Yeah,” Marion chimed in. “Our ancestral hall has plenty of them too.”

Debra shook her head. “These were different. The plaques were for Juan’s great-grandparents. Juan mentioned that the Nichols family didn’t originally make their fortune in Seamar City. They moved here later. He didn’t go into much detail, but I have a feeling that the Nichols family isn’t the ‘new money’ they’re made out to be. They might be an old, secretive family.”

Erica snorted. “Now it sounds far-fetched. If the Nichols family was that powerful a hundred years ago, there’s no way they wouldn’t have had a seat among the Four Great Families.”

Randy settled back into the couch, crossing his legs thoughtfully. “My parents mentioned the Four Families a few times, but they moved overseas a long time ago. They don’t care about that stuff anymore. Now I’m the only one left running the family business. My grandparents passed away, so there’s no one to ask about those old stories.”

Erica rolled her eyes. “I think the Four Families thing is just a glorified business alliance. They banded together to monopolize the market. There’s nothing mystical or secretive about it.”

Debra thought for a moment. “But if it wasn’t for some hidden secret, how else do you explain the sudden influx of people trying to dig up the past?”

Silence fell over the group as her words hung in the air—a question no one seemed eager to answer.

Randy, lost in thought, pulled out a cigarette and lit it. He passed another to Marion, who didn’t take it.

“What’s up?”

“No thanks.”

Randy was surprised. “You quit smoking?”

Erica couldn’t help but laugh. “The chain smoker quitting? Love does work miracles.”