Severed Threads by Kaylin McFarren Read Free Book Online

necessary. He was packing his bag for a weeklong trip when the morning mail arrived. A past-due phone bill was all it took to break the silence and send Rachel over the edge.
    "Why don't you go back to chartering?" she'd said, glowering in the hallway. "They're cutting back my hours at the institute. I can't keep bailing you out."
    "So don't. I never asked for your help in the first place," he'd snapped.
    "Then how are you going to keep the lights on? Who’s going to pay for your fuel? I don't understand why you insist on deluding yourself. You’re never going to come out ahead."
    He zipped up his bag then faced her. "It's a good thing Chase has faith in me. That’s more than I can say for you."
    "Maybe you never gave me a reason.” She held her mug in both hands, anticipating his verbal assault, but it never came. He picked up his duffle bag and swept past her. Still feeling the fight, she followed him outside. She watched him climb into Chase’s black truck. As they pulled out of the driveway, her father leaned forward in his seat.
    “ One day you’ll regret those words,” he called out. Then he was gone.
    Dr. Ying opened his briefcase, pulling Rachel back into the museum – back into the treasure hunters’ sanctum. He extracted a file and showed her drawings of the Wanli II’s figurehead: a fierce dragon covered in gold leaf and preserved in resin for all posterity.
    “ Somewhere on board the ship is the gift Mai Le intended for her lover,” he said. “According to ancient scrolls handed down by my grandfather, it was hidden in a handcrafted box – disguised as a Chinese betrothal chest. After a thorough examination of the wood fibers and inscribed markings, there’s no doubt in my mind. The lid your father found belongs to this box. The heart of the dragon must be hidden in the wreckage or buried somewhere close by.”
    Still keeping her attention, Dr. Ying told Rachel an astonishing tale about Mai Le’s treasure. Before he was through, he added a surprising twist. "Prophecy foretells of a lion rescuing the dragon’s heart. This is your destiny, Rachel," he pleaded. "Your chance to turn your father’s dream into reality."
    She looked around, weighing her options. There was nothing she wanted more than to mend the past – to earn her father’s forgiveness and respect. But Dr. Ying had lied before. Why should she believe him now?
    “ It’s been four years, Dr. Ying. Why hasn’t anyone gone after the Wanli II , if it’s actually there like you say?”
    “ Sam kept it a secret. No one knew where he was headed or what he was up to. That’s not to say divers and salvagers haven’t been in the same waters. But there haven’t been any reports or claims filed. It wasn’t till Chase came back and discovered the plate that this adventure began again.”

Rachel glanced away for a moment. “I still don’t understand my part in all of this.”
    "Find the ship and your father will receive his long overdue reward. The museum will fund a permanent exhibition to honor his memory,” he assured her. “Bring back the heart and you’ll earn your place in history.”
    Her eyes returned to the Orient , a treasure ship still buried in debate. What if he was right? The ship's rotting remains were sitting on the ocean floor, just waiting to be raided, dismantled and ruined. Yet as selfish and unprincipled as it seemed, her decision could end all the nightmares – could finally put her father’s memory to rest.
    She needed time to digest everything, to feel confident in her answer. "I’ll get back to you as soon as I can," she said.
    "Please keep in mind," he implored, "time and secrecy are of the essence. The foundation you represent would, of course, have the first right of refusal for acquired assets though its capital investment. But controversy lies in the fact that this historical ship technically belonged to China. Due to the crew’s tarnished reputation, however, Emperor Wanli claimed no knowledge of