He’d never given a diamond to anyone, had never wanted to, but this diamond…this diamond was meant for his family.

Bill wouldn’t disrupt the little girl’s life. It was clear to him, even from across the yard, that she was happy with her adopted parents. He’d had a private investigator look into the family; they weren’t wealthy, but they would give her a happy, stable life with everything she needed. Certainly much more than a crotchety old man could, even with all his riches.

She didn’t know she had any living relatives, and he was fine with that. He would have adopted her, but she wouldn’t have been happy with him. He wouldn’t upset the girl by making her choose families.

He turned the gift over and over in his hands. She didn’t need to know he existed. She didn’t need to know the story of his estrangement from his family, or that he felt like he needed to make amends.

But one day, she would need something, and that he could provide. It was the one good thing he could do for his great-niece.

Chapter 1

Khizar

Sheikh Khizar Jamshidi read through the file laying on his desk one more time, tapping his long fingers on the paper. Bill Bauer had kept meticulous records about his mine and his business, but the one piece of information Khizar wanted was nowhere to be found.

Khizar had been finalizing the paperwork to buy the famous Bauer mine when Bill died suddenly. Though, Khizar thought, Bill had been 87 years old, so maybe it wasn’t so unexpected. His death had put a stop to the purchase, at least until Bill’s estate was settled.

Khizar’s lawyer had been able to get a copy of Bauer’s will, and after reading through it, Khizar had come to two conclusions: Bauer’s mine had been stripped of anything of value, and Bill himself had very little in the way of possessions.

Most of Bauer’s fortune was going to charitable organizations, which Khizar supposed was a good thing. The man certainly had enough money to do good. And, in all their conversations, Bill had never mentioned any relatives, so it wasn’t like there was family to fight over the fortune.

Bill had also left money to his employees, enough to give each of them a healthy severance package as the mine closed down. What worldly goods he had were designated to be auctioned off or donated.

Khizar stood and paced across the plush carpet, from the large sleek desk to the wall of floor-to-ceiling windows along the far side of the room. He looked down over the city, wondering if somewhere out there was a person who had the information he sought.

At thirty, Khizar was a well-respected businessman, the CEO of one of the world’s finest jewelry companies. He had everything he could possible ask for, and maybe that was why he wanted this one thing it seemed he couldn’t have.

There was a diamond of great beauty and value—some said the most perfect diamond in the world. Bill Bauer had found that diamond in his mine, and the gem had become something of a legend, partly because Bill refused to part with it.

Khizar wanted the diamond for the same reason Bill had never sold it—the man who owned it would never be poor.

Not that Khizar ever needed to worry about being poor. His uncle was the Sheikh of Nudushan; Khizar was royalty in his own right, in addition to being one of the wealthiest men in the world. He owned the best penthouse in Nudushan’s capital city, a luxury yacht, a private jet, and multiple cars. He could go anywhere and buy anything.

His parents didn’t understand his quest for this diamond. Khizar ran several diamond mines himself. His company bought and sold precious stones and jewelry, and Khizar had a priceless personal collection of gemstones.

He ran a hand through his black, wavy hair. Whatever else he owned, this one diamond was important. The sheer prestige of owning the Bauer Diamond would ensure his company’s success for many years to come.

Khizar and Bill had talked into the night many a time over expensive whiskey, and the way Bill had described the diamond had captured Khizar’s imagination. Bauer would never tell Khizar the location of the diamond, and the Sheikh had liked the old man too much to pressure him.

He’d hoped that buying Bauer’s mine would shake loose the secret of the diamond’s location, but when Bill died, that information died with him.

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