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--- "What's this mandatory meeting about?" Kie asked, her curiosity bubbling to the surface as she leaned in closer.
"Might as well spill the beans before we get caught," JJ urged, casting a quick glance at John B.
"You're ready for this," John B reassured, his eyes flicking over to Kie, Pope, and Belle, who were all waiting in eager anticipation.
"Yeah..." Kie replied, her voice trembling slightly, betraying her nervousness.
"The gold never went down with the Royal Merchant," John B announced, a grin breaking across his face like sunlight breaking through clouds.
"Here we go again," Pope muttered under his breath, his annoyance evident as he worried about the potential fallout of this revelation.
"Just hear him out," JJ insisted, noticing Belle's distracted fiddling with her hands, the way she bit her lip revealing her own tension.
"It's been here the whole time—on the island," John B declared, standing up with a casual shrug that belied the gravity of his words.
"Are you serious?" Kie exclaimed, disbelief etched across her features.
"I'd like to voice my skepticism," Pope chimed in, prompting an eye roll from JJ.
"I'm sure you would, Pope," JJ shot back, only to have Belle playfully slap the back of his head, making him feign a pout of indignation.
"Anyway, may I present my evidence, sir?" John B asked with mock formality, gesturing dramatically with his hands.
"Proceed," Kie said, her tone half-joking, half-intrigued.
"Alright, in my backpack, I have a letter from Denmark Tanny."
"Who the hell is Denmark Tanny?" Belle asked, her tone laced with confusion, eliciting a chuckle from JJ at her candidness.
"Denmark Tanny was a slave who survived the Royal Merchant wreck. My dad found the complete crew manifest—that was his big discovery. Tanny used the gold from the ship to buy his freedom," John B explained, handing the letter to Kie, who whistled in disbelief before passing it to Pope.
"After that, he bought a farm—drumroll, please," Kie said, her excitement palpable as she tapped her legs in anticipation.
"Tanny Hill Plantation," John B announced, his eyes gleaming with the thrill of the chase.
