In The Count of Monte Cristo, a cardinal poisoned for his money left his heir only a breviary, and the will hidden in it passed to a prisoner

The Count of Monte Cristo is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, written with Auguste Maquet and serialised in the Journal des Débats from 1844 to 1846. In prison at the Château d'If, the Abbé Faria tells Edmond Dantès about a paper dated 25 April 1498. In Faria's story, Pope Alexander VI and Cesare Borgia invited the rich Cardinal Spada to dinner and poisoned him. They searched for his money and found only a will leaving his nephew his coffers, his books and his breviary. Faria, secretary to the last Count Spada, inherited the library and the breviary. In 1807 he burned an old sheet from it by accident and saw hidden writing appear. It said about two million Roman crowns lay buried in caves on Montecristo, left to the nephew as sole heir. Faria makes Dantès his heir: "If we ever escape together, half this treasure is yours." Dantès escapes, takes the treasure, buys the island and the title of count. The historical background is disputed. Paolo Giovio wrote that Alexander poisoned rich cardinals to fund Cesare; the historian John Paul Adams calls such stories unlikely. When Cardinal Juan Borgia died in 1503, his wealth of more than 100,000 ducats went to the pope and thus to Cesare.