Now he knelt beside it.
Nara watched from the doorway.
“What are you looking for?”
Eli ran his fingers along the wooden frame.
“My father built this.”
He turned it over.
Beneath the base was a narrow compartment, concealed behind a strip of walnut.
Eli worked his knife beneath the wood.
The panel came loose.
Inside lay a rolled document wrapped in oilcloth.
His hands trembled as he unfolded it.
The paper was old.
The seals were faded.
But the writing remained legible.
It was a land grant.
A legal record identifying the original holders of the valley property.
Eli read the names aloud.
One belonged to his maternal grandfather.
Another belonged to a man he had never heard of.
And beneath them appeared a third name.
Silas Dugan.
Not as owner.
As witness.
Eli looked up.
“He’s known all along.”
Nara took the document.
Her eyes widened.
“This is more than a deed.”
“What?”
She pointed to a paragraph near the bottom.
Eli read it carefully.
The property had been placed under a special territorial trust.
Its mineral rights could not legally be transferred without the consent of the original family and their descendants.
The document named a trust administrator.
Eli stared at the signature.
Henry Ward.
His father had not merely bought a stolen child.
He had been entrusted with protecting the land.
And he had betrayed that trust.
Nara turned the page.
A second document had been attached.
It was a handwritten list of deposits, ownership shares, and royalties from the mine.
The amounts were enormous.
Eli could scarcely comprehend them.
Then he reached the final page.
His heart stopped.
There was a recent entry.
Dated only three months earlier.
It recorded a withdrawal of forty thousand dollars from an account maintained in the name of the Ward family trust.
The withdrawal had been authorized by someone using Eli’s signature.
But Eli had signed nothing.
Below the forged signature was a witness’s name.
Margaret Vale.
Nara stared at it.
“That can’t be right.”
Eli felt something colder than fear.
Margaret had claimed to be investigating Dugan for six years.
She had known about the mine.
She had known about the deed.
She had arrived with marshals at exactly the right moment.
And she had insisted that all evidence be placed in her custody.
Eli looked at Nara.
“We arrested the sheriff.”
Nara understood immediately.
“But we handed everything to the woman who was paying him.”
Chapter Fourteen: The Last Betrayal
Margaret Vale was preparing to leave Dustwater when Eli entered the courthouse.
Two marshals stood outside.
Inside, Margaret was packing documents into a leather trunk.
She smiled when she saw him.
“Eli. I was about to send for you.”
He closed the door.
“Where are you taking the records?”
“To the territorial capital.”
“All of them?”
“Of course.”
Eli placed the trust document on her desk.
Margaret’s smile vanished.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then she sighed.
“Your father should have burned that.”
Eli felt his pulse slow.
“So it’s true.”
Margaret sat down.
“Part of it.”
“You financed Dugan.”
“I financed the mines.”
“You paid him to steal land.”
“I paid him to secure mineral rights.”
“People died.”
“People always die when fortunes are made.”
Eli stared at her.
The woman who had presented herself as a savior now spoke with the cold impatience of someone discussing spoiled merchandise.
“You arranged the raid?”
“Which one?”
The question sickened him.
Margaret folded her hands.
“Silas was useful. But he became reckless. Drunk. Violent. He started keeping records he should have destroyed.”
“So you came to replace him.”
“I came to protect my investment.”
“And the marshals?”
“Real officers. They believe they’ve broken a criminal conspiracy.”
Eli glanced toward the door.
“They don’t know about you.”
“Of course not.”
Margaret smiled faintly.
“Neither will anyone else.”
She reached beneath the desk.
Eli heard the click of a revolver.
“Don’t.”
Margaret froze.
Nara stood in the doorway behind her.
Her shotgun was steady.
Margaret looked between them.
Then she laughed softly.
“How touching. The reunited family.”
Nara’s expression did not change.
“You knew my grandmother.”
“Yes.”
“You let her die.”
Margaret shrugged.
“She refused to sell.”
Nara took one step forward.
“You sent Dugan after her.”
Margaret said nothing.
“Answer me.”
“Your grandmother was an obstacle.”
Nara’s face went white.
For a moment, Eli thought she would fire.
Instead, she lowered the barrel slightly.
“You’re going to tell the marshals everything.”
Margaret smiled.
“And why would I do that?”
Eli reached into his coat.
He withdrew a small notebook.
Margaret’s expression changed.
It was Dr. Bell’s unfinished confession.
But inside its cover, Eli had placed the original withdrawal record.
He set it on the desk.
“Because I already showed this to the chief marshal.”
Margaret’s smile disappeared.
Eli continued.
“He’s waiting outside with two witnesses.”
The door opened.
A tall marshal entered.
Behind him came Nathaniel Price, the undertaker.
Margaret stared.
“You can’t prove anything.”
