Chapter 6: The Name Buried In History
Corvin read the name three times.
Because his mind refused to accept it.
The paper trembled slightly in his hand.
“This can’t be right.””
Aiyana watched him carefully.
“What does it say?””
Corvin swallowed.
“It says the original owner of this land…”
His voice faded.
Chief Nantan finished the sentence.
“Was an Apache woman.””
The valley went completely silent.
Even Silas looked surprised.
Corvin stared at the paper.
A woman.
An Apache woman.
The first owner of the land he had spent his entire life protecting.
He looked at Aiyana.
She looked back at him.
Neither spoke.
Then Silas laughed.
A sharp, uncomfortable sound.
“That is meaningless.””
Everyone turned toward him.
He shook his head.
“An old paper does not change ownership.””
Corvin looked at him.
“You were scared when you saw it.””
Silas’s expression hardened.
“I was surprised.””
“No.””
Corvin stepped forward.
“You knew this existed.””
Silas said nothing.
The truth was becoming obvious.
The man had not come for a piece of land.
He had come for something hidden beneath it.
Nantan looked at Silas.
“Your family destroyed records. Changed names. Bought silence.””
Silas’s face darkened.
“Careful.””
The chief ignored the warning.
“For generations, your people searched for proof that they owned this valley.””
Aiyana held the papers tightly.
“But they never found it.””
Corvin looked at her.
“Why?””
“Because my ancestors hid it.””
She touched the old document.
“They knew men would kill for it.””
Corvin looked at the ranch around him.
The fences.
The cabin.
The well.
Everything suddenly felt different.
All those years, he thought he was alone because he wanted peace.
Maybe he was alone because someone wanted him unaware.
Silas moved closer.
“You do not understand what you have found.””
Corvin looked at him.
“Then explain.””
Silas’s eyes narrowed.
“You think this is about history?””
He pointed toward the ground.
“It is about what is buried here.””
Corvin frowned.
“What?””
Silas smiled.
“There are minerals beneath this valley.””
The Apache warriors reacted immediately.
Corvin looked around.
“So that is it.””
Silas shrugged.
“Resources change everything.””
Aiyana stepped forward.
“You mean money changes everything.””
Silas looked at her.
“You always thought your people could protect this place forever.””
Her expression became cold.
“And you always thought greed made you powerful.””
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then one of Silas’s men walked toward him.
“Sir.””
Silas turned.
The man whispered something.
Silas’s eyes moved toward the old papers.
Then toward Corvin.
Then toward Aiyana.
“What?””
The man looked nervous.
“We found another box.””
Everyone froze.
Corvin looked at the well.
“Another?””
The man nodded.
“Hidden beneath the first one.””
Silas’s face changed again.
Fear.
Not surprise.
Fear.
Nantan noticed.
“What is inside?””
The man hesitated.
“A journal.””
Aiyana’s expression changed.
“Whose?””
The man looked at the pages.
“It has a name.””
Silas suddenly stepped forward.
“Give it to me.””
But the Apache warriors blocked him.
Nantan looked at the man.
“Read the name.””
The rider swallowed.
Then he spoke.
“Elias Torne.””
Corvin froze.
His father.
The valley became silent.
Silas stared at him.
“You didn’t know.””
Corvin looked down.
All his life, he believed his father left him only a ranch.
A difficult life.
A piece of land and a list of responsibilities.
But now he was learning his father had left him something else.
A secret.
A dangerous one.
Aiyana slowly opened the journal.
The first page was filled with faded handwriting.
She read the opening line.
Then her face turned pale.
“What does it say?”” Corvin asked.
She looked up.
“Your father knew they were coming.””
Corvin stepped closer.
“Who?””
Aiyana’s fingers tightened around the journal.
She looked toward Silas.
Then back at Corvin.
“He wrote that one day, men would return for this land.””
A pause.
“And he wrote that when they did…”
The wind moved through the valley.
Corvin waited.
May you like
Aiyana finished the sentence.
“You should not trust everyone who comes wearing a friendly face.””
