Chapter 7: The Father’s Last Warning
Corvin read the sentence again.
Then again.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
His father’s.
The same sharp letters that had appeared on old birthday cards and notes left beside the kitchen table.
But these words were different.
They were not about chores.
They were not about the ranch.
They were a warning.
Aiyana held the journal carefully.
“Your father knew someone would come.””
Corvin looked at her.
“He knew?””
Nantan stepped closer.
“He knew the valley had enemies.””
Corvin turned toward the chief.
“Then why did nobody tell me?””
The question came out louder than he intended.
The Apache warriors became silent.
Even Silas watched him.
Corvin’s anger had been buried for years.
Anger at his father for leaving him with unanswered questions.
Anger at himself for never asking enough.
He looked back at the journal.
“My father spent his entire life here.””
Aiyana nodded.
“He protected something.””
“What?””
She opened the journal again.
“He did not write everything.””
Corvin frowned.
“Why not?””
“Because he believed the wrong person could find it.””
Silas suddenly laughed.
“You are all acting like this is some great mystery.””
Everyone looked at him.
He stepped forward.
“Your father was a stubborn old man who thought he could keep the world away.””
Corvin’s eyes narrowed.
“You knew him?””
Silas smiled.
“Everyone knew Elias Torne.””
That answer bothered Corvin.
“You never mentioned that.””
Silas shrugged.
“There was no reason.””
“No reason?””
Corvin pointed toward the journal.
“You came to my ranch with armed men, searching for something my father hid.””
Silas’s expression remained calm.
“Because your father stole something.””
The accusation spread through the valley.
Corvin stared.
“What?””
Silas looked at Nantan.
“He took what belonged to others.””
Aiyana stepped forward.
“Lie.””
Silas looked at her.
“You were not there.””
“My ancestors were.””
The two stared at each other.
Years of hatred seemed to pass between them.
Corvin looked down at the journal.
He needed answers.
Not more secrets.
He opened to another page.
The ink was faded, but the words were still readable.
I know they will come.
They will say the land belongs to them.
They will say the truth can be bought.
But they cannot erase what happened here.
Corvin’s breathing slowed.
His father had known.
He had been waiting.
For what?
Aiyana moved closer.
“Keep reading.””
Corvin turned the page.
The next entry was shorter.
Much shorter.
If they find the journal, they will search for the second marker.
Corvin stopped.
“Second marker?””
Silas immediately looked away.
Too quickly.
Corvin noticed.
“You know about it.””
Silas said nothing.
Nantan looked toward the well.
“There are two markers.””
Corvin turned.
“Two?””
“The first proves the history of this land.””
The chief pointed toward the ground.
“The second proves what lies beneath it.””
Silas’s men shifted nervously.
Corvin understood.
The papers were not the prize.
The journal was not the prize.
They were only a path.
A path leading to something hidden.
Silas suddenly moved.
Fast.
One of his men reached for the journal.
But before he could grab it, an Apache warrior stepped in front of him.
The two men stood inches apart.
Nantan’s voice cut through the tension.
“Enough.””
Silas glared.
“You think you have won?””
“No.””
Nantan looked at him calmly.
“I think you are afraid.””
Silas’s face hardened.
“You do not know what you are dealing with.””
Corvin looked at him.
“Neither do you.””
That was the first time Silas had no answer.
The ranch owner who had spent years avoiding conflict was finally standing against the man who wanted to take everything.
Silas slowly backed away.
Then he smiled.
A cold, empty smile.
“Fine.””
He looked at the hills.
“You want the truth?””
Nobody moved.
“Then you should know something.””
His eyes returned to Corvin.
“Your father did not die protecting this secret.””
Corvin froze.
“What did you say?””
Aiyana looked at him.
Silas continued.
“He died because of it.””
The words struck harder than any bullet.
Corvin stepped forward.
“You are lying.””
“Am I?””
Silas tilted his head.
“Ask yourself why your father spent his final years alone.””
Corvin felt his hands tighten.
His father’s last months.
The distance.
The silence.
The way he avoided certain conversations.
There had always been something missing.
Silas turned his horse.
“You want answers?””
He looked back.
“Find the second marker.””
Then he rode away.
The armed men followed.
But before they disappeared into the valley, one of them dropped something.
A small piece of metal.
Corvin picked it up.
A symbol was carved into it.
The same symbol from the old land record.
A circle.
With a line through it.
Aiyana saw it.
Her face changed.
“What?””
She whispered.
“That symbol…”
She looked toward the mountains.
“It is not a land mark.””
Corvin stared at her.
“Then what is it?””
May you like
Aiyana’s voice became quiet.
“It is a warning.””
