Chapter 5: The Stranger Inside My Home
The sound of the gunshot seemed to freeze the entire valley.
For one second, nobody moved.
The world became silent except for the ringing in my ears.
Then I turned.
The person standing behind me lowered the weapon slightly.
My heart dropped.
It was not a stranger.
It was someone I had welcomed through my front door.
Someone who had eaten at my table.
Someone who knew the layout of my ranch better than most people alive.
Thomas Bell.
My neighbor.
My friend.
For twenty years, I had trusted that man.
We had shared tools, helped each other repair fences, and buried our differences over cups of coffee on cold mornings.
But now he stood behind me holding a pistol.
Aiyana moved instantly.
She pulled me backward.
The warriors surrounding the ranch aimed their weapons.
Thomas looked around at all of them.
Then he sighed.
Not like a man caught.
Like a man disappointed.
“Corvin,” he said quietly.
I stared at him.
“Why?””
The question came out before anything else.
Not anger.
Not yet.
Just confusion.
Thomas looked down at the gun in his hand.
“I never wanted it to happen this way.””
My stomach tightened.
“You fired at me.””
His eyes lifted.
“I fired near you.””
Aiyana’s expression hardened.
“Do not insult him with that excuse.””
Thomas looked at her.
“You.””
The word carried hatred.
Not surprise.
Not fear.
Hatred.
“You have no idea what you brought here.””
Aiyana stepped forward.
“No. I know exactly what I brought.””
She looked around at the ranch.
“Truth.””
Thomas laughed bitterly.
“Truth?””
He looked at me.
“Is that what she told you?””
I said nothing.
Because suddenly, every conversation I had ever had with Thomas felt different.
Every time he asked about my land.
Every time he asked about old stories my father told me.
Every time he casually mentioned the abandoned areas of the ranch.
I had thought he was being friendly.
Now I wondered if he had been searching.
“What did my father have?”” I asked.
Thomas looked away.
That hesitation told me everything.
“You knew.””
His jaw tightened.
“Your father knew things he should not have known.””
“What things?””
Thomas did not answer.
Aiyana did.
“The location of something valuable.””
I looked at her.
“You knew about my father?””
“Yes.””
The answer shocked me.
“How?””
She looked toward the hills.
“Because your father helped my people many years ago.””
The valley went quiet.
“My father?””
Aiyana nodded.
“He found something that others wanted. Instead of using it for himself, he protected it.””
Thomas stepped forward.
“That is not the story.””
Nobody moved.
He continued.
“Your father stole from powerful people.””
Aiyana’s eyes narrowed.
“Your employers told you that?””
The question hit him.
Hard.
For the first time, Thomas looked uncertain.
I noticed.
“Employers?””
Thomas looked at me.
Then he knew.
The truth was already out.
“There are people who want what your father left behind.””
“Who?””
Thomas stayed silent.
Then a voice came from the fence line.
“People who are tired of waiting.””
Everyone turned.
A group of armed men stood near the eastern ridge.
The same men who had been digging.
Their leader stepped forward.
He was older, dressed in a dark coat, with a scar running across one side of his face.
He looked at the scene calmly.
Almost comfortably.
“Corvin Torne.””
I raised my rifle.
“Who are you?””
The man smiled.
“My name does not matter.””
“That usually means it does.””
A few warriors moved closer.
The man ignored them.
“You inherited something from your father.””
“I inherited a ranch.””
“No.””
His eyes moved across the land.
“You inherited a secret.””
I felt the weight of those words.
For twenty years, I had believed this place was only dirt, fences, and memories.
Now everyone around me acted like the ground itself was worth killing for.
The man continued.
“Your father hid something before he died.””
I looked at Thomas.
Then back at him.
“And you know where it is?””
The man smiled.
“We know it is here.””
Aiyana stepped beside me.
“Then why have you not found it?””
The man looked at her.
“Because your people protected the land.””
His eyes returned to me.
“But now we have the key.””
My blood ran cold.
“What key?””
The man pointed.
Not at me.
At the house.
I turned.
The old wooden door stood open.
My breath stopped.
Because I had locked it that morning.
Nobody should have been inside.
The man smiled.
“Your father left instructions.””
I looked at Aiyana.
She looked equally confused.
Then we heard it.
A sound from inside the house.
A drawer opening.
Someone searching.
Someone who had been there before the others arrived.
I stepped toward the door.
Aiyana grabbed my arm.
“Wait.””
I looked at her.
“Someone is inside my home.””
Her expression was serious.
“And that may be exactly what they want.””
But I was already moving.
Because there was one thing I knew.
Nobody entered my house.
Nobody touched my father’s belongings.
Nobody searched through my memories.
Not without an answer.
I stepped through the doorway.
And saw the person standing beside my father’s old desk.
May you like
Holding the one thing I never thought I would see again.
My father’s journal.
