Chapter 2: The Numbers That Told The Truth
The sound of the engine faded into the distance.
But neither Cole nor I moved.
The darkness inside the kitchen felt heavier than it should have.
“Did you hear that?”” I whispered.
Cole was already moving.
He grabbed the flashlight hanging near the door.
“Stay here.””
I almost laughed.
After everything I had seen in my life, I was not the kind of woman who stayed behind quietly.
“I’m coming with you.””
“Eleanor—”
“Cole.””
Something in my voice made him stop.
Maybe he realized I wasn’t asking.
A few seconds later, we stepped outside.
The cold night air hit my face.
The ranch was silent.
Too silent.
Cole walked toward the barn, scanning the darkness.
“Do you have security cameras?”” I asked.
“No.””
“Why?””
He shrugged.
“Never thought I needed them.””
I looked around at the endless land.
“Maybe someone else thought you didn’t need them either.””
He didn’t respond.
But I knew he understood.
Inside the barn, everything looked normal.
Too normal.
Cole checked the equipment.
The feed storage.
The locks.
Nothing seemed wrong.
Then I noticed something.
“Cole.””
He turned.
“What?””
I pointed toward the back door.
The lock was scratched.
Freshly.
Someone had tried to open it.
His expression changed.
“That wasn’t there yesterday.””
I walked closer.
On the ground beneath the door was a small piece of paper.
Cole picked it up.
His face hardened.
“What is it?””
He handed it to me.
It was a delivery receipt.
But the date was from three weeks earlier.
The signature at the bottom was supposed to be Cole’s.
Except it wasn’t.
Someone had copied his name.
My stomach tightened.
“Someone has been stealing from you.””
Cole stared at the paper.
“No.””
The word came out immediately.
Almost like he refused to believe it.
I understood.
Because betrayal was always harder to accept than loss.
Loss meant something was gone.
Betrayal meant someone chose to take it.
“Cole.””
He shook his head.
“Everyone who works here has been with me for years.””
“Then someone you trust is hurting you.””
He looked away.
For a moment, he looked less like a ranch owner.
More like a man who had just discovered the world was not what he thought it was.
The next morning, Cole barely spoke.
Lily noticed.
Children always noticed.
“Daddy?””
He looked up from his coffee.
“What?””
“Are you sad?””
“No.””
She frowned.
“You always say no when you are.””
Cole stopped.
I looked down at my plate.
That little girl knew him better than he realized.
“I’m fine, sweetheart.””
Lily shook her head.
“You’re doing the fake fine.””
I almost smiled.
Cole looked confused.
“The fake fine?””
“Mommy used to say there were two kinds of fine.””
Lily counted on her fingers.
“Real fine and fake fine.””
The kitchen became silent.
Cole looked at his daughter.
“What else did Mommy say?””
Lily thought.
“She said people who love you can tell the difference.””
Cole looked away.
I saw him swallow hard.
Then Lily turned to me.
“Are you staying past ninety days?””
The question caught me off guard.
“I don’t know.””
She looked disappointed.
“Why not?””
“Because sometimes people have to leave.””
“Why?””
I searched for an answer.
But before I could speak, Cole quietly said:
“Because life changes.””
Lily looked between us.
Then she said something neither of us expected.
“Maybe you both keep leaving because you think nobody will ask you to stay.””
My hand froze around my coffee cup.
Cole stared at her.
A six-year-old had just said the thing two broken adults had been too afraid to admit.
Later that afternoon, I went through the ranch records again.
This time, I found something worse.
The missing money wasn’t random.
Someone had been careful.
They weren’t stealing everything at once.
They were taking small amounts.
Small enough that Cole wouldn’t notice.
Large enough that the ranch would slowly collapse.
Then I found the name connected to every fake invoice.
My heart sank.
Because it wasn’t a stranger.
It was someone close.
Someone who had access.
Someone Cole trusted.
I walked into the office where Cole was repairing a saddle.
“We need to talk.””
He looked up.
“What happened?””
I placed the papers on the table.
“I know who has been taking money from the ranch.””
His face changed.
“Who?””
I took a breath.
Because I knew the answer would hurt him.
“Your brother.””
The room went completely still.
Cole stared at me.
“My brother has been dead for six years.””
I froze.
“What?””
He slowly picked up the documents.
His eyes moved across the page.
Then his face lost all color.
Because the name wasn’t his brother.
It was someone using his brother’s old company information.
Someone who knew the Callaway family history.
Someone who knew exactly how to hide.
Then Cole looked at me.
And whispered:
“Eleanor… there’s only one person alive who would know those details.””
“Who?””
His hand tightened around the paper.
“My wife’s father.””
Before I could ask why his father-in-law would steal from him, Cole’s phone rang.
He answered.
A few seconds later, his expression changed.
“What happened?””
He listened.
Then slowly looked at me.
May you like
“Lily is missing.””
And outside the window, near the old barn, a small pink jacket lay in the dirt.
