Keona frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"It means I won't lie to her."
Ethan stepped closer.
"If she wants me gone tomorrow, I'll leave."
Serena stared at him.
"If she wants me here tomorrow, I'll stay."
The chief said nothing.
Then, unexpectedly, he nodded.
"Then you have until tomorrow."
Ethan glanced at Serena.
"That's generous."
Keona ignored the comment.
"There is another matter."
He pointed toward the valley.
"The northern cattle trail is blocked."
Ethan looked toward the mountains.
"By what?"
"Men."
Ethan's expression changed.
"What men?"
"Men who have been coming closer for months."
Keona's voice became colder.
"They claim they own the valley."
Ethan frowned.
"Do they?"
"No."
"Then why haven't you driven them away?"
The chief looked at him.
"Because they have papers."
Ethan understood.
Land disputes.
Money.
Lawyers.
Men who believed a document could erase generations of memory.
"Who are they?"
"Blackstone Cattle Company."
Ethan knew the name.
Everyone in Montana knew it.
The company had purchased thousands of acres during the past five years.
Ranches disappeared.
Families sold.
Small farms vanished.
Blackstone kept growing.
"Who runs it?"
"Silas Mercer."
Ethan's expression hardened.
He knew that name too.
Mercer was rich.
Mercer was ruthless.
And Mercer had once tried to buy Ethan's father's ranch.
His father had refused.
Six months later, the ranch burned.
Ethan had always suspected Mercer.
He had never been able to prove it.
Keona studied him.
"You know him."
"Yes."
"Then perhaps there is a reason you were brought here."
Ethan looked at the valley.
Serena followed his gaze.
"Blackstone wants this land," she said.
"Yes."
"Not because it is valuable."
Ethan looked at her.
"Then why?"
She answered quietly.
"Because there is something beneath it."
Ethan waited.
Serena's eyes moved toward the mountains.
"Something they have been searching for."
The Woman Nobody Chose
By midmorning, Ethan had learned that Serena knew the valley better than anyone.
She could identify trails by the angle of sunlight.
She knew which creek remained frozen longest.
She knew where elk crossed during the first snowfall.
She could tell from broken branches whether someone had passed through recently.
But what surprised Ethan most was her knowledge of people.
She knew which elders had lost family.
Which children feared storms.
Which horses became nervous around strangers.
Which families were struggling.
Which homes needed food.
She noticed everything.
And yet everyone seemed to overlook her.
They walked past her.
They spoke around her.
They asked her father questions she could have answered better.
Ethan began to understand why.
Serena had been trained to disappear.
That afternoon, they rode toward the northern trail.
Ethan's horse had recovered enough to travel slowly.
Serena rode beside him.
"You've been here your entire life?"
"Almost."
"Almost?"
"I lived away for three years."
"Where?"
"A boarding school."
Ethan glanced at her.
"Did you like it?"
"No."
"Why?"
She smiled sadly.
"Because they told me I was lucky."
"Lucky?"
"To be educated."
"What was wrong with that?"
"They also told me I should become someone different."
Ethan waited.
"They didn't like the way I spoke. They didn't like my clothes. They didn't like my hair. They didn't like the way I carried myself."
She looked toward the mountains.
"Eventually I learned that people can make you feel ashamed of almost anything."
Ethan nodded.
"Especially if they're trying to control you."
She looked at him.
"You understand."
"More than you think."
They continued riding.
After an hour, they reached the northern trail.
A wooden barrier had been erected across the road.
Beyond it stood four men.
Their horses were tied nearby.
One man stepped forward.
"You shouldn't be here."
Ethan dismounted.
"Neither should you."
The man laughed.
"This is Blackstone property."
Ethan pointed toward the mountains.
"Your fence says otherwise."
The man looked at Serena.
"You should take your daughter home."
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
"She's not my daughter."
The man laughed.
"Not yet."
Serena stiffened.
Ethan stepped between them.
"Choose your next words carefully."
The man stared at him.
Then smiled.
"Mercer said you'd come."
Ethan froze.
"You know me?"
"We know everybody."
"Tell Mercer I'm not interested."
"Oh, you're interested."
The man pulled a folded document from his coat.
"Because this is your father's old land."