“Why?”
“Fear.”
Elias looked at him.
“You're asking us to trust you.”
“No.”
Crowe shook his head.
“I'm asking you to use me.”
That was different.
June studied the map.
“Where is Harrow now?”
“At the old processing station.”
“Why?”
“He knows the documents are here.”
Elias looked at the metal box.
“How?”
Crowe stared at it.
“Because your grandfather wasn't the only person who knew.”
Elias understood.
There had been a leak.
Someone had told Harrow they had found the records.
“How long?”
“Less than an hour.”
The barn fell silent.
Then Lily began crying.
June picked her up.
Elias looked outside.
The sky was turning gray.
Snow covered the hills.
“We can't stay here.”
“Where do we go?” June asked.
Elias pointed north.
“My grandfather built a hunting cabin beyond the ridge.”
“Is it safe?”
“No.”
June almost laughed.
“That's encouraging.”
“But it's hidden.”
Crowe shook his head.
“Harrow will search it.”
“Then we don't go there.”
Elias folded the map.
“We go to him.”
Everyone stared.
“You're insane,” Crowe said.
“Maybe.”
Elias looked at the five children.
“But if Harrow believes we're hiding, he'll keep hunting us.”
June understood.
“You want him to think we have the documents.”
“We do.”
“And you want him to come for them.”
“Yes.”
Crowe shook his head.
“He'll bring armed men.”
“Good.”
Elias pointed toward the old mine road.
“We'll make sure everyone sees him arrive.”
June's eyes widened.
“The county judge.”
Elias nodded.
“If we can get Judge Mallory there, Harrow can't quietly disappear.”
Crowe said,
“Mallory is in Harrow's pocket.”
“Then we'll bring someone else.”
“Who?”
Elias looked at the five children.
“The people Harrow thought were dead.”
They left Mercer Ridge just after sunrise.
The storm had weakened.
Elias led the way through the forest.
June followed with the children.
Crowe brought up the rear.
For three hours, they walked.
The old forest was deep enough to hide them from the road.
Eventually they reached a clearing.
There were cabins.
Not one.
Twelve.
Elias had forgotten about the settlement.
It had once been home to miners.
Now it was abandoned.
Or so he thought.
A door opened.
An elderly man stepped outside.
He recognized Elias.
“You came.”
Elias stopped.
“Who are you?”
The man smiled.
“Thomas Bell.”
Elias knew the name.
His grandfather's closest friend.
“I thought you died.”
“Most people do.”
More doors opened.
Men and women emerged.
Former miners.
Farmers.
Widows.
Mechanics.
People whose families had lost land to Harrow.
They had been hiding here for years.
Thomas looked at June.
“You brought the heirs.”
June nodded.
Thomas's expression softened.
“And the Mercer heir.”
Elias frowned.
“You knew?”
“Everyone who matters knew.”
Elias felt anger rising.
“Then why didn't anyone tell me?”
Thomas looked at him.
“Because your father asked us to protect you.”
“My father is dead.”
“We know.”
“Then why keep hiding?”
Thomas pointed toward the hills.
“Because Harrow was waiting for you to discover the truth.”
Elias looked at the children.
“What happens now?”
Thomas smiled.
“Now he discovers that the people he buried never stopped breathing.”
Victor Harrow arrived at Mercer Ridge before noon.
He came in six black vehicles.
Men in heavy coats surrounded the farmhouse.
The property looked abandoned.
The front door hung open.
Snow blew through the broken windows.
Harrow stepped out of the first vehicle.
He was sixty years old.
Silver-haired.
Elegant.
Calm.
The kind of man who never needed to raise his voice.
Sheriff Crowe's deputy approached.
“It's empty.”
Harrow frowned.
“Search again.”
“We found nothing.”
Harrow looked toward the barn.
“Where is Crowe?”
“Missing.”
Harrow's expression changed.
“Then we have a problem.”
He walked toward the barn.
The door was open.
Inside, there was nothing.
Except a metal box sitting on the floor.
Harrow stopped.
He smiled.
“Finally.”
He entered.
The moment he touched the box, a voice came from behind him.
“Don't.”
Harrow froze.
Elias stood in the doorway.
June beside him.
The five children behind them.
And twenty people in the trees.
Harrow looked around.
His smile disappeared.
“You have no idea what you're doing.”
Elias raised his gun.
“Maybe.”
Harrow stared at him.
“Do you know how much money is buried beneath this land?”
“Yes.”
“Then you understand why this is pointless.”
“No.”
Elias took a step forward.
“I understand why you killed people.”
Harrow's face became expressionless.
“I've never killed anyone.”
June spoke.
“You killed my father.”
“No.”
“You ordered it.”
Harrow looked at her.
“I ordered your father to stop digging.”
“He didn't.”
“No.”
Harrow sighed.
“People make choices.”
Elias's voice hardened.
“You threatened my family.”
“I offered you money.”
“You destroyed my farm.”
“You destroyed your own farm by refusing to adapt.”
“You poisoned my cattle.”
Harrow smiled.
“Can you prove that?”
Elias raised the journal.
“Can you prove this is fake?”
Harrow's eyes moved to it.
For the first time, fear appeared.
Not much.
But enough.
Elias noticed.
“So that's what you're afraid of.”