“Fine.”
The old mine was three miles north of the settlement.
Snow covered the entrance.
The timber supports had rotted decades ago.
Caleb lit a lantern.
Mara followed.
“You're afraid,” he said.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
She looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because only fools aren't afraid underground.”
For the first time, she smiled.
It was a small smile.
But Caleb noticed.
They moved deeper.
The mine smelled of wet stone and old earth.
After twenty minutes, they found a wooden door.
It had been hidden behind fallen rock.
Mara stopped.
“My mother built this.”
Caleb examined the lock.
“Can you open it?”
She nodded.
From beneath her dress, she pulled a small key.
The door opened.
Inside was a narrow chamber.
There were boxes.
Old blankets.
A broken lantern.
And a table.
On the table lay a journal.
Caleb picked it up.
The first page contained one sentence.
If you are reading this, Elias failed.
Caleb's heart tightened.
He turned the page.
The journal belonged to Elena.
She had written about the men stealing water.
About politicians taking bribes.
About a secret organization called the Seven.
And then Caleb saw a name.
Thomas Mercer.
His father's name.
Caleb read faster.
Thomas had not been one of the criminals.
He had been investigating them.
Then another name appeared.
Raven.
Caleb looked at Mara.
“Your father knew.”
She nodded.
“He knew everything.”
The next page had been torn out.
Then another.
And another.
Only one final sentence remained.
The seventh man is the one Caleb trusts most.
Caleb stopped.
“Caleb?”
Mara looked confused.
“My name.”
“This was written twenty years ago.”
“I know.”
“Then she couldn't have meant me.”
Mara slowly shook her head.
“No.”
Caleb looked at her.
“She meant your father.”
Before he could respond, a noise echoed through the mine.
Footsteps.
Someone was coming.
Mara extinguished the lantern.
They hid behind the wall.
Three men entered.
One spoke.
“Find the journal.”
Another answered.
“The girl was here.”
The first man laughed.
“Then she won't leave.”
Caleb's hand tightened around his revolver.
Mara whispered:
“There are three.”
“I know.”
“One carries a shotgun.”
“I saw him.”
“The other two have knives.”
Caleb leaned closer.
“When I move, run.”
“No.”
“Mara.”
“I won't leave you.”
He looked at her.
“You don't even know me.”
She whispered:
“I know enough.”
The footsteps came closer.
Caleb raised his revolver.
Then the mine exploded with gunfire.
Caleb fired twice.
One man fell.
The second fired wildly into the darkness.
Mara grabbed Caleb's arm.
“Move!”
They ran.
Behind them, the mine filled with smoke.
Bullets struck the stone walls.
Caleb fired again.
The gunman screamed.
Then silence.
They kept running.
At last they reached the chamber entrance.
But a man was waiting outside.
He was tall.
Thin.
Dressed in a black coat.
He smiled.
“Caleb Mercer.”
Caleb raised his revolver.
“Who are you?”
“Jonah Raven.”
Mara stepped forward.
“Uncle.”
Jonah looked at her.
“Take off the veil.”
Mara froze.
“Why?”
“Because it's time for Caleb to see what your father has hidden.”
Caleb kept his gun trained on Jonah.
“You knew we'd come here.”
“Of course.”
“Why?”
“Because I knew the journal would lead you here.”
Caleb's eyes narrowed.
“Where is my sister?”
Jonah smiled.
“That depends on what you mean by your sister.”
Caleb moved closer.
“Don't play games.”
“Your father had a daughter.”
“My sister.”
“Yes.”
“But she disappeared.”
Jonah nodded.
“She was never your biological sister.”
Caleb stopped.
“What?”
Jonah's smile widened.
“Your mother adopted her.”
Caleb's mind raced.
“That doesn't change anything.”
“It changes everything.”
Jonah looked at Mara.
“She was Elena's daughter.”
Caleb turned toward Mara.
Mara's face had gone pale.
“What?”
Jonah continued.
“Elena gave her to your mother before the fire.”
Caleb stared.
“Why?”
“To save her.”
Mara whispered:
“Stop.”
Jonah ignored her.
“Your sister was the last surviving witness to Elena's murder.”
Caleb felt the pieces falling into place.
The fire.
The locket.
The missing girl.
The ledger.
Mara.
“What does Mara have to do with my sister?”
Jonah's expression changed.
“Everything.”
Mara suddenly pulled off her veil.
Caleb froze.
For several seconds, he could not speak.
Her face was scarred.
But not horribly.
The scars were old, pale, and delicate, running along one side of her cheek and beneath her jaw.
Yet they were not what shocked him.
It was her eyes.
He knew those eyes.
He had seen them before.
In the photograph inside his mother's Bible.
His sister's eyes.
Caleb whispered:
“Anna.”
Mara closed her eyes.
“My name was Anna.”
The world seemed to tilt beneath his feet.
“You…”
She nodded.
“I am your sister.”
Caleb's revolver dropped slightly.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“I was seven years old when your mother took me.”
Caleb shook his head.
“I searched for you.”
“I know.”
“Where were you?”
“Here.”
“For all these years?”
“Yes.”
Caleb's eyes filled with tears.
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“I had no choice.”
“Everyone said you disappeared.”
“I had to disappear.”
“Why?”
Mara looked toward Jonah.
“Because the Seven were still alive.”
Jonah's expression hardened.
Caleb turned his gun back toward him.
“You lied to me.”
Jonah laughed.
“I didn't tell you the truth.”
“You killed my father?”
“No.”
“You killed Elena?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Jonah looked at Anna.
“She knows.”
Caleb turned.
Anna was crying.
“Tell him,” Jonah said.
She shook her head.
Jonah raised his gun.
Caleb fired first.
Jonah disappeared behind a rock.
The shot missed.
Then the mine ceiling cracked.
A deep rumble echoed through the tunnel.
“Run!” Caleb shouted.
He grabbed Anna's hand.
They ran.
Behind them, the mine collapsed.
They barely escaped before the entrance disappeared beneath tons of rock.
Outside, snow continued falling.
Caleb dropped to his knees.
Anna stood beside him.
For twenty years, he had imagined this moment.
He had imagined finding his sister.
But never like this.
“You're alive.”
She nodded.
“You're really alive.”
“Yes.”
He pulled her into his arms.
Anna began to cry.
So did Caleb.