Anna looked at Caleb.
“We have to go.”
They reached the graveyard after midnight.
Snow had begun falling again.
Caleb carried a lantern.
Anna followed.
They found her mother's grave.
Beneath the stone was a metal box.
Inside were the original deeds.
But there was another document.
A letter.
Caleb opened it.
It was addressed to him.
Caleb,
If you are reading this, then everything I feared has happened.
Your uncle will return.
He will tell you that I betrayed him.
He will tell you that I stole from him.
Do not believe him.
The land was never ours to sell.
It belongs to the people who live here.
I joined the Seven because I believed I could destroy them from within.
I failed.
But I discovered one thing.
The man who betrayed us was not Samuel.
Caleb stopped.
Anna read over his shoulder.
“Then who?”
Caleb continued.
The seventh man was someone closer.
Someone neither Samuel nor Raven suspected.
Someone who has been protecting the Seven for years.
The letter ended with one sentence.
Trust the man who wears no badge.
Caleb looked at Anna.
“Who wears no badge?”
Before she could answer, a voice came from behind them.
“I do.”
They turned.
Captain Cole stood in the snow.
His rifle was pointed at Caleb.
Anna stepped in front of him.
“Cole.”
He looked at her.
“I'm sorry.”
Caleb's expression hardened.
“You're the seventh man.”
Cole shook his head.
“No.”
“Then who?”
Cole lowered the rifle.
“The seventh man is already inside Raven's house.”
Caleb stared.
“Who?”
Cole looked toward the valley.
“Jonah.”
Anna's face went white.
“But Jonah was wounded.”
“He wasn't.”
Cole continued.
“He staged the attack.”
Caleb felt the pieces connect.
Jonah had known about the mine.
He had known about the ledger.
He had known where Caleb would go.
Cole looked at them.
“You have until sunrise.”
“For what?”
“After sunrise, Jonah will kill Raven.”
They returned to Raven's house before dawn.
Everything was quiet.
Too quiet.
Caleb entered through the rear door.
Anna followed.
Cole waited outside.
They found Raven lying in bed.
Alive.
But unconscious.
Beside him stood Jonah.
He held a knife.
Anna raised her rifle.
“Drop it.”
Jonah turned.
He smiled.
“I wondered how long it would take.”
Caleb stepped into the room.
“You betrayed your own family.”
Jonah laughed.
“Family?”
“You tried to kill Mara.”
“She was never Mara.”
“She is Anna.”
“Exactly.”
Jonah's smile disappeared.
“You don't understand what she represents.”
“She represents the truth.”
“She represents a fortune.”
Caleb frowned.
Jonah pointed toward the land deeds.
“The railroad company will pay millions for this valley.”
Anna shook her head.
“You would sell your father's land?”
“It isn't his land.”
Jonah looked at Caleb.
“It belongs to whoever can hold it.”
Caleb stepped forward.
“You killed Elena.”
“No.”
“You helped Samuel.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because your father was going to expose all of us.”
Anna's voice trembled.
“And my mother?”
Jonah looked at her.
“She knew too much.”
Anna raised her rifle.
“You murdered her.”
Jonah shrugged.
“Someone had to.”
Caleb fired.
Jonah ducked.
The bullet struck the wall.
He ran.
Caleb chased him outside.
Jonah mounted a horse and rode toward the mountains.
Caleb followed.
Anna shouted behind him.
“Caleb!”
He did not stop.
The chase led through the canyon.
Jonah was faster.
But Caleb knew the terrain.
He cut across a narrow ridge.
Jonah saw him too late.
Caleb knocked him from the saddle.
They crashed into the snow.
Jonah pulled a knife.
Caleb caught his wrist.
The two men struggled.
Jonah was stronger.
But Caleb was angrier.
He slammed Jonah against a rock.
“Where is Samuel?”
Jonah laughed.
“Too late.”
“What does that mean?”
“He already has the railroad contract.”
Caleb froze.
“The railroad isn't supposed to arrive for months.”
“It arrived yesterday.”
Jonah smiled.
“The first train comes tomorrow.”
Caleb understood.
Samuel did not need the valley by force.
He needed it before the government knew the truth.
He needed the deeds destroyed.
And he needed Raven dead.
Caleb stood.
“Where is he?”
Jonah looked toward the ridge.
“Your father's old ranch.”
Caleb's heart stopped.
“My father's ranch?”
“Yes.”
The old Mercer ranch had been abandoned for twenty years.
Caleb had not returned since the day his father died.
He entered the house alone.
Dust covered everything.
The kitchen still had the old table.
The bedroom still had his mother's sewing basket.
On the wall hung a photograph.
His family.
His father.
His mother.
Caleb.
Anna.
Samuel.
Caleb stared at the photograph.
Then he noticed something.
A small mark on the frame.
A carving.
Three lines.
He remembered it.
His father had taught him the meaning when he was a child.
If you see three lines, look beneath.
Caleb removed the frame.
Behind it was a hidden compartment.
Inside was a second ledger.
And a letter.
He opened it.
My son,
The man you should fear most is not the one who carries the gun.
It is the man who convinces everyone he is protecting them.
Caleb read the next line.
Then stopped.
Because the handwriting changed.
The second half was written by Anna.
Caleb,
If you found this, then I failed to keep you away.
There is something you must know.
I remember the night our father died.
He was not killed by Samuel.
He was killed by someone wearing his coat.
Caleb's blood ran cold.
Someone had disguised himself as Samuel.
The letter continued.
And that man was Jonah.
Caleb looked up.
A gun clicked behind him.
Samuel stood in the doorway.
“You always were too curious.”
Caleb slowly turned.
Samuel raised his rifle.
“Put your hands where I can see them.”
Caleb obeyed.
“You killed my father?”
“No.”
“Jonah did.”
Samuel nodded.
“Yes.”
“Why protect him?”
“Because he was useful.”
“You used him.”
“I used everyone.”
Caleb stared.
“Even your own brother?”
Samuel smiled.
“Especially him.”
Then he lowered the rifle.
“But I never expected you to survive.”
Caleb's eyes narrowed.
“What do you want?”
“The ledger.”
“You'll never get it.”
Samuel stepped closer.
“You don't understand, Caleb.”
He looked toward the old family photograph.
“This was never about land.”
“Then what?”
Samuel's voice became quiet.
“Power.”
Outside, horses approached.
Samuel smiled.
“The first train arrives tomorrow.”
Then he left.
Caleb remained alone in the house.
But for the first time, he understood something.
Samuel did not intend to destroy Moon Valley.
He intended to turn it into the center of an empire.
And Caleb was the only person standing between him and everything he wanted.
The train arrived before sunrise.
Long before Caleb Mercer could see the smoke, he heard the distant whistle rolling through the mountains.
It was a deep, mournful sound.