Hannah rushed toward the ladder.
"Who's there?"
No answer.
A moment later, smoke began seeping through the cracks around the door.
Noah swore.
"They're burning the house."
Benjamin grabbed the papers.
"There's another exit."
He ran to the far wall and pulled a metal lever.
Nothing happened.
He tried again.
A grinding sound came from beneath the floor.
A section of stone wall shifted, revealing a narrow passage.
"Go!" he shouted.
Noah helped Hannah through the opening. Benjamin followed, carrying the chest's contents.
The passage led beneath the foundation and emerged behind a cluster of trees near the creek.
They stumbled into the open air just as flames burst through the roof of the Reed house.
Hannah stood motionless.
The home where she had spent her childhood was burning.
Noah stepped beside her.
"I'm sorry."
She watched the flames climb into the sky.
"They can burn the house," she said. "They can't burn what we know."
A gunshot cracked across the creek.
Benjamin fell.
Hannah screamed.
Noah dropped to his knees beside him.
Blood spread across Benjamin's coat.
On the opposite bank, Sheriff Mercer stood with a rifle in his hands.
Beside him was Elias Crowley, the son of the man whose crimes had shaped the valley.
The younger Crowley smiled.
"Give us the papers, Bennett."
Noah looked at Benjamin, then at Hannah.
He understood now why the sheriff had followed them.
The secret beneath the valley was not merely a stolen deed.
It was the foundation of an empire.
And the men who had inherited it would kill anyone who threatened to expose it.
Benjamin's blood soaked into the grass.
Noah pressed his hand against the wound, trying to stop the bleeding. The old man grimaced but remained conscious.
"Don't waste your time," Benjamin whispered. "It's through the shoulder."
"Then stop talking."
Benjamin managed a weak smile.
"Still sound like your father."
Across the creek, Mercer raised his rifle.
"Last chance!"
Noah looked toward the trees. Willow stood several yards away, frightened but waiting. The chest of documents lay beside Hannah.
They were trapped between the creek and the burning house.
Hannah crouched beside Benjamin.
"Can you stand?"
"Not unless someone has invented a new shoulder."
She looked at Noah.
"We need to get him across."
Noah nodded.
He pulled Benjamin's arm over his shoulder and helped him stand. Hannah grabbed the documents and ran toward Willow.
Mercer fired.
The bullet struck a tree above them.
Noah dragged Benjamin behind a fallen log.
"Go!" he shouted to Hannah.
She reached Willow, mounted, and turned the mare toward the creek.
But instead of riding away, she wheeled around and charged toward the sheriff's position.
Noah stared.
"Hannah!"
She leaned forward, urging Willow faster.
The mare thundered across the shallow edge of the creek, sending water flying. Mercer turned toward the sound, startled.
Hannah pulled the reins sharply.
Willow reared.
The sheriff's horse bolted sideways, throwing Mercer from the saddle. His rifle landed in the mud.
Hannah rode past him and stopped near Noah.
"Get on!"
Noah helped Benjamin onto the saddle, then climbed behind him.
They crossed the creek as Crowley's men opened fire.
One bullet struck Willow's saddle. Another shattered a stone beside the bank.
But the mare kept moving.
She carried them into the trees, away from the burning house and toward the ridge.
They did not stop until they reached the abandoned hunting cabin.
Benjamin was pale and shaking.
Hannah tore a strip from her underskirt and bound his shoulder. Noah heated water over the stove and cleaned the wound as carefully as he could.
For a long time, Benjamin said nothing.
Then he looked at Noah.
"I owe you the truth about one more thing."
Noah sat beside him.
"Go ahead."
Benjamin swallowed.
"Your father knew I was alive."