Chapter 6 - The Hidden Trustee
The county surveyor carried official papers and an expression that suggested he expected Corvin to surrender.
“Mr. Torne,” he said, “Black Creek has submitted a purchase claim.”
Corvin read the document.
The claim alleged that his father had transferred mineral rights years earlier.
“That signature isn't his.”
The surveyor shrugged.
“It appears valid.”
Lena stepped forward.
“Then it can be challenged.”
The surveyor looked at the riders.
“This isn't a court.”
“No,” Corvin said. “But it will become one.”
Silas smiled.
“You're making a mistake.”
Corvin held up the cylinder.
Silas's smile disappeared.
“You found it.”
The words exposed him.
Corvin stared.
“You knew.”
Silas sighed.
“My grandfather spent his life searching for those records.”
“Why?”
“Because they prove your family never owned the land outright.”
“Then why claim it?”
“Because the agreement is legally complicated.”
Silas's tone softened.
“I can make this easy.”
Corvin shook his head.
“You're not buying my silence.”
Silas turned to leave.
Then he stopped.
“Ask your father why he never told you about your brother.”
Corvin froze.
Lena looked at him.
“My brother?”
Silas smiled.
“There are more secrets in that family than you realize.”
After the visitors left, Corvin demanded an explanation.
Tomas said he knew nothing.
Lena said her people had never heard of another Torne.
Corvin returned to the letter.
A line he had ignored suddenly seemed important.
The trustee must be chosen by two families.
His father had written a second surname beneath it.
Vale.
Corvin remembered his mother's maiden name.
Eleanor Vale.
His mother had died when he was twelve.
Could she have been connected to the agreement?
That night, Corvin opened his mother's old trunk.
Under a folded quilt, he found a photograph.
His mother stood beside Corvin's father.
And beside them was another young man.
The back contained three words.
Daniel Vale — trustee.
Corvin stared at the face.
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He knew it.
Daniel Vale was the man who had recently bought the neighboring ranch.
