Chapter 14 - The Missing Ledger
Vale had something else.
A ledger.
Payments.
Names.
Dates.
Rourke had paid officials for years.
The sheriff.
Land clerks.
Surveyors.
Mercenaries.
The final entries were recent.
One payment had been made to Wade Mercer.
Another to someone listed only as S.B.
Samuel looked at Bell.
The sheriff's initials.
Bell admitted it.
He had accepted money.
But the final page contained something unexpected.
A payment to Nathaniel Carter.
Samuel stared.
"My father?"
Vale shook his head.
"Not him."
The payment had been rejected.
Nathaniel had returned the money.
Then someone had written beneath it:
Remove obstacle.
Samuel felt cold.
His father's death suddenly looked different.
Not an accident.
Not natural.
But before Samuel could ask more, a gunshot sounded outside.
Vale ducked.
May you like
![92 The Girl They Called Broke Was a Billionaire’s Daughter—But Her Father’s Arrival Exposed a Secret Powerful People Had Buried for Years]](https://cdn.treeiq.biz/site_590/2026/11/clone-0-0915d882-53d7-4d17-b43a-a010ca1a1068.webp)
Red Willow moved toward the window.
Mercer's men had found them.
