Chapter 6 - A Father's ChoiceSamuel moved before Edward could fire.
He threw himself between the pistol and Daniel.
The bullet struck Samuel's side.
Olivia screamed.
“Samuel!”
He fell.
Edward grabbed Daniel.
The baby cried.
Eleanor attacked him with the iron rod.
Edward shoved her into the wall.
Olivia rushed forward.
“Give him to me!”
Edward held the gun beneath Daniel's chin.
“Back away.”
Olivia stopped.
Samuel lay bleeding on the floor.
His vision blurred.
He could hear Daniel crying.
He could hear Olivia begging.
He could hear Eleanor screaming Edward's name.
Then another voice echoed through the mine.
Luke.
“Drop the gun.”
Edward turned.
Luke stood at the tunnel entrance holding a rifle.
Edward laughed.
“You betrayed me.”
Luke shook his head.
“No.”
He glanced at Samuel.
“I waited.”
Edward raised his gun toward Luke.
Olivia tackled him.
They crashed to the ground.
Daniel rolled free.
Samuel dragged himself forward and grabbed the baby.
Edward punched Olivia across the face.
She fell.
Samuel raised his rifle.
“Edward!”
Edward turned.
The two men stared at each other.
Samuel pulled the trigger.
Click.
Empty.
Edward smiled.
He raised his pistol.
Then Luke fired.
Edward dropped.
Silence.
Samuel collapsed.
Olivia crawled toward him.
“Stay awake.”
Samuel smiled weakly.
“You always say that.”
“Because you never listen.”
He reached toward her.
His fingers found her hand.
“You came back.”
Olivia swallowed.
“I couldn't leave you.”
“Why?”
She looked at him.
“Because your children need me.”
Samuel smiled.
“And me?”
Olivia's eyes filled.
“You need me too.”
They escaped the mine before it collapsed.
The explosion buried the entrance.
Edward was unconscious but alive.
Luke wanted to take him to the sheriff.
Eleanor insisted.
“No.”
Everyone turned.
“He knows too much.”
Samuel looked at her.
“We don't become him.”
Eleanor stared at Edward.
Then nodded.
They carried him out.
By morning, the sheriff arrived.
The ledgers exposed everything.
The land thefts.
The murders.
The bribery.
Edward's network collapsed within weeks.
But one mystery remained.
Who had actually poisoned Eleanor?
Edward had admitted ordering it.
But he had never administered it.
And three days after Edward's arrest, Olivia received a letter.
No name.
No address.
Only one sentence.
Edward was not the man who poisoned your father.
Olivia read it twice.
Then she turned to Samuel.
“We were wrong.”
Samuel looked at her.
“About what?”
She handed him the letter.
“There is someone else.”
Before Samuel could answer, a shadow crossed the window.
The next second, the glass shattered.
A bullet struck the wall inches from Daniel's crib.
Olivia screamed.
Samuel grabbed the baby.
Outside, a horse disappeared into the darkness.
Beside the broken window was a second letter.
Samuel opened it.
May you like
The message was short.
You found the mine. Now find the killer.
