PART 2 — THE BROTHER WHO CAME BACK FOR HIS SISTER

The six riders stopped in front of Jud Halloway’s ranch house.

For several seconds, nobody moved.

Then Hyram Gallagher swung down from his saddle.

He was dressed in a fine black coat, his boots polished, and a silver watch chain crossed his vest. He looked nothing like a man who had abandoned his sister in a locked barn.

“Jud Halloway,” he called pleasantly. “I believe you’ve acquired something that belongs to me.”

Jud stood on the porch, his Winchester held low but ready.

“Funny. I was about to say the same thing.”

Hyram’s smile тιԍнтened.

Behind Jud, Matilda stood in the doorway. She had recovered some strength over the past three weeks, though her face still grew pale whenever she heard a horse approaching.

The moment Hyram saw her, his expression changed.

“There you are,” he said. “You’ve caused enough trouble.”

Matilda gripped the doorframe.

“You locked me in that barn.”

Hyram sighed as if she had complained about an inconvenience.

“You were confused. You refused to cooperate. I had no choice.”

“You left me without food.”

“I was protecting the property.”

Jud took one step forward.

“That’s enough.”

Hyram looked him up and down.

“You bought a worthless piece of land at a tax auction. I suggest you accept your mistake and stay out of Gallagher family business.”

“Your family business?” Jud asked. “The land belongs to Matilda.”

Hyram laughed.

“According to whom?”

“According to the original deed. And according to the county records.”

The smile disappeared from Hyram’s face.

For the first time, Jud saw something other than arrogance in the man’s eyes.

Fear.

Hyram glanced at the men behind him.

“Perhaps we should discuss this privately.”

“No,” Matilda said.

Her voice was quiet, but it carried across the yard.

“Everything you did to me happened behind closed doors. This time, everyone can hear.”

Hyram turned toward her.

“You don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“I understand perfectly.”

He reached inside his coat and produced a folded document.

“This is a guardianship agreement. Father signed it before he died. It gave me authority to manage the estate because you were never capable of handling business affairs.”

Matilda stared at the paper.

“I never saw that.”

“You weren’t supposed to.”

Jud watched her carefully.

“Let me see it.”

Hyram refused.

“This is a family matter.”

“Then you won’t mind showing it to Judge Unwright.”

At the mention of the judge, Hyram’s jaw тιԍнтened.

He folded the document and put it away.

“Three days,” he announced. “You have three days to bring Matilda back to the Gallagher property. Otherwise, I’ll have the sheriff arrest you for kidnapping.”

Jud didn’t blink.

“You can send the sheriff. I’ll be waiting.”

Hyram mounted his horse.

Before riding away, he leaned toward Matilda.

“You should remember who paid for your clothes, your food, and every roof you’ve ever slept beneath.”

Matilda looked directly at him.

“Father paid for those things. With the money he left me.”

Hyram’s face darkened.

Then the six riders disappeared down the trail.

For a long moment, the ranch yard remained silent.

Matilda finally stepped backward.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Jud turned toward her.

“For what?”

“For bringing him here.”

“You didn’t bring him. He came because he’s afraid.”

That night, Matilda couldn’t sleep.

She sat at the kitchen table with a cup of untouched tea, staring at the old family pH๏τograph Jud had helped her retrieve from the belongings she’d carried out of the barn.

Her father stood in front of the Gallagher house.

Hyram was beside him.

And Matilda, much younger, stood between them.

She traced her father’s face with one finger.

“There was something he told me,” she murmured.

Jud looked up from the account book he was examining.

“What was it?”

“Before he died, Father said there was another document. He told me never to let Hyram find it.”

“What document?”

“I don’t know. I was seventeen. Hyram told me Father was confused and that I should forget it.”

Jud closed the book.

“Where did your father keep his important papers?”

Matilda thought for a moment.

“His study had a false panel behind the fireplace. He used to hide things there.”

“Does Hyram know?”

“I don’t think so. Father showed it to me once, but I never looked inside.”

Jud stood.

“Then we’ll go there tomorrow.”

Matilda’s expression changed.

“Jud, the house is probably being watched.”

“Then we’ll go when nobody expects us.”

The next morning, they rode toward the Gallagher spread with Ezequiel, Jud’s trusted foreman.

The old house stood empty, its windows broken and its front door hanging crookedly.

Inside, dust covered the furniture.

Matilda walked slowly through the hallway.

She stopped before the study.

For a moment, she couldn’t move.

This was where her father had spent his evenings, where he had taught her to read contracts and keep accounts, and where Hyram had once promised that the family would always be together.

Now the room smelled of damp wood and abandonment.

Jud examined the fireplace.

“Is this it?”

Matilda nodded.

Together, they found the loose wooden panel.

Behind it sat a narrow compartment.

Inside was a small leather case.

Matilda opened it.

There were three things inside: a letter, a property deed, and a pH๏τograph of a man she did not recognize.

The letter was addressed to her.

Her father’s handwriting was unmistakable.

Matilda read the first lines silently.

Then her hand began to tremble.

“What is it?” Jud asked.

She handed him the letter.

My dearest Matilda,

If you are reading this, then I fear your brother has done what I spent years trying to prevent.

You must know that the Gallagher property is not the only thing I left in your name.

There is a second parcel of land, and the water rights attached to it are worth more than the entire spread.

Your brother knows about the land. What he does not know is that I placed the original deed where only you can find it.

Jud looked at the document.

The second parcel included the creek that ran through the eastern valley.

Without those water rights, Hyram’s planned cattle operation would have little value.

But there was something else.

A signature at the bottom of the letter.

Samuel Gallagher.

Matilda’s father had signed it in the presence of two witnesses.

One of those names made Jud go still.

“Elias Crowe,” he said.

Matilda looked up.

“Who?”

“The man who sold me the Ironwood ranch years ago. He knew your father.”

Before Jud could explain further, Ezequiel appeared at the doorway.

“Jud. We have a problem.”

Outside, a wagon was approaching.

A man in a dark suit climbed down, carrying a leather case.

It was Judge Unwright.

And he wasn’t alone.

Behind him stood the county sheriff.

“Mr. Halloway,” the judge said, “I need you to come with me.”

Jud frowned.

“What happened?”

The judge glanced at Matilda.

“Your former guest, Mr. Gallagher, has filed a criminal complaint. He claims you stole his sister, forged property documents, and conspired to seize his inheritance.”

Matilda clutched her father’s letter.

Then the judge added something that made the room go cold.

“He has also produced a witness who claims Matilda Gallagher signed away her inheritance six years ago.”

Matilda shook her head.

“I never signed anything.”

Judge Unwright opened his leather case.

“Then we’d better find out who did.”