PART 6 — THE CHIEF’S DAUGHTER DISCOVERED WHO STARTED THE FIRE, BUT THE TRUTH WAS WORSE THAN ANYONE EXPECTED

Nahimana read the letter again.

Then she looked at Kiona.

“Your father?”

Kiona nodded.

“I found it beneath the western wall of the old lodge. It was wrapped in cloth and protected by a flat stone.”

“Does Chaska know?”

“No.”

“Have you shown him?”

“Not yet.”

Nahimana’s hands trembled.

Kiona stepped closer.

“I know what you’re thinking. I thought the same thing.”

She shook her head.

“I don’t want to believe it.”

“Neither do I.”

For five years, Nahimana had carried the memory of the fire.

She had remembered the smoke.

The collapsing roof.

The cries of frightened children.

She had remembered searching for Little Bear until the heat forced her back.

And she had remembered seeing a shadow near the western entrance just before everything disappeared behind the flames.

Now she wondered whether that shadow had belonged to Kiona’s father.

“Why would he do something like that?” she whispered.

“I don’t know.”

“Was he trying to hurt someone?”

Kiona looked down.

“My father was responsible for the supply arrangements. If someone was stealing the goods, he would have known.”

Nahimana folded the paper.

“We must take this to the chief.”

They entered Chaska’s tent together.

Ethan was already there, speaking with the older man.

When Chaska saw the paper in Nahimana’s hand, his expression changed.

“What is it?”

She placed the letter on the table.

“We found this near the old lodge.”

Chaska read it.

Once.

Twice.

His face grew increasingly troubled.

“Where did you find this?”

Kiona answered.

“Near the western wall.”

Chaska sat down slowly.

“Who wrote it?”

“We don’t know,” Nahimana said.

“But it mentions Kiona’s father.”

The chief closed his eyes.

For a long moment, he said nothing.

Then he stood.

“Bring him here.”

A messenger was sent immediately.

Within twenty minutes, an older warrior named Mahto entered the tent.

He was a respected man who had served the settlement for decades.

His expression was calm.

Until he saw the letter.

Then his face changed.

“Where did you find that?”

Kiona stepped forward.

“Tell us what happened five years ago.”

Mahto looked at his son.

“Go outside.”

“No.”

“Kiona, this is not your concern.”

“It concerns my brother.”

Mahto’s jaw тιԍнтened.

Chaska placed the letter on the table.

“Did you carry oil to the lodge on the night of the fire?”

Mahto looked at the chief.

Then at Nahimana.

Finally, he lowered his eyes.

“Yes.”

The answer stunned everyone.

Nahimana felt her knees weaken.

“Why?”

Mahto took a slow breath.

“Someone had been stealing supplies. I discovered the missing records and learned that an outsider was using the lodge to hide stolen goods.”

Ethan frowned.

“Who?”

“Thomas Bell.”

Nahimana’s expression hardened.

“The man who came here yesterday?”

Mahto nodded.

“He was working with two traders. They planned to remove the records before anyone discovered the theft.”

Chaska’s voice became cold.

“And the fire?”

Mahto swallowed.

“I carried the oil because Bell told me it was needed to protect the stored supplies from insects.”

Kiona stared at his father.

“You believed him?”

“I was foolish.”

“Did you know he planned to set the lodge on fire?”

Mahto shook his head.

“No. I swear it.”

Nahimana stepped forward.

“Then why didn’t you tell anyone afterward?”

Mahto looked at her.

“Because I saw you enter the burning building. I knew I had carried the oil that helped start it. I believed I had caused your injuries.”

His voice broke.

“And when Little Bear died, I could not bear to confess what I had done.”

Kiona stared at him.

“You let us believe Nahimana was responsible.”

“I never said that.”

“You never defended her either!”

Mahto lowered his head.

The room fell silent.

Then Ethan asked the question everyone had avoided.

“Where is Thomas Bell now?”

Mahto looked toward the entrance.

“He has a camp near the old trading road.”

Chaska immediately ordered two trusted men to locate him.

But Nahimana shook her head.

“No.”

Everyone turned.

“I want to know the whole truth before anyone accuses him.”

Ethan nodded.

“Then we need evidence.”

Mahto looked at her.

“There may be something else.”

He reached beneath his coat and removed a small leather pouch.

Nahimana recognized it immediately.

The pouch she had searched for five years earlier.

Her breath caught.

“Where did you find that?”

“I took it from the lodge before the fire spread. I kept it because I was afraid the records would expose my failure to discover the theft.”

He placed it on the table.

Nahimana opened it.

Inside were several folded papers, a small account book, and a letter.

The account book contained records of missing supplies.

The letter was signed by Thomas Bell.

It described payments made to men who had been transporting goods away from the settlement.

But one entry was particularly important.

It showed that the final shipment had been delivered to a ranch outside Tucson.

Ethan studied the name.

His face changed.

“What is it?” Nahimana asked.

He pointed to the paper.

“That’s the ranch where I bought my first cattle.”

Chaska looked at him.

“You know this place?”

“I do.”

Ethan read the name again.

The ranch belonged to a man named Walter Grayson.

A wealthy cattle owner who had once offered Ethan money to sell his small property.

Ethan had refused.

Grayson had never forgiven him.

“Could he have been involved?” Nahimana asked.

Ethan nodded slowly.

“It looks that way.”

Chaska turned toward his men.

“Find Thomas Bell. We will not allow him to disappear with this evidence.”

But Bell had already heard that the pouch was missing.

By nightfall, a rider arrived with urgent news.

Bell’s camp had been abandoned.

His horse was gone.

His belongings had been scattered.

And near the campfire, the search party had discovered a torn piece of paper.

It contained a single sentence.

The rancher must be dealt with before he reaches Tucson.

Ethan read the note.

He looked at Nahimana.

“They know I’m involved.”

She nodded.

“Then you must leave tonight.”

Ethan shook his head.

“I’m not leaving you here with this trouble.”

“You have a ranch. You have cattle. You have a life.”

“And you have the right to know who destroyed yours.”

Nahimana stepped closer.

“Why are you doing this?”

Ethan looked at her for a long moment.

“Because when I first saw you, everyone was waiting for me to reject you.”

She lowered her eyes.

“But I didn’t.”

“No.”

“And now everyone expects you to leave.”

Ethan gently shook his head.

“I’m not going to make the same choice they made.”

Nahimana looked at him.

For the first time, she reached for his hand.

“Then perhaps I should come with you.”

Chaska immediately objected.

“Absolutely not.”

“Father—”

“You are my daughter. I will not send you into danger.”

Nahimana stood straight.

“I am not asking permission to be brave.”

The chief stared at her.

Then something softened in his expression.

He remembered the little girl who had once climbed trees, ridden horses, and refused to surrender even when the other children told her she couldn’t.

He had spent five years trying to protect her from the world.

Perhaps he had forgotten that she wanted to live in it.

“Then you will travel with an escort,” he finally said.

Nahimana nodded.

But before anyone could prepare, a distant gunsH๏τ echoed across the settlement.

Everyone froze.

Another sH๏τ followed.

Then a young boy came running into the tent.

“Chief! Someone is at the northern entrance!”

Chaska grabbed his coat.

Ethan moved toward the doorway.

Outside, several horses were approaching through the darkness.

At their head rode Thomas Bell.

Beside him was a well-dressed man Ethan recognized immediately.

Walter Grayson.

Ethan’s former neighbor.

The man who had once tried to buy his ranch.

Grayson dismounted and called out.

“Ethan Miller! Come outside!”

Ethan stepped into the open.

Grayson smiled.

“I see you’ve made some interesting friends.”

Ethan said nothing.

Grayson looked toward Nahimana.

“Ah. The chief’s daughter. I wondered when you would become involved.”

Chaska stepped forward.

“You are not welcome here.”

Grayson ignored him.

He pulled a folded document from his coat.

“I have come to offer a fair settlement. Hand over the pouch and the matter ends tonight.”

Nahimana shook her head.

“The records belong to the families whose supplies were stolen.”

Grayson laughed.

“Those families will never see a penny.”

Ethan stepped between them.

“Then you have nothing to discuss here.”

Grayson’s smile vanished.

“Think carefully, Miller. Your little ranch is worth very little compared with what I can take from you.”

Ethan looked directly at him.

“You’ve already tried.”

Grayson turned toward Bell.

“Tell him.”

Bell pulled another document from his coat.

It was a property agreement.

Ethan recognized his own signature.

But he had never signed that paper.

Grayson held it up.

“According to this document, your ranch has already been transferred to me.”

Ethan stared.

His stomach тιԍнтened.

The signature looked remarkably similar to his own.

Then Grayson delivered the final blow.

“By sunrise tomorrow, your cattle, your water rights, and your entire property will belong to me.”

Nahimana looked at Ethan.

He said nothing.

Because he had just realized something terrible.

While he had been away helping Nahimana uncover the truth about the fire, someone had been quietly preparing to take his ranch.

And the man responsible had known exactly where he would be.

Grayson smiled.

“Now, Miller, shall we discuss what happens to your new bride when you have nowhere left to take her?”

Ethan stepped forward.

But Nahimana caught his arm.

“Wait.”

She looked at the forged document.

Then at Grayson.

A strange calm settled over her face.

“Mr. Grayson,” she said, “you made one mistake.”

He laughed.

“And what might that be?”

Nahimana lifted the leather pouch.

“You ᴀssumed my father kept the only copy of the original records.”

Grayson’s smile disappeared.

She opened the pouch and removed one final folded paper.

A document bearing the seal of the county land office.

Then she looked at Ethan.

“Your ranch was never legally transferred to him.”

Grayson went pale.

And when Chaska examined the seal, he recognized the name of the official who had certified it.

A man who had died three years earlier.

The forgery was obvious.

But there was something even more disturbing.

The document contained a second signature.

One belonging to someone Nahimana had trusted since childhood.

She slowly turned toward the Apache settlement.

And whispered:

“Who signed this for him?”

TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 7…

The woman every warrior had rejected was about to expose a conspiracy that reached far beyond the old fire. But the most shocking betrayal would come from someone who had stood beside her father for twenty years.