PART 2: THE PAPERS SILAS WANTED TO HIDE
He turned to the house, but Caleb blocked the exit.
Let him go.
“Get away, Whitaker.
“No.
Silas clenched his fists.
You came to buy a horse.
“And I found something much more important.
Clara screamed again.
This time Silas didn’t even look at her.
That’s what ended up convincing Caleb.
He was not a terrified father because his daughter was suffering.
He was a terrified man because someone could discover something.
“What papers are you waiting for?” asked Caleb.
Silas was still.
Clara opened her eyes.
“Don’t tell her anything,” his father warned.
Those words did the exact opposite.
“My husband left land,” Clara whispered.
Silas turned to her.
“Shut up!
Caleb stepped forward.
Let her talk.
Clara breathed hard.
Thomas died ten months ago. His will said that if I had a child of his, the land would pass to the baby.
Caleb began to understand.
What if there was no son?
Clara looked at her father.
“Part of the property could be purchased by Silas through a settlement he had negotiated with Thomas before his death.
Silas hit a column with his fist.
You don’t know what you’re talking about!
But Clara did know.
For months he had kept his father’s accounts.
I had seen letters.
Contracts.
Telegrams.
And three weeks earlier I had found something worse.
A request prepared to declare that the pregnancy had ended months ago.
“I wanted to register the land before my baby was born,” Clara said. If no one knew I was still pregnant, I could say that Thomas died without an heir.
Caleb felt a chill.
That’s why the people thought Clara was in Nebraska.
That’s why they fired the midwife.
That’s why no one could leave the ranch.
