Chapter 5 – The Badge of a Traitor
The deputy's smile sent a chill through the barn.
No one moved.
No one even breathed.
His hand rested calmly on the grip of his pistol while Lily's father's recorded voice echoed through the silence.
"One of them is standing beside you right now."
The sheriff slowly stepped backward.
"Tom..."
The deputy chuckled.
"So... he finally figured it out."
Without warning, Tom pulled his gun.
BANG!
The bullet shattered the lantern, plunging the underground tunnel into darkness.
People screamed.
The suited men rushed for cover.
Tom grabbed Caroline by the wrist and dragged her toward the tunnel entrance.
Lily couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"You... you're working together?"
Caroline looked away, unable to meet Lily's eyes.
"I never wanted this," she whispered.
Tom laughed.
"Don't pretend now. You enjoyed every dollar."
Samuel, despite his injuries, tackled Tom from behind.
The gun skidded across the dirt floor.
Lily sprinted toward it—
But Tom kicked her aside and disappeared into the tunnel, dragging Caroline with him.
The sheriff shouted,
"After them!"
Flashlights pierced the darkness as officers raced through the narrow underground passage.
The tunnel twisted beneath the ranch before opening into a hidden canyon miles away.
Outside...
An old helicopter was already waiting.
Its blades began to spin.
Tom shoved Caroline toward it.
"Hurry!"
But Caroline stopped.
She looked back toward the tunnel.
Toward Lily.
Tears streamed down her face.
"I didn't know they were going to kill him..." she cried.
Tom slapped her hard across the face.
"You know too much."
He raised his pistol.
Before he could pull the trigger—
CRACK!
A single rifle shot echoed across the canyon.
Tom's gun flew from his hand.
Everyone turned toward the ridge above.
Standing there was a rugged man with a long beard, sunburned skin, and worn cowboy clothes.
His rifle remained steady.
His face was older...
Thinner...
Scarred.
But Lily recognized him instantly.
"Dad..."
The man slowly lowered his rifle.
"I told you I'd come home."
Lily ran toward him with tears blurring her vision.
But before they could embrace—
A deafening explosion erupted behind them.
The helicopter burst into flames.
Tom had triggered explosives hidden inside it.
The blast threw everyone to the ground.
When the smoke cleared...
Tom was gone.
Only burning wreckage remained.
The sheriff searched the canyon for hours.
No body.
No footprints.
Nothing.
As the sun began to set, Lily finally hugged her father for the first time in three months.
She thought the nightmare was over.
Then her father whispered into her ear,
"I'm sorry, sweetheart..."
"...but Tom wasn't the one who betrayed me."
Lily froze.
"If not Tom..."
Her father looked toward the ranch house.
A single figure was standing in the upstairs window.
Watching them.
Smiling.
"There is someone even more dangerous..."
May you like
"...and they've been living in our family for over twenty years."
To Be Continued...
