They were the initial payment on an agreement regarding the ranch.
If Gideon died without an heir, certain lands could revert to the creditor who held an old debt of his father.
The name written on that contract was Silas Ashford .
My father.
Then I understood why he had sold me out to Gideon.
He didn't want to get rid of me.
He wanted to place someone of his own blood within the ranch.
Gideon appeared behind me.
My father looked at him and smiled.
—You should have left it buried
what was in his ear.
I felt my blood run cold.
—How do you know what we found?
The smile disappeared from her face.
And Gideon understood the question even without hearing it.
Because we had just discovered something much worse than the cause of his deafness.
My father knew exactly what had been put inside his ear when he was a child.
TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 3…
