“I’ll review any written proposal with my own attorney,” I replied. “But I won’t be pressured in my own home.”
Robert’s mask of conciliation slipped, revealing the hard businessman beneath. “This property is worth tens of millions with the oil rights. We can do this amicably, or we can make things very difficult.”
“Is that a threat?” I asked, with more calmness than I felt.
“A reality check,” he corrected. “You’re a schoolteacher from Minnesota facing a legal battle against opponents with significantly more resources. Joshua may have meant well, but he placed you in an untenable position.”
I thought of the blue folder with its meticulous documentation, the videos showing Joshua’s clear-headed planning, the transformed property that represented his final act of love.
“I believe my husband knew exactly what he was doing,” I said quietly. “Now, please leave. Jenna, you’re welcome to stay for lunch if you’d like.”
She looked torn, glancing between me and her newly discovered uncles. “I think I’ll go with them for now. We have more to discuss.”
She kissed my cheek quickly. “Think about the offer, Mom. Please.”
I watched them leave, a hollow feeling expanding in my chest. In just twenty-four hours, my daughter had been pulled into the orbit of men Joshua had spent his life avoiding. Whatever they were telling her was working. I could see it in her receptive posture, her quick adoption of their perspective.
Ellis waited until their vehicles had disappeared down the driveway before speaking.
“Mrs. Mitchell, there’s something you should know. Something your husband asked me not to mention unless absolutely necessary.”
I turned to him, mentally exhausted but forcing myself to focus. “What is it?”
“It’s about the true extent of the property—and what’s really hidden here.” He gestured toward the stables. “We should walk. Some things shouldn’t be discussed indoors where walls might have ears.”
As I followed him across the yard, the morning sun illuminated the beautiful farm my husband had created in secret. Whatever revelation awaited me, I was certain of one thing: Joshua had anticipated this battle. Perhaps even Jenna’s vulnerability to his brothers’ manipulation.
The question was whether he had prepared me enough to win a fight I never knew was coming.
Ellis led me past the main stables toward a weathered barn I hadn’t explored yet. Unlike the pristine renovated structures on the rest of the property, this building retained its original rustic character—deliberately unimproved to appear unimportant.
“Your husband was a careful man,” Ellis said, producing an old iron key. “After his brothers’ first visit last year, he became even more cautious.”
“They visited before?” Joshua never mentioned that.
Ellis nodded grimly. “Showed up unannounced once they caught wind of the oil discovery on neighboring properties. Your husband was here supervising construction of the art studio. They didn’t recognize him at first. He’d grown a beard during his treatment.”
The casual mention of Joshua’s treatment sent a fresh wave of pain through me. While I’d been obliviously teaching high school literature in Minnesota, my husband had been here sick—creating this sanctuary while fending off his predatory brothers.
“What happened?”
“He observed them from a distance, then left without revealing himself. That night, he made changes to the property plans.” Ellis unlocked the barn door. “Starting with this.”
The door swung open to reveal an ordinary-looking barn interior—hay bales, old farm equipment, dust motes dancing in beams of sunlight filtering through gaps in the walls.
Ellis moved confidently to the back corner, shifting several bales to expose a trapdoor set into the dirt floor.
“Your husband installed this entrance last winter. The workers thought they were building a root cellar.”
He pulled the heavy door upward, revealing a sturdy wooden staircase descending into darkness.
“After you, Mrs. Mitchell.”
Curiosity overcoming apprehension, I followed Ellis down the stairs. At the bottom, he flipped a switch and lights flickered on, revealing a concrete tunnel stretching forward into the earth.
“What is this place?”
“Your husband called it insurance,” Ellis said. “I call it genius.”
He gestured for me to follow as he walked the tunnel. “The Mitchell brothers think they know the full extent of the property and its value. They don’t.”
The tunnel extended perhaps fifty yards before opening into a large concrete room filled with filing cabinets, a desk with computer equipment, and walls covered with maps and documents.
“Welcome to Joshua’s war room,” Ellis said, a hint of pride in his voice. “Everything he collected about his brothers, their business dealings, and the true value of Maple Creek Farm.”
I moved to the nearest wall where a detailed survey map was pinned, showing not just the farm but surrounding properties for miles. Red markings indicated oil deposit locations, with handwritten notes about depth, quality, and extraction challenges.
“I don’t understand,” I said, turning to Ellis. “Joshua knew about the oil.”
“Not at first. He bought this place to renovate for you—pure and simple. But about eighteen months ago, when the Petersons’ land showed oil, he hired geologists to survey Maple Creek secretly.”
Ellis pointed to the map. “They found something unexpected. The largest deposit isn’t under the eastern section where everyone’s drilling. It’s here—under the western acres that look worthless.”
I studied the map more carefully, noting the concentration of red markings on the rugged, apparently unusable portion of the property that stretched into the foothills—land Robert hadn’t even mentioned in his proposed division.
“The oil company surveys missed it because the formation is unusual,” Ellis continued, “deeper, and shaped differently than they expected. Your husband verified it with three independent experts, swearing them to secrecy.”
“So the property is even more valuable than his brothers realize—exponentially.”
“But that’s not all.”
Ellis moved to a filing cabinet, withdrawing a thick folder. “Joshua documented decades of questionable business practices by all three brothers. Tax evasion, insider trading, misappropriation of client funds—enough evidence to ruin them professionally if it ever came to light.”
I leafed through the meticulous documentation, recognizing Joshua’s thorough approach to problem solving: email printouts, financial records, sworn statements from former employees.
He had built an airtight case against his brothers.
“Why would he collect all this protection?”
Ellis sat at the desk, gesturing for me to take the other chair. “He knew they’d come after the farm once he was gone. He wanted you to have leverage.”
I thought of Robert’s smug confidence. Alan’s legal maneuvering. Their quick work turning Jenna against me.
He anticipated everything.
“Not everything,” Ellis said quietly. “He didn’t expect them to get to your daughter so quickly.”
The reminder of Jenna’s betrayal stung.
“They’re manipulating her with half-truths and promises of wealth, and playing on her grief,” Ellis added. “She lost her father. Suddenly, they’re offering a connection to him through shared blood and history. Powerful draw for a young woman mourning her dad.”
He was right. Jenna had always been daddy’s girl, sharing Joshua’s analytical mind and love of puzzles. His death had left her adrift—vulnerable to anyone offering connection to him.
“What do I do now?” I asked, half to myself.
“That depends on what you want,” Ellis replied. “You could sell everything—property, oil rights, the whole package—and walk away wealthy, but perhaps forever estranged from your daughter. You could fight the brothers legally using this leverage, which might win the battle, but worsen family wounds.”
“Or,” I said, “or what?”
“You could do what your husband always did,” Ellis said. “Think three steps ahead and find the path no one expects.”
I considered this as I continued examining the war room. On the desk sat a framed photograph I’d never seen before—Joshua as a teenager, standing proudly beside a magnificent chestnut horse, his face alight with an innocent joy I’d rarely glimpsed in the man I married.
“That’s Phoenix,” Ellis said, noticing my focus on the photo. “Your husband’s horse when he was a boy. Only bright spot in his childhood here, from what he told me. His brother sold the animal when Joshua was away at school just to hurt him.”
Another piece of the puzzle clicked into place—Joshua’s support of my love for horses, despite having no personal interest in them. The six magnificent animals in the stable weren’t just a gift. They were his reclamation of something precious his brothers had stolen from him.
I picked up the photograph, a plan beginning to form in my mind.
“Ellis, does the laptop with Joshua’s videos work down here?”
He nodded. “There’s a secure Wi-Fi network throughout the property. Your husband made sure of it.”
“Good. I need to watch the next few videos ahead of schedule. Then I need you to arrange a meeting for me.”
“With whom?”
