The weight of the ledger and Anya’s covenant felt heavy in Eleanor’s hands as she made her way, not to the ceremony, but towards the furthest, most secluded corner of the Kincaid compound.
She needed to process this. And she needed to tell Lena.
She found Lena by the stables, preparing horses for the ceremonial procession, her face tense with apprehension. Lena startled when Eleanor approached, then her eyes widened at the sight of the leather-bound ledger Eleanor carried.
“El! What is that?” Lena whispered, her gaze darting around. “Where did you get it?”
Eleanor pulled Lena into the narrow space between two stalls, away from prying eyes and ears. The smell of hay and horse mingled with the distant, insistent thrum of the ceremonial drums.
“Barty’s office,” Eleanor said, her voice low and urgent. “And look what else I found.”
She carefully unfolded Anya’s covenant, revealing the elegant script and the unmistakable sigil. Lena gasped, her hand flying to her mouth.
“Your mother’s…” Lena trailed off, her eyes scanning the document, then the ledger. “What does this mean?”
“It means everything,” Eleanor told her, her voice thick with emotion. “Lena, Anya knew. She knew what Silas was doing, what he planned for the Cinderlands. She made this document years ago, explicitly stating that the water, the resources, belong to the entire community, not just the Kincaids.”
Lena looked at the papers, then back at Eleanor, a dawning horror on her face. “But… but Silas said she was sick. That she didn’t know what she was doing towards the end.”
“That was a lie, Lena,” Eleanor stated, her voice tight with suppressed anger. “Silas covered it up. He gaslit everyone. He made everyone believe my mother was fading, and that I was a lost cause, prone to addiction and collapse.”
She paused, taking a shaky breath. “My ‘failure,’ my departure from the Cinderlands all those years ago? It wasn’t because I collapsed. It was because I was trying to expose him. Anya had been feeding me information, trying to find a way to stop him. When Silas found out, he framed me, spun a story about my instability, and pushed me away. He made sure everyone believed I was a broken mess.”
Lena stared at her, tears welling in her eyes. “Oh, El… I’m so sorry. We all believed him. We thought…”
“I know,” Eleanor cut in gently. “He’s good at manipulating people. He manipulated all of us.” She looked down at the covenant, her gaze hardening. “But he can’t manipulate this. This is the truth.”
“So, the water deal…” Lena whispered, her voice trembling. “It’s all illegal. It’s theft.”
“Exactly,” Eleanor confirmed. “And this ledger details decades of it. Not just the water. Land, mineral rights, everything. Anya saw it coming, Lena. She was trying to protect us all.”
Lena wiped a tear from her cheek, her initial fear giving way to a fierce surge of anger. “He stole from his own family. From his own wife’s legacy. From the people who trusted him.”
“He did,” Eleanor agreed. “And now we have the proof. But we have to be smart about how we use it. Silas won’t go down without a fight.”
“What do we do?” Lena asked, her voice firmer now, a new resolve in her eyes. “How do we stop him?”
“We need a public stage,” Eleanor replied. “Ethan’s promotion. It’s the perfect opportunity. But we can’t just present this to Silas directly. He’ll deny it, destroy it, or worse.”
“Ethan,” Lena mused. “He’s always been afraid of Silas. Desperate to please him.”
“Yes,” Eleanor confirmed. “But he also loved Anya. He respected her. Maybe… maybe there’s a part of him that would want to honor her, if he saw the undeniable truth.”
Lena nodded slowly. “He’s proud, El. He wouldn’t want to look like a fool, or a pawn, in front of the community.”
“Exactly,” Eleanor said, a plan beginning to solidify in her mind. “We need to hit him where it hurts, but also where he can’t retreat without losing everything.”
They spent the next hour in hushed conversation, strategizing. Lena, her initial hesitation completely gone, offered details about the Kincaid family dynamics Eleanor had long been absent from, insights into Barty’s routines, and the community’s growing unrest. Her loyalty, once conflicted, was now fully committed.
“Silas has been pushing Ethan hard for days,” Lena revealed. “Said he needs to ‘seal the deal’ before any ‘unforeseen complications’ arise. He’s been practically living in Ethan’s ear, threatening him. I heard him tell Ethan that if he didn’t secure the water rights, he’d be nothing but a ‘shadow of his sister’s failure.’ ”
Eleanor’s jaw tightened. Silas was sensing the shift. He knew something was coming. He was tightening the noose around Ethan, ensuring he wouldn’t waver. That made their task even more urgent.
“Ethan’s terrified of Silas,” Lena continued. “But he’s even more terrified of losing face. Losing his position. And of being seen as weak.”
“He needs to see the truth, then,” Eleanor stated, her voice firm. “Not just about Silas, but about himself. And about Anya.”
The plan was daring. Eleanor would confront Ethan privately, away from Silas’s immediate influence, but close enough to the ceremonial grounds that he couldn’t easily dismiss her or avoid the truth. She would present the ledger and the covenant, forcing him to choose between his father’s corrupt legacy and his mother’s honorable one.
“It has to be before the official signing,” Lena pointed out. “Once he puts his name on that deed, it’s done.”
“I know,” Eleanor said, her eyes fixed on the distant stage where Ethan would soon stand, poised to sign away the Cinderlands’ future. “I’ll find him during the pre-ceremony break. When he’s alone, thinking he’s about to achieve everything he’s ever wanted.”
A cold certainty settled in Eleanor’s gut. This was it. The culmination of years of pain, of betrayal, of silent struggle. She was no longer running. She was fighting. And she had her mother’s strength, her mother’s wisdom, and her loyal friend by her side.
“Be careful, El,” Lena said, her voice laced with genuine concern. “Silas is dangerous. And Ethan… he’s desperate.”
Eleanor nodded. She knew. But for Anya, for the Cinderlands, she would face any danger. The time for whispers was over. The time for truth had come.
+ There are no comments
Add yours