I moved to the back of the cabin and found an old iron fire poker beside the stove.

I jammed it through the handles of the double kitchen cabinets, just in case there was another entry point.

My boots squeaked on the wet floorboards.

Every sound felt magnified, a beacon for the men outside.

“Daniel,” Sophia said, her voice tight. “Look at the ledger again.”

I walked back to the desk and picked up Caleb’s book.

“What am I looking for?” I asked.

“Look at the last entry,” she said. “The date.”

I turned to the final written page.

The date was three days ago.

Next to a massive dollar figure was a single name: *Wade*.

“Wade wasn’t just protecting the Reeds,” I said. “He was holding Caleb’s debt.”

“He owns Caleb,” Sophia said. “Which means Margaret owns Wade.”

“It’s a perfect circle,” I said.

The laptop gave a soft, high-pitched chime.

The progress bar jumped to seventy percent.

“We’re almost there,” Sophia said, her eyes reflecting the green light of the screen.

The wind howled, rattling the tin roof so violently I thought it might rip away.