They Left Her Alone in the Mountains — Then She Found a Civil War Secret Hidden Under an Old Hearth
Chapter 5
Noah extinguished the lantern.
They pressed themselves against the wall.
Footsteps approached.
One person.
Slow.
Careful.
Then a flashlight beam crossed the chamber.
A man entered.
Emma recognized him immediately.
The man from the truck.
Noah stepped forward.
“Sheriff’s department.”
The man froze.
Then ran.
Noah chased him.
Emma followed despite Noah shouting for her to stay behind.
The man disappeared into the tunnel.
A door slammed.
Noah reached it.
Locked.
He kicked it open.
The tunnel beyond was empty.
They returned to the chamber.
The man had left something behind.
A leather folder.
Inside was a modern document.
A list of names.
Some were dead.
Others were alive.
Emma recognized one.
Margaret Bell.
The archivist.
Noah looked disturbed.
“Why would an archivist be on this list?”
Emma noticed another name.
Her grandfather.
Thomas Carter.
Next to it was a date.
1998.
“What happened in 1998?” Noah asked.
Emma thought.
“My grandfather moved to this cabin.”
Noah looked at the list.
“He may have discovered the secret.”
They returned to town.
Margaret was gone.
Her office had been emptied.
Noah called the sheriff’s department.
No answer.
Then he received a text.
Stop digging.
A second message followed.
Your family already paid the price once.
Emma stared at the phone.
“What does that mean?”
Noah looked toward the courthouse.
“I think someone inside law enforcement is involved.”
Before they could investigate, Margaret called.
Her voice was barely audible.
“Emma?”
“Where are you?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Who are you hiding from?”
Silence.
Then Margaret whispered:
“Your grandfather wasn’t protecting the secret.”
Emma’s heart sank.
“What was he doing?”
“He was protecting the people who knew about it.”
The line went dead.
Noah looked at Emma.
“She’s in trouble.”
Then Emma noticed something on the table.
A photograph.
Her grandfather standing beside Margaret.
Taken in 1998.
And behind them was the same abandoned church.
