Chapter 3 - The Missing Deed
The gruesome sight on the truck hood left Mateo absolutely paralyzed with a cold, blinding rage.
He violently closed the heavy curtains to shield Elena from the horrific scene outside in the driveway.
She immediately demanded to know what was out there, but Mateo absolutely refused to tell her.
He ordered her to go into the guest bedroom and lock the thick wooden door strictly for her own safety.
Mateo knew exactly what Sheriff Davies truly wanted from him after all these quiet years.
The corrupt sheriff did not actually care about dirty money or old town gossip.
Davies wanted the sprawling, highly valuable land that the Aranda family had proudly owned for generations.
The ranch sat directly on top of the largest untapped underground water aquifer in the entire arid state.
Mateo rushed quickly down the narrow hallway and entered his dark, dusty home office.
He moved a heavy, framed painting of his late grandfather to reveal a hidden wall safe.
His hands shook slightly as he rapidly spun the metal dial to input the secret combination.
The heavy steel door clicked loudly and swung open into the dark cavity of the wall.
Mateo reached inside to grab the original property deed that legally proved his absolute ownership of the land.
His rough fingers grasped only completely empty, dusty air.
The thick manila envelope containing the sacred deed was completely and utterly gone.
He frantically pulled out every single remaining document in a desperate, blind panic.
There was only one new item sitting entirely alone in the very back of the dark metal safe.
It was a crisp, white medical envelope bearing the official seal of the state hospital.
Mateo tore the envelope open and pulled out a highly detailed, certified laboratory report.
It was a certified DNA test that had been secretly conducted over five years ago.
He read the shocking results over and over again, completely unable to process the impossible words.
The official medical document proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Elena's twenty-year-old son, Lucas, was not actually his nephew.
The biological father listed clearly on the official document was Mateo Aranda himself.
Before Mateo could even begin to process this massive, life-shattering revelation, the front door of the house violently burst open.
Heavy boots stomped loudly and aggressively onto the hardwood floor of the main hallway.
Mateo instinctively grabbed his loaded hunting rifle from behind the desk and aimed it directly at the office doorway.
A tall silhouette suddenly stepped into the dim light of the hallway.
It was Lucas, standing completely motionless with a loaded revolver pointed directly at Mateo's chest.
May you like
The young man's eyes were filled with a dark, burning hatred that Mateo had never seen before.
Lucas coldly greeted him as a father for the very first time.
