Taza listened quietly. Then Elias saw him. You live on my land. Taza's expression hardened. No.
Elias smiled. The papers say otherwise. Taza stepped closer. Those papers are false. You can prove it?
Taza didn't answer. Elias laughed. That is what I thought. Clara arrived shortly afterward. She immediately understood that something was wrong.
Taza told her to stay out of it. She refused. You're not handling this alone. I have handled everything alone. And how has that worked for you?
Taza looked at her. Clara softened. I don't mean that cruelly. She touched his arm. I mean you don't have to anymore.
Together they began searching through old records. The task was difficult. Many documents had been destroyed or lost. But Clara remembered something from Mrs. Whitaker.
The elderly woman had once mentioned that her late husband kept copies of important land papers. Clara visited her. Mrs. Whitaker searched through an old wooden chest. After nearly an hour, she found a bundle of documents.
Among them was a faded map. Clara's eyes widened. This is the valley. Mrs. Whitaker nodded.
What does it say? Clara carefully examined the writing. It says the land was reserved for families who had settled there before the original boundary was changed. Taza studied the document. This could stop Mercer.
But we need proof that this copy is genuine. Mrs. Whitaker smiled. I know someone who can prove it. The next day, they visited the retired town clerk, Samuel Bell.
He was nearly 80 and had kept records from the earliest days of Red Hollow. When Clara showed him the map, he adjusted his glasses. I remember this. Taza leaned closer. Samuel pointed toward a faded signature.
This was recorded before Mercer ever arrived. So, the land isn't his? Clara asked. No. Samuel looked at Taza.
He knows it isn't. That changed everything. Elias Mercer had not simply made a mistake. He had knowingly presented questionable documents. Taza could have confronted him angrily.
Instead, Clara encouraged him to take the evidence to the sheriff. They gathered witnesses. Whittaker testified. Samuel produced the original registry. Several families confirmed the boundaries.
Mercer's claim collapsed. The valley was protected. Afterward, people in Red Hollow began looking at Taza differently. Not because he had defeated Mercer, but because they had seen Clara standing beside him through everything. One evening, Taza returned to his cabin.