Nathan did not respond.
Trust had entered the room.
Not evidence.
The more valuable something was, the harder it became to let go.
Bella knew that from her mother.
Hannah Carter had trusted doctors until they stopped explaining bills.
Trusted employers until wages disappeared.
Trusted Bella’s father until he vanished into another state when Bella was twelve.
Trust did not make people foolish.
But it could make evidence emotionally expensive.
“Do you want me to keep going?”
Nathan looked at her.
“Yes.”
No hesitation.
Good.
Bella read.
Then found something else.
Railcar numbers.
Dates.
Station abbreviations.
“Where is D.V.S.?”
“Drake Valley South.”
“And B.R.?”
“Black Rock.”
“Your cattle shipping stop?”
“Yes.”
She turned another page.
“Thomas Vale.”
Nathan froze.
Bella showed him.
T.V.
Payment.
$600.
Three weeks earlier.
The same week Thomas was poisoned.
Nathan sat beside her.
For the first time she had ever seen, he looked shaken.
Not outwardly.
His shoulders remained straight.
His breathing controlled.
But his eyes changed.
He had known Thomas.
Maybe trusted him.
“Why pay Thomas?”
Nathan spoke slowly.
“To change rail manifests.”
Bella looked at him.
“You think he was helping Victor steal cattle.”
“Or discovering it.”
“Then why the money?”
“Bribe.”
“To silence him.”
“Maybe.”
Bella closed the book.
“Maybe Paul left because he knew we would find this.”
Nathan’s jaw tightened.
“Or because he was told to.”
“Victor?”
He looked toward the door.
“Possibly.”
Bella studied him.
“You don’t want it to be him.”
“No.”
“Why?”
Nathan remained silent.
That answer was enough.
History.
Victor was not simply an employee.
Bella waited.
Eventually Nathan said:
“He saved my life when I was twenty-four.”
She looked at him.
“From what?”
“My father.”
Bella had not expected that.
Nathan looked at the floor.
“Not physically.”
His voice became quieter.
“My father was building debt faster than cattle.”
He stared toward the window.
“Victor showed me accounts proving it.”
Bella understood.
“Your father was stealing?”
“Borrowing against land we didn’t own outright.”
“Dangerous.”
“Yes.”
“Victor exposed it.”
Nathan nodded.
“Helped me restructure everything.”
“So you trust him.”
“I trusted him.”
The past tense came painfully.
Bella placed the ledger between them.
“Then let the numbers decide.”
Nathan looked at her.
Something softened.
“Your mother taught you that?”
“Yes.”
He almost smiled.
“Smart woman.”
Bella’s face changed.
The grief returned so quickly she hated herself for it.
Her mother had been dead three days.
Only three.
Yet murder, poison, Nathan, and missing cattle had already pushed grief into corners.
That felt like betrayal.
Bella looked away.
Nathan noticed.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Bella.”
“My mother.”
He became still.
“I should be dealing with her funeral.”
“Then we stop.”
She looked at him.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“I need this job.”