“But what about my people? I can’t leave them in uncertainty to keep wondering about my whereabouts,” she firmly protested.
Shrugging, he said, “We’ll deal with that later. For now, I just want you to focus on getting better.”
“I am better,” she threw at him, frustration beginning to set in. Suspicion filled her eyes when she asked, “What are you hiding from me?”
“Nothing. I don’t just want you to have a relapse when going to search for your Indian family.”
For some reason that she couldn’t understand, Olivia didn’t believe him. Not that she knew him well enough to know when he was not telling the truth. But her instincts told her that he was lying and keeping something vital from her.
“I know you’re hiding something from me. It doesn’t matter, though. Come morning, I’ll leave to go and look for my people.”
“You won’t find them,” Adam whispered tautly.
If he wasn’t standing beside her, she didn’t think she would have heard the words.
Trepidation welled up inside her.
“What do you mean by that?”
Adam drew in a ragged breath and remained silent.
Anxious now, Olivia begged. “Please tell me why you said I won’t find them.”
Adam wiped his hands on the tea towel and walked away from her. Olivia hastily washed her hands and went after him before he left the kitchen.
She caught up with him at the door and took his hand to turn him around. The sorrow she saw in his eyes robbed her of words for some minutes. She let go of his hand.
Lowering his head, he said, “I’m so sorry, Olivia. But your tribe is no more. The villains destroyed the village.”
Olivia felt as if she was in a bad dream that she couldn’t get out of. Her head suddenly felt bigger, and she swayed a little.
Adam quickly caught her and led her to the table. He pulled out a chair and made her sit. He poured her a cup of water and she drank from it.
Suddenly, she realized that she might have been making a mountain out of a molehill. The village destroyed didn’t mean that her people were a part of the destruction.
With eyes filled with anxiety, she asked, “So, they migrated somewhere else?”
Adam shook his head. “Olivia, I meant that Standing Tree’s Cheyenne tribe is no more. They were all killed in the attack. Every single one of them.”
Olive shook her head vigorously as she refused to believe it. “No!” she screamed. “It’s not possible. They all left the area. They moved away. They made everyone think that they were all killed so that they wouldn’t be disturbed anymore.”
Adam gripped her by the shoulders tautly. “Olivia, I’m so sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the truth is that none of them survived the attack. Even the ones who tried to escape were captured and killed.”
Cold engulfed Olivia’s body and she shivered visibly. No! This couldn’t be happening. She refused to believe that White Bird, Singing Clouds, Black Storm, Running Elk, and Looks Like Wolf were all dead.
“No, no, no, no, no,” she chanted as tears poured down her face in waves.
“Please accept my sympathy, Olivia. I’m looking into the case, and I promise you that everyone who was involved in the attack will be brought to justice.”
Olivia raised soulless eyes to his. “Justice? Will justice bring back Standing Tree and his tribe?”
He shook his head. “No, but their deaths won’t be in vain.”
Olivia unexpectedly shook away his hands and rose. “I don’t believe they’re all gone. I can’t believe it. I have to go and find them. I’ll track them, you’ll see. Every one of them will be found by me in the forest.”
Adam refused to get out of her way. He drew her into his arms and held her tautly.
“Olivia, please accept that they’re gone. It’s a tragedy that you’ll have to face. You’re lucky to be alive after witnessing the attack.”
