Page 71 of Sacrifice

We stepped out of the car and crossed the road. Rose’s brows dipped in a frown as she noticed the sign on the left side of the track. “Wait, what’s this? It wasn’t here before,” she said, squinting to read it. “Private land. This area is under video surveillance. Trespassers will be prosecuted.”

“Yup. That’s right.”

Her frown deepened. “But the government took over the land after we all left. They gave me a check, remember?” she said. “So, isn’t this public land now? For hikers and campers?”

What she’d said was true... mostly.

The Covenant had legally owned their wilderness land—all twenty thousand acres of it—but when all the shit went down two years ago, and the Covenant technically ceased to exist, the government decided to step in and turn most of it into a national park, much like the rest of the High Peaks Wilderness, with the exception of the mushroom cave, which would be studied by scientists to determine possible medical or pharmaceutical applications for the ‘magical’ red fungi.

The government couldn’t just swoop in and take the land that easily, though, so they’d come to an arrangement with the old Covenant members. All of them received payments for their ‘share’ of the land; around a hundred thousand dollars each.

“Sort of. Remember that society I was a member of back in college?” I asked, raising a brow.

Rose tilted her head. “The secret society, you mean?”

“Yeah. One of my society brothers has a pretty high-level government job now, so he was able to do a little favor for me.”

Her eyes widened. “What sort of favor?”

“He arranged things so I could buy a portion of the land before the rest was turned into a public nature reserve. It includes everything from the road up to Alderwood, along with the village itself. It’s around seven hundred acres… and it’s all yours.”

Rose’s eyes were like saucers now. “Mine?”

“Yeah. I put it in your name. I also put up this sign, along with the surveillance stuff, to stop all the true crime enthusiasts from coming here and trampling all over the place,” I said. “Oh, and the cathedral will eventually be heritage-listed. We’re just waiting on the official paperwork for that. It takes a while. Lots of red tape.”

Her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water as she registered my words. “You… you really bought Alderwood for me?” she finally said, shaking her head with disbelief.

I took her hands and squeezed them in mine. “I wasn’t sure if you’d ever want to come back here after everything that happened, but I wanted to make sure you could if you wanted to. Properly. Not just as a visitor,” I said softly. “This was your home for so long. Everything you had was here. That’s important.”

She swallowed audibly and nodded. “Thank you,” she murmured, eyes shimmering with tears. “I can’t believe I ended up with such a thoughtful, generous husband. I’m so lucky.”

“Nah, I’m the lucky one,” I replied with a grin. “Anyway, happy birthday, baby. I would’ve given it to you last year, but we were so busy with all the wedding stuff. I thought it might be a bit much.”

“I understand. But honestly, this is the best present ever. Really.” She smiled through her tears of joy, shaking her head with disbelief again. “If I knew about it, I probably would’ve psyched myself up to come back sooner.”

I leaned down to kiss the top of her head. “I’m really glad you like it,” I said, heart soaring with joy at the sight of her happiness. “Are you ready for the hike?”

She nodded. Her nerves seemed to have vanished, replaced by palpable excitement. “Yes. Let’s go.”

An hour later, we arrived at Alderwood’s gate. The documentary film team had left it ajar when they finished filming eighteen months ago, revealing the village beyond. It looked exactly as it had two years ago, frozen in time. The cobblestone streets, the ivy-clad stone cottages, the tavern where villagers once gathered… all of it remained untouched.

The gardens in front of the houses were still neatly tended too, with colorful flowers blooming in orderly rows. Even the painted wooden shutters hadn’t faded.

As we trudged down the main street, Rose's eyes flicked back and forth, face etched with confusion. “I thought it would’ve started to look a bit overgrown by now,” she said. “But everything looks perfect.”

“I’ve got a maintenance team on the books,” I said. “They come up here every month and work on it.”

She turned to me, eyes widening all over again. “I don’t mean to look a gift horse in the mouth, but how can you possibly afford to do all of this? Not just buying it, but also maintaining it,” she said. “I know whenever we’ve discussed finances, you’ve always said you have enough to take care of us, but this is… it’ssomuch. And with everything that’s happened with your family over the last couple of years…”

She trailed off, letting the words hang in the air.

I grinned. “Don’t worry,” I said, shaking my head. “My familydidlose most of their fortune once everything came to light, but I was never part of their schemes, so everything that legally belonged to me before all the shit happened still legally belongs to me now. That includes everything I inherited back when I turned twenty-five. It’s… enough. More than enough.”

“Oh. Right. I think I remember your lawyer saying something about that now.” She nodded slowly. “By the way, speaking of lawyers, have you heard anything new about the sentencing yet?”

“Not yet. My uncle’s lawyers are still successfully delaying everything. But they’re on house arrest, at least, while they wait for the trial to start.”

“Good.” Her lips tightened. “They don’t deserve to be free. Not after everything they did to help your father cover up the things he did. Not to mention all the other stuff, too.”

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