Scarlett Meadows, a small, but bustling settlement in the Wild West, was practically a lawless
town; crooks ran rampant, especially with the recent death of the town’s beloved sheriff, William
Murphy. The circumstances motivated Anisa Murphy to assume her late father’s role. She was
nothing if not determined to root out the outlaws of this town. And with great regret, she knew
precisely where to begin.

June Robins was her culprit: a woman who she used to think she’d one day share a name with,
though it seemed their fates were not intertwined. June was critical of the law, but Anisa never
doubted her seemingly-pure intentions—and the deceiver her past-lover turned out to be,
fraternizing herself with a gang of outlaws. Murdering her father. That betrayal was fresh for
Anisa. She knew revenge was a fool’s game, but was this not simply justice for the town? Trepidation caused her to hesitate to execute her plan, but eventually a letter to June was sent.

The proposition was simple: June would meet her in the town square to settle everything with a
duel. Once and for all.

With the clock striking noon on the next day, Anisa stood in the dusty town square, a gun holster
hugging her hips. A few people briefly glanced at her, but a crowd didn’t form until another
figure appeared. June Robins.

“Sheriff,” June said, her tone lacking the warmth she once used with Anisa.

Anisa merely nodded in acknowledgment. “Let’s get this over with fairly.”

A humorless laugh escaped June’s lips at her words. “Fair? I don’t believe that’s in your family’s
vocabulary.”

“I beg your pardon?”

June scoffed. “Are you that thickheaded that you’re unaware what the company you and your
little lackeys work with actually do?”

Anisa’s brows furrowed. It’s true that her father worked with the major company in town that
controlled most of the goods, but she’d never bothered looking further into the circumstances.

Anger rose in June. “They’re exploiting the farmers, y’know. Paying them pitifully at most for
their hard work, forcing them off their land if they don’t accommodate, it’s bullshit!”

Genuineness was evident in her tone.

Recognizing her words as sincere, Anisa’s desire for retribution faded, and the gun at her hip was
long forgotten. “Let’s talk about this in my office.”

June opened her mouth to speak when a gunshot suddenly resounded. Anisa’s eyes widened in
horror when she processed what happened: her deputies had just entered the square, with one
releasing a bullet at June. Blood promptly gushed from a wound on her stomach. Anisa rushed
over to break her fall to the ground.

“June!” she cried out.

June reached up to brush back a lock of brown hair from Anisa’s face as tears spilled from her
eyes. “Don’t waste your tears on me, Annie,” June murmured. Then her body went limp, with
her blonde hair sprawled out like a halo.

With her death, Scarlett Meadows was free of crime. But was that outcome worth the cost?