After “Dutton Ranch” Episode 7 gave us the best and worst installment yet, Episode 8 has just blown things wide open. By the end of the latest episode, Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) and Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) discover the truth about 10 Petal Ranch and its owners, the Jackson family. Many fans have suspected the 10 Petal was responsible for the decimation of the Dutton Ranch herd earlier in the season, and now it’s all but confirmed thanks to a candid sitdown between Sterlin English’s Austin Lewis and the Dutton Ranch couple.

Austin has been a troublesome 10 Petal ranch hand for some time, constantly questioning the ethics of the ranch and its owners and demanding to know what happened to former foreman Wes Ayers (Nakoa DeCoite). Wes was shot and killed by Jai Courtney’s Rob-Will Jackson in the season premiere, and Austin knows something nefarious has taken place. In Episode 8, he finally reveals all to Beth, Rip, and fellow ranch hand Zachariah Moss (Marc Menchaca). 10 Petal has “an operation down in Mexico that steals and smuggles cattle in illegally,” he explains. The smugglers “forge all the paperwork for border patrol and cattle brokers.”

That’s significant, as Beth and Rip’s own cattle were wiped out by a bull named Bullet which was infected with foot-and-mouth disease and which had its paperwork forged. As Zach puts it immediately after Austin’s confession, “That would explain Bullet, and foot-and-mouth.” Here we have confirmation that it was in fact the 10 Petal Ranch that was responsible for the biggest tragedy Beth and Rip have faced since moving to Texas. Naturally, there’ll be hell to pay in the season finale.

Austin Lewis didn’t stop at confirming the existence of an illegal cattle smuggling business. “[The 10 Petal] is so mismanaged,” he continued. “[The cattle smuggling is] the only way they’ve kept the lights on, kept living in luxury. I mean, hell, it’s the only way they’ve been able to afford a goddamn thing.” The ranch hand went on to accuse the entire Jackson family of being “crooked, top to bottom.” “They ain’t ranchers,” he said. “Those motherf***ers are thieves, putting every ranch in South Texas at risk.”

Rip Wheeler knew something was amiss. Earlier in the season, he discovered Wes Ayers’ body on his property and suspected the 10 Petal was involved. He even warned Beth that the Jackson family was “dangerous.” Now, his (along with every fans’) worst suspicions have been confirmed.

When “Dutton Ranch” started, it was a show about two rival ranches competing for dominance in small town Texas. But the writers quickly shook things up when Rip was forced to cull his entire herd following the foot-and-mouth outbreak. It made for one of the most disturbing scenes in “Yellowstone” history as Rip expended round after round slaying the very cattle that were supposed to secure his and his family’s future.

There was something off about the infected bull from the beginning. For one thing, the couple had to face down 10 Petal matriarch Beulah Jackson (Anette Bening) at the auction itself, eventually winning the bull over Beulah, leading to some intense glares from the 10 Petal boss. Thanks to the bull’s foot-and-mouth infection, however, their victory was short-lived, and Episode 4 of “Dutton Ranch” hinted at the real villains behind it all: 10 Petal. Now we know for sure, but questions remain.

In “Dutton Ranch” Episode 4, Rip Wheeler speculated that the infected bull came from Mexico. Meanwhile, Beulah Jackson had been seen talking on the phone to a mysterious man named Mariano Reyes. Many fans suspected that Mariano was not only the father of Beulah’s son Joaquin Reyes (Juan Pablo Raba), but the real boss of the 10 Petal Ranch, operating from the shadows and exerting his influence unseen. What’s more, Mariano seemed like a likely culprit for the foot-and-mouth debacle, potentially transporting cattle across the border illicitly, leading to the Dutton Ranch disaster.

Now we know what Mariano has been up to, and it seems he and his dodgy cattle smuggling business really are to blame for Rip and Beth Dutton’s woes. What we still don’t know is whether Beulah herself was directly responsible. The 10 Petal boss may have been forced to go along with Mariano’s plan to eliminate Dutton Ranch as competition. Or perhaps she was unaware of Mariano’s plan altogether. Back in Episode 4, Beth discovered the animal’s paperwork and bloodwork had been forged, but Beulah might not have known the details of it all.

On top of all that, we got a glimpse at a young Mariano in the previous installment. “Dutton Episode” 7 revealed this so-called “secret villain,” and he wasn’t actually all that villainous. Mariano was shown to be a former 10 Petal ranch hand who formed a bond with a young Beulah. Of course, things could have easily changed since then, with Mariano now clearly overseeing the illicit smuggling scheme. All will be revealed in the season finale, where you can bet someone is going to pay the price for daring to tangle with Rip and Beth.