staring at something else.
A line at the bottom of the map.
“Linda.”
“What?”
“What’s Phase Two?”
Linda looked away.
My skin went cold.
“Linda.”
She spoke quietly.
“Residential expansion.”
“Whose land?”
She pointed west.
Past my farm.
Toward the old Miller ranch.
Then north.
Across the properties of eleven other families.
Altogether, almost four thousand acres.
“They’re planning a new development district.”
Rachel folded the map.
“Does Horizon Ridge know the access agreement may be fraudulent?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did Trish?”
Linda said nothing.
That was enough.
That afternoon, Rachel sent preservation notices to Cedar Ridge, Horizon Ridge, the developer’s attorneys, the event company, and every known vendor.
Delete nothing.
Destroy nothing.
Alter nothing.
By Sunday, Horizon Ridge issued a statement saying it had “relied on representations made by Cedar Ridge HOA regarding lawful access.”
Trish issued another statement saying all documents had been “provided by prior leadership.”
Former
