Ridge Development or any successor.
Any entry without written permission will be considered trespass.
Signed,
Robert Mercer.
Rachel smiled.
“There’s your answer.”
But I kept looking.
Because behind the Cedar Ridge folder was another envelope.
It was sealed.
My name was written across the front in Dad’s handwriting.
JACK—IF VARDEN EVER COMES BACK.
My hands stopped.
Rachel saw my face.
“What?”
I showed her.
The paper felt brittle.
Old.
I opened it carefully.
Inside was a single handwritten page.
Jack,
If you’re reading this, somebody from Cedar Ridge is claiming they have rights across the north field.
They don’t.
But that won’t stop them.
Varden came to me in October 2018 with a document carrying your signature.
I knew immediately it was false because you were deployed.
I told him if he ever used it, I’d go to the sheriff.
He claimed somebody inside the county had already “verified” it.
