I waited.
"It explains why Vivian moved here."
There was a pause.
"And why she waited until Sarah died."
The Woman Behind the Development
Attorney Rebecca Swift spread the old documents across her office.
Clayton Hayes, the county surveyor, stood beside her.
Marcus sat near the window.
Delores had brought everything she found in the archives.
Rebecca tapped the first page.
"Thornridge Construction Company."
My stomach tightened.
"Vivian's family?"
"Her grandfather started it."
Clayton pointed at a signature.
"And here's Vivian."
She had been listed as a project coordinator when Pines Ridge was first planned.
She hadn't simply moved into the valley.
She had helped create the development.
"She knows every boundary," I said.
"Exactly," Rebecca replied.
Then she showed me the newer surveys.
"These stakes have been moved an average of forty-seven feet."
"How much land?"
"About twelve acres in the area they're claiming."
Clayton calculated the value.
"Roughly $2.3 million."
I stared at him.
"They're trying to steal twelve acres."
Rebecca shook her head.
"No. They're trying to steal much more than that."
She explained the 1985 development agreement.
Thornridge Construction had obtained certain development rights around Pines Ridge.
But those rights came with conditions.
One was a first-refusal provision on surrounding property sales.
Another involved a deadline.
December 31.
If the company failed to secure additional land before then, several development rights would expire.
"How long?" I asked.
"Six weeks."
Marcus whistled.
"That's why she's desperate."
Rebecca nodded.
But then she found something even bigger.
"Ezra, this provision applies only to voluntary sales."
"So?"
"If she acquires land through lawsuits, the clause doesn't help her."
I stared at her.
"Meaning every lawsuit she files is useless?"
"Worse."
Rebecca smiled.
"Every lawsuit may destroy the very rights she's trying to protect."
Then she opened another folder.
"There's more."
Inside was a copy of a 1918 deed.
My great-great-grandfather's name was on it.
It covered the entire valley.
Rebecca leaned forward.
"Thornridge's development agreement may have been based on land rights they never actually possessed."