"You don't know that."
"We see the property."
"No. You see the outside of the property."
Karen smiled.
"You're taking this personally."
"It is personal."
"That's precisely the problem."
I slowly picked up my documents.
"Karen, I want the car removed today."
She shook her head.
"That may not be possible."
"Why?"
"Because we have an ongoing operational need."
"Then find somewhere else."
"We have."
She pointed toward me.
"Your garage."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
"You've already decided."
"We made a practical decision."
"Who is 'we'?"
She didn't answer.
"Did the board vote on this?"
Karen looked away for half a second.
That was enough.
"Did the board vote?"
"We don't need to discuss internal procedures."
"Did you have authorization?"
She closed the folder.
"Daniel, I suggest you stop turning a temporary inconvenience into a neighborhood dispute."
I smiled.
It was the first time I realized this wasn't about misunderstanding.
Karen knew exactly what she had done.
She simply believed she could get away with it.
I left the office.
Outside, I stood beside my truck and looked back at the building.
Then I did something I hadn't done in years.
I called a lawyer.
His name was Thomas Reed.
He had helped my father with a property dispute nearly fifteen years earlier.
When I explained what happened, he asked one question.
"Does the deed give the HOA an easement into your garage?"
"No."
"Does the declaration give them access rights?"
"I don't think so."
"Don't think. Find out."
That afternoon, I pulled every document I had.
The deed.
The original purchase agreement.
The HOA declaration.
The bylaws.
The architectural guidelines.
The amendments.
The plat map.
The title insurance paperwork.
I spent three hours reading.
And then I found something interesting.
There were several easements in Maple Ridge Estates.
Utility easements.
Drainage easements.
A pedestrian access easement near the southern trail.
But nothing gave the HOA general access to private garages.
Nothing.
I called Thomas again.
"I found it."
"What?"
"The declaration."
"Read me the relevant section."
I did.
He was silent for several seconds.
Then he said, "Daniel, Karen has a problem."
"What kind?"
"The kind that gets worse if she keeps going."
That night, I went back to the garage.
Karen's SUV was still there.
I stood beside it for a long time.
Then I noticed something I hadn't seen before.