At the bottom was a handwritten note.
Your daughter should not have to grow up in a house surrounded by legal problems. Think carefully about what is best for your family.
Daniel felt the muscles in his jaw tighten.
"Where did you get this?"
"It was in our mailbox yesterday. I saw it when I got home from school, but I thought you had already read it."
"I haven't seen this before."
"I put it in my backpack because I thought it might be important."
Daniel looked at the handwriting.
It resembled the anonymous note attached to the earlier letter.
He placed the paper in the center console.
"Did anyone speak to you about this?"
Sophie shook her head.
"No. But yesterday, when I got off the bus, there was a man standing near the driveway. He asked if you were home."
Daniel's hands tightened around the steering wheel.
"What did he look like?"
"Older than you. Dark hair. He was wearing a black vest."
Richard.
"Did you speak to him?"
"Only for a second. I told him you were at work. Then he asked me whether Mom's things were still in the house."
Daniel felt his stomach drop.
"What did you tell him?"
"Nothing. I just went inside."
He forced himself to breathe slowly.
"You did the right thing."
Sophie looked worried.
"Why would he ask about Mom?"
"I don't know."
It was the truth, and it frightened him more than he wanted to admit.
He had spent two years protecting Sophie from the worst parts of his grief. He had explained death honestly, answered her questions, and kept Claire's memory alive through stories and photographs.
But he had never imagined someone would use that memory to intimidate his daughter.
He reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Listen to me. If Richard or anyone else approaches you again, you don't have to answer their questions. You come inside or go to a trusted adult, and you call me. All right?"
Sophie nodded.
"Is he trying to make us leave?"
Daniel looked at the road ahead.
"I don't know yet."
"Would we have to leave our house?"
"No."
The answer came more quickly than he had intended.
He glanced at her.
"I won't let anyone pressure us into leaving. If there's a legitimate problem, we'll deal with it properly. But nobody gets to frighten you into giving up your home."
Sophie watched him for a moment.
Then she nodded again.
"Okay."
Daniel drove home.
The broken window had been covered with a temporary plywood panel by a local contractor he had called earlier. The living room looked strange without its usual view of the garden, but at least the house was secure.
He helped Sophie with her homework, made dinner, and listened while she explained the science project that had occupied her thoughts before the confrontation.
For an hour, the ordinary responsibilities of parenthood pushed the dispute to the edge of his mind.
Then, after Sophie went upstairs, Daniel returned to his office.
A new email from Laura was waiting.
I have found something significant in the association's public records. The approval for your shelter was valid when issued, and I cannot find evidence of a formal vote revoking it. I am also reviewing the association's recent financial transactions.
Another message arrived a few minutes later.
There appears to be a consulting agreement between the association and Westbridge Development Group. The agreement was approved six months ago, but the summary provided to residents does not describe the full scope of the work.
Daniel opened the attachment.
The document was twenty-three pages long.
Most of it contained ordinary legal language concerning planning assistance, neighborhood improvements, and property assessments. But near the end, a section caught his attention.
Westbridge would provide the association with funding for infrastructure upgrades in exchange for assistance identifying properties suitable for future development.
Daniel read the sentence again.
Then he noticed the next paragraph.
The association agreed to facilitate access to selected properties for preliminary surveys, subject to applicable law and individual property rights.
Subject to applicable law.
That phrase mattered.
The agreement did not authorize Richard to enter homes, damage windows, or threaten residents. It did not grant Westbridge ownership of anyone's property.
But it explained why Richard might have been so determined to make certain houses appear problematic.
If residents became exhausted by fines, inspections, legal notices, and confrontations, they might eventually accept an offer simply to escape the pressure.
Daniel continued reading.
A schedule attached to the agreement listed the seven properties from the map.
His house was listed first.
Beside each address was a column labeled Acquisition Priority.