Victoria interrupted again, explaining that she was the HOA president and represented hundreds of households. Reyes raised one hand.
“I’ll hear your statement in a moment. I need to establish what happened first.”
“The broken window is a property damage matter,” Reyes said. “Let’s begin with the window.”
Daniel handed her the deed, purchase documents, and renovation authorization. “I own the property through Brooks Commercial Holdings. Ms. Ashford confronted me, claimed the property was subject to her association’s authority, and threw that stone through the front window.”
“That is an outrageous lie!” Victoria exclaimed.
Reyes looked at the stone. “Did you throw it, ma’am?”
“I was attempting to prevent an unlawful occupation.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
“I threw it because he refused to leave.”
“Did he have a weapon?”
“No.”
“Did he threaten you physically?”
“He threatened to hold me responsible for my actions.”
Daniel confirmed that he had told her the camera had recorded the incident and asked her to describe her own actions truthfully.
Victoria folded her arms. “I am trying to protect hundreds of families.”
“We’re not taking sides,” Reyes said. “We’re gathering information.”
After examining Daniel’s documents, Reyes turned to Victoria. “What is your association’s legal relationship to this parcel?”
“The property falls under our commercial covenant.”
“Can you show me that covenant?”
“I have documents at the association office.”
“Do those documents identify this specific parcel?”
Victoria did not answer directly.
Reyes returned the deed to Daniel. “The ownership documents indicate that Mr. Brooks has a legitimate claim to the property. We’ll verify the details. The fact that your neighborhood is nearby does not, by itself, give your association authority over this building.”
Victoria stared at her. “You cannot be serious.”
“I am.”
Reyes asked Victoria to step away while her partner photographed the damage. Victoria protested that she had rights.
“Everyone here does,” Reyes replied.
Before leaving, Reyes asked Daniel whether there had been other problems. He described the anonymous letter warning him not to reopen the station and the prospective buyers who had withdrawn. Reyes advised him to preserve every relevant record.
Across the parking lot, Victoria called the association board and demanded an emergency meeting. “This has gone far beyond a disagreement about commercial property,” she said. Then she lowered her voice. “Because if he opens that station, everything changes.”
Daniel heard her. For the first time that afternoon, he wondered what Victoria was so desperate to keep hidden.
The answer would come from financial records, an overlooked property map, and a former association treasurer who had spent three years waiting for someone to ask the right questions.
THE EMERGENCY MEETING