Chapter 4 - The Difference Between a Sale and a Promise
Maren's email did not say "forge a deed." It was more careful and therefore more troubling.
The message came from Ridgegate's senior acquisitions manager, Bennett Cross. It instructed Maren to "reuse the approved Bellamy specimen signature where needed to expedite the ownership cleanup." An attachment was a scan of June's signature from a preliminary boundary-consent form.
"Did you use it?" Paige asked Maren at their next meeting.
"No. I told Bennett that any deed needed proper execution. He said the outside closing office would handle the originals. I saved the message because it bothered me."
She had not reported the issue internally until Skye appeared at the gate. She feared losing her job and understood that waiting might have allowed a false document to be recorded.
Paige obtained the notary's name from the recorded deed. The notary, Laurel Price, confirmed her commission had been active on the listed date, but said she couldn't locate a matching journal entry. State rules and notarial practice varied by instrument and circumstances, so absence of an entry was not automatically proof that an acknowledgment was fraudulent. Paige arranged for legal process to obtain proper records and testimony rather than assuming the problem solved itself.
June insisted on attending meetings. She wanted her voice included rather than being represented only through Skye.
"I did discuss selling the lower field," she told Paige. "Maybe eight acres if it meant I could repair the house and keep the orchard. I did not agree to sell Skye's share. I didn't agree to move out."
Skye sat beside her. "And I would've refused even to talk about the pasture."
June looked at her. "That's why I didn't bring it up. You think loving land means never changing it."
The observation hurt. Skye had regarded the property as a promise from her grandfather, but June lived with its bills. Fence posts rotted. A culvert needed replacing. Property taxes arrived whether the apple crop was good or not.
"I want you safe," Skye said.
"Then ask what I can manage, not just what you want to save."
Their disagreement was real. It had given Ridgegate an opening but did not excuse anyone using false paperwork.
At the temporary hearing Paige presented the recorded 2024 conveyance, evidence of current ownership uncertainty, and the potential damage from grading near mature trees and drainage structures. Ridgegate argued that it held a valid interest purchased from June and that construction delays would impose costs. Mason's attorney said any signature irregularities required discovery, not a ruling from the bench.
The judge entered a limited temporary order restraining certain destructive activities on disputed areas while the case proceeded. It did not finally determine the title, invalidate the developer's deed, or stop every survey activity. Skye understood the limitation. She also knew the orchard had been given time.
Mason spoke to reporters afterward, calling the order a routine pause. Skye wanted to argue on camera. Paige asked her to remember that litigation would require witnesses, not sound bites.
But that evening Skye drove to the gate and found a contractor unloading fencing panels. They were permitted under the order on a portion of the access road not yet adjudicated. Anger pushed her out of the truck before she'd read the posted notice completely.
"You can't do this," she shouted. "My family owns the land."
A contractor said he had a work authorization. Skye grabbed an uninstalled fence panel and dragged it across the access track so the truck couldn't pass. Nobody was injured, but the foreman recorded her on his phone and called the sheriff's office.
The deputy separated the parties, reviewed the order, and told Skye not to obstruct lawful activity. He issued no final judgment about ownership; that wasn't his role. Paige arrived furious.
"You just gave them evidence to use against you," she said quietly.
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Skye looked at the panel blocking the lane. She had been so determined to keep control that she'd nearly repeated the very behavior she accused Ridgegate of using: treating disputed ground as hers to command without process.
The next morning Mason's lawyers filed the video in court, arguing that Skye could not be trusted to comply with a limited order.
