Chapter 5 - What the Camera Showed
Skye wanted to explain that she'd been scared for the trees. Paige told her that fear was relevant to motive but would not make obstruction wise or permissible. She helped Skye prepare a truthful response acknowledging what the video showed. There was no excuse invented, no claim the contractor had attacked her, no attempt to deny the hand on the fence panel.
At a follow-up hearing the judge warned all parties to comply with the temporary order and avoid unilateral action on disputed property. The court allowed narrowly defined maintenance and safety work while prohibiting additional grading in specified areas. The case continued toward discovery and possible settlement.
Skye returned to her workshop the next morning and apologized to Tori for leaving her to finish two difficult projects during the dispute.
"I thought if I stopped watching the land for one hour, somebody would destroy it," Skye said.
"You can't be everywhere," Tori replied. "And the orchard isn't going to survive because you stand at the gate yelling. It's going to survive because people can prove what matters about it."
That was the reason Skye trusted her with the saw. Tori could say something uncomfortable without turning it into a performance.
Paige's discovery requests sought drafts of the contested deed, closing instructions, communications with the notary, and any records showing the source of the signature. Ridgegate produced some files and objected to others on ordinary procedural grounds. The court set a timetable for addressing disputes rather than granting Skye every request automatically.
Maren provided the original email and supporting attachments from her personal work archive through counsel. She also disclosed that a preliminary appraisal had valued the lower pasture separately. The figures were far below what Ridgegate planned to pay for the whole property if it could assemble surrounding lots.
That finding complicated June's memory. She had indeed considered a genuine transaction, one that might have covered taxes and repairs. The fraud wasn't that anyone offered to buy land. The problem was whether someone turned a narrow conversation into documents conveying more than June had authorized and more than June legally owned.
At the kitchen table Skye reviewed the farm budget with June. She had never seen the total cost of preserving a place she called her inheritance. The well needed inspection. The barn roof required new flashing. Storm erosion had undermined a stretch of creek bank.
"I could help with the roof," Skye said.
"You've been helping with everything. I need a plan that won't depend on you giving up every Sunday and every spare dollar."
Skye drew three columns on a legal pad: maintenance, income, and long-term protection. They talked about leasing a small section for sustainable grazing, inviting a local orchard cooperative to manage part of the harvest, and investigating voluntary conservation programs. None was free. Each had practical constraints.
June touched the page with her knuckle.
"Your grandfather wanted this land cared for, not frozen under glass," she said.
Skye smiled reluctantly. "He also hated developers who cut corners."
"He hated anybody who cut corners. Including us."
The next discovery production included an escrow ledger showing the purported sale proceeds had been directed to an account that June did not recognize. Its name resembled a family trust but was registered to a company affiliated with Bennett Cross, the acquisitions manager who had sent Maren the signature email.
Paige did not accuse him of stealing the money on the spot. She arranged for bank and closing records to be obtained properly and informed counsel that the destination of funds required urgent clarification.
Skye read the ledger twice. "If Grandma didn't receive it, where did it go?"
May you like
Paige pointed to the account name. "That's what we need to trace."
For the first time Skye wondered whether Mason had been deceived by someone inside his own company—or whether the entire sale had been constructed to look routine until no one could undo it.
