The land belonged to an elderly woman named Loretta. Her father had owned the neighboring parcel and left it to her after his death. Although the property had remained landlocked and undeveloped for decades, Loretta had never sold it or granted anyone an easement. Even more importantly, she already knew about the encroachment. She had filed a complaint back in 1994, but nothing came from it. For thirty years, she kept every document. When Dad called, Loretta drove four hours carrying a folder she had saved since before I was born.

Dad had also contacted the authorities and requested that the property-line issue be documented. The encroachment itself was a civil matter, but another problem surfaced during the inspection: there were no permits for the pool’s original construction. Suddenly, the county had its own reason to become interested. Dad had known all of this before Aldric threatened my job, yet he deliberately told me nothing. I couldn’t understand why until he finally explained his reasoning—and why he had needed my shock that morning to be completely genuine.

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