“Pretty much,” I said. “Dad set everything up. Megan’s got no legal ground.”
Jack grinned, wiping sweat from his brow.
“Good, because those people came by again while you were gone. I told them to back off. Didn’t like the look they gave me, though.”
“They’ll be back,” I said. “Megan doesn’t quit.”
Jack nodded slowly.
“Then don’t you quit either.”
That night, I spread the documents on the table, studying every line until the words blurred. It felt like preparing for a mission. Supplies ready, objectives clear, threats identified. The army had drilled me for combat zones, but the battlefield now was my own bloodline.
The next day, I got an email from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. One of Dad’s old contacts had confirmed the mineral survey, noting its strategic value. That phrase hit me differently. Strategic value wasn’t just money. It meant potential contracts, government interest, leverage on a national scale.
I stared at the screen, then at the quiet lake outside the window. Megan had no idea what she was circling. This wasn’t just family property. It was a resource with the kind of weight politicians whispered about behind closed doors.
By afternoon, my phone rang again. This time, I answered without checking the caller ID.
“Hannah,” Megan’s voice snapped. “I heard you met with Dad’s lawyer.”
I smirked.
“News travels fast. Who’s feeding you, Mom?”
“You’re being unreasonable,” she said sharply. “That land could be worth a fortune, and you don’t know the first thing about handling it.”
“Funny,” I shot back. “Because Dad thought I did. He trusted me, not you.”
Her tone dropped to a hiss.
“If you think you can cut me out, you’re dead wrong. This isn’t over.”
I hung up, not because I was done, but because she didn’t deserve more of my time.
I stepped outside, the cool evening air hitting me like a splash of water. Jack was sitting on his porch sipping something from a tin mug.
“You look like someone just threatened to sue you,” he called.
