“Please, Meredith,” Harold said, his voice softening just a fraction. “Just sign the papers. Trevor said he’ll pay you fifty thousand dollars.”

“Where is he getting fifty thousand dollars if he’s in debt?” I asked.

Harold tapped the manila envelope against his palm.

“It’s in the contract,” Harold said. “It’s backed by his corporate partners.”

He laid the envelope on the kitchen table.

It landed with a heavy thud.

“Just look at the papers,” Harold said. “Keep them tonight. Read them.”

“I’ll have my lawyer read them,” I said.

“No lawyers,” Kelsey snapped on the phone. “Trevor said if lawyers get involved, the investors will pull out immediately. They don’t want a public legal battle.”

“Then they shouldn’t have started building without a permit,” I said.

“Meredith, please,” Kelsey sobbed. “My life is in your hands.”

I closed my eyes.

The pressure felt like a physical weight on my chest.

If I didn’t sign, my sister’s marriage might end, and my father would never forgive me.

If I did sign, Trevor would destroy the ridge, and I would lose the peace I had spent years building.