Chapter 16 - The Saboteur
Working together over the next forty-eight hours, Hannah and Caleb pored through Grandma June’s secret ledger alongside Caleb’s technical environmental surveys.
The picture that emerged was astonishing. The land Arthur and Mark were trying to liquidate wasn't just valuable real estate; it contained the primary watershed that fed the entire valley’s agricultural district. If Arthur’s commercial resort project went forward, toxic runoff would ruin dozens of local farms and contaminate the town's primary water reserve.
"They aren't just taking your trust money," Caleb explained, pointing to a geological map spread across Hannah’s kitchen table. "They lied on their state environmental impact reports. They forged signatures to get the development approved."
"Who forged them?" Hannah asked.
Caleb highlighted a signature at the bottom of a state clearance document from two years prior. "Look at the notary stamp."
Hannah leaned in close. The stamp belonged to Evelyn Reed—Arthur’s chief financial officer and her father’s most trusted confidante for over twenty years.
"Evelyn," Hannah murmured. "She was like an aunt to me growing up."
Before they could analyze the document further, a sharp bang echoed from the back of the cottage.
Caleb immediately pulled Hannah behind him, stepping quietly toward the rear kitchen door. A window had been smashed, and the cold night air was blowing through shattered glass onto the floorboards.
Outside, the silhouette of a figure in dark clothing was visible near the edge of the rose garden, carrying a red gasoline canister toward the wooden outer shed where Hannah stored her landscape designs and equipment.
"Stay here!" Caleb barked, rushing through the back door.
"Caleb, wait!" Hannah shouted, grabbing a heavy brass flashlight from the counter and following him into the dark, rain-soaked yard.
Caleb tackled the intruder just as a flare lit up the darkness. The gasoline canister spilled onto the wet grass, the smell of fuel filling the damp air.
Hannah ran forward, shining the bright flashlight beam directly into the intruder’s face.
The man groaned on the ground, holding his arm. It was Mark’s younger brother, Ethan—a volatile thirty-year-old who had always been used by his family to do their dirty work.
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"Ethan?" Hannah gasped, horrified. "You tried to burn my home?"
"It wasn't supposed to be the house!" Ethan spat out, wincing under Caleb’s firm grip. "Just the shed! Dad said... Dad said if your files burnt, you wouldn't have the paperwork to fight the injunction!"
