Chapter 15 - Before the Courthouse Opened
Mara was at her desk before five. She gathered the deed, the notary death record, the charitable trust papers, the messages, and Marisol's evidence in a folder so thick it barely closed. By six, Elliot had signed a declaration denying the transfer. I signed one describing my mother's easement and the threats over it.
“Can we stop them?” I asked.
“We can ask a court for temporary emergency relief,” Mara said. “The law doesn't move just because someone has a dramatic story. We need to show evidence of immediate harm.”
At seven forty, we waited outside the courthouse with Marisol, Sloane's attorney, and three Riverbend residents who had volunteered to appear. Elliot sat with both hands on his cane. Nick paced until I asked him to sit.
“I keep thinking about the reception,” he said. “If I'd gotten between you and her sooner—”
“You can't change the minute she used the scissors. You can decide what you do next.”
He sat beside me. “Then I'm here.”
We received a short emergency hearing. The developer's lawyer insisted MHC held valid title and that any dispute could be settled later in money. Mara argued that forty households might be displaced and that the deed's notary could not have witnessed a signature after her death.
The judge questioned the lawyer sharply. He ordered a temporary pause on the disputed sale while the parties produced records. It wasn't a final ruling. It was enough to let me breathe.
Outside, Marisol hugged me so hard my shoulders hurt. “Your mama would have liked that,” she whispered.
Then the developer's lawyer approached, holding a second deed.
“Before you celebrate,” he said, “you should know our client already acquired an easement across the back parcel.”
May you like
He showed Mara the last page. There was my name in flowing black ink: Anna Reed.
The date beneath it was the day my mother died.
