Chapter 3: The Lock on the Green Door
Four hundred miles south, beneath the shadow of the misty Blue Ridge mountains, the night was pitch-black and freezing.
Caroline Sterling—Victoria’s elder sister, wearing her fashionable yellow designer trench coat and calfskin boots—shivered on the wide timber porch of the green farmhouse. Beside her stood an off-duty private security guard holding a crowbar and an electric drill.
""Break the deadbolt, Donald,"" Caroline ordered, pulling her fur collar up against the mountain wind. ""The power of attorney Julian signed in New York gives us immediate possessory lien. We need the physical deed out of the wall safe before the morning filings.""
Donald jammed the pry bar between the ancient oak door and the jamb.
Before he could apply pressure, two blinding halogen spotlights flared to life from the tree line across the circular driveway.
The piercing wail of a siren shattered the mountain silence.
Three dark blue law enforcement cruisers and an unmarked government SUV rolled silently across the gravel, boxing in Caroline’s rented luxury sedan. Four uniformed deputies and two men in federal tactical windbreakers stepped out, hands resting on their sidearms.
""Step away from the door and place your hands on the railing!"" ordered Sheriff Thomas Boone through a megaphone.
Caroline froze, her designer handbag dropping onto the porch planks with a heavy *thud*.
""What is the meaning of this?"" Caroline shrieked, her voice echoing into the hollow. ""This property belongs to Julian Vance! I have his legal power of attorney!""
Sheriff Boone walked up the timber steps, an unlit cigar clenched in his teeth, holding a laminated federal court injunction.
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""Ma'am, this land hasn't belonged to Julian Vance since he was eighteen years old,"" Boone said dryly. ""This four-hundred-acre property is the *Evelyn & Arthur Vance Agricultural Conservancy*, deeded directly into a sovereign land trust. You and that hired hand are currently trespassing on federal conservation reserve ground.""
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