Chapter 39 - Whispers in the WoodsAs the local election heated up through the warm summer months, the town of Bar Harbor experienced a sudden influx of slick, out-of-state real estate developers attempting to buy up coastal land for luxury resort construction.
Many local fishermen and small business owners found themselves suddenly targeted by mysterious zoning violations, sudden tax hikes, and aggressive corporate buyout offers.
Celeste, using her legal expertise, immediately began dismantling the developers' loophole claims in town hall meetings, protecting local families from predatory displacement.
Naturally, this made her public enemy number one for the high-end development firms.
Late one Friday night, Roman was working late at the timber mill office, reviewing inventory sheets, when the security monitor on his desk flickered.
A sleek, tinted luxury SUV had pulled up near the perimeter fence of the mill yard. Two men in expensive suits stepped out, walking purposefully toward the main office building.
Roman didn't wait for them to knock. He stood up, grabbed his heavy metal flashlight, and unlocked the side exit door, stepping out into the cool night air.
"You're trespassing," Roman called out, his voice cutting through the quiet darkness like a razor.
The two men stopped. The one in the lead—a sharp-faced corporate fixer named Henderson whom Celeste had publicly humiliated at the last town council meeting—smirked.
"Mr. Vascari," Henderson said smoothly, adjusting his tie. "I figured I'd find you here. We need to talk about your wife."
Roman closed the distance between them with terrifying speed, stopping just inches away from Henderson, towering over him in the dim yard lighting.
"If you or your bosses ever mention my wife's name again," Roman whispered, his voice dropping into that dark, lethal Chicago register that hadn't surfaced in years, "you won't have to worry about zoning permits anymore. You'll be worrying about dental records."
May you like
Henderson swallowed hard, taking an involuntary step back. "She's... she's standing in the way of a twenty-million-dollar development project. If she wins the judgeship, our investors lose millions."
"Then tell your investors to pack their bags and head back south," Roman said coldly, pointing toward the highway. "Because in this town, she doesn't lose."
