"Business requires trust. You destroyed that trust when you assaulted my father."
"That was an unfortunate misunderstanding."
Daniel almost laughed.
"An unfortunate misunderstanding?"
"Things got heated."
"You grabbed an elderly man and pushed him onto a table. There were witnesses. There is security footage. What exactly is misunderstood?"
Richard said nothing.
Then he changed his tone.
"I am prepared to increase the offer."
Daniel looked at the garden.
The old apple tree stood near the fence.
He remembered planting it with his father when he was a child.
His mother had laughed because Daniel had dug the hole too deeply.
His father had spent the afternoon helping him fix the mistake.
Daniel looked back toward the house.
"This property isn't simply a number on a contract."
"Everything has a price."
"No. That's where you're wrong."
Richard gave a short laugh.
"Don't be naive, Daniel."
Daniel's expression hardened.
"My father spent his life building things for people. He never believed that every problem could be solved with money. And neither do I."
"Then what do you want?"
"First, a formal apology to my father. Second, an explanation of your company's intentions regarding the community water system. Third, all negotiations must take place through legal representatives."
Richard became silent.
Then he said:
"You're making this unnecessarily difficult."
Daniel replied:
"No. I'm making sure it is handled properly."
He ended the call.
Thomas had heard enough to understand what happened.
"Was that Mr. Cole?"
"Yes."
"What did he want?"
"To buy the property."
Thomas looked down at his hands.
"Do you think we should sell it?"
Daniel sat beside him again.
"I think we should understand what it means before deciding."
Thomas nodded.
"Your mother would have liked that answer."
Daniel looked toward the old wooden box inside the house.
"Dad, I want to ask you something."
"Go ahead."
"Do you remember the last time Mom visited the property?"
Thomas became thoughtful.
"Yes. It was a few months before she died."
"What did she do there?"
Thomas looked toward the eastern side of the garden.
"She walked along the old fence. She said she wanted to see the place one more time."
"Did she meet anyone?"
Thomas hesitated.
"Actually, yes. There was an elderly man waiting near the entrance. I didn't know him."
"What did they talk about?"
"I couldn't hear everything. But I remember him giving your mother a small notebook."
Daniel leaned forward.
"A notebook?"
Thomas nodded.
"She brought it home and put it in the wooden box. I never saw it again."
Daniel immediately stood up.
"Let's check."
They went inside.
Thomas opened the box and removed the photographs and letters.
Beneath the faded envelope was a thin black notebook.
Daniel opened it carefully.
The first pages contained handwritten notes about the property.
Then he found a list of names.
Several families were mentioned.
Beside each name was a date and a handwritten amount.
There were also sketches of underground pipes, measurements, and a description of the original water system.
At the bottom of the last page was a name.
Samuel Carter.
Daniel recognized it.
"Isn't that the name of the man who lived near the old reservoir?"
Thomas nodded slowly.
"Yes. He was one of your grandfather's closest friends."
Daniel turned another page.
A photograph slipped out.
It showed his grandfather standing beside Samuel Carter and several neighborhood residents.
They were smiling in front of a small building.
On the back of the photograph, his mother had written:
This was built because people chose to help one another.
Daniel studied the photograph.
Then he noticed something else.
One of the men standing in the background looked remarkably familiar.
He was a young construction worker wearing a simple jacket.
Daniel turned the photograph toward his father.
"Do you recognize him?"
Thomas adjusted his glasses.
He stared at the image for several seconds.
Then his face changed.
"That's Richard's father."
Daniel looked at him.
"Are you sure?"
Thomas nodded.
"I remember him. His name was George Cole. He helped your grandfather with the construction."
The room became silent.
Daniel looked at the photograph again.
Richard's father had once stood beside the very people whose rights his son was now threatening.
The truth was becoming more complicated.
And the most disturbing question was no longer whether Richard knew about the water system.
It was whether he knew what his own father had helped build.
The next morning, Daniel contacted his lawyer.
He sent him photographs of the notebook and the old picture.
Michael examined them carefully.
"This is extremely important," he said during their phone conversation.
"Why?"
"Because these records may help establish the history of the community project. We still need independent verification, but the photographs, handwritten notes, and names could help identify the original participants."
Daniel looked through the notebook.
"Can we find Samuel Carter?"