My husband had spent years warning me never to set foot on that farm. So after he passed away and the lawyer handed me the key, saying that from now on the place belonged to me, I was ready to sell it right away and put everything behind me. But before making my final decision, I still wanted to see it once for myself. When the door opened, I finally understood why, all those years, he had never wanted me to set foot there.

Robert arrived exactly when expected, black SUV gliding up the gravel drive with the confidence of a man still convinced the room could be tilted in his favor if he controlled the introductions. Allan came with him, portfolio in hand. David followed. This time they also brought a silver-haired man in an expensive suit whose corporate posture radiated resource extraction from forty feet away.

“Who’s that?” Jenna asked from the window beside me.

“Someone they think will impress or intimidate us,” I said.

I had dressed carefully. Not extravagantly, but with intent. Navy suit. Hair pulled back. Pearl earrings my mother left me. The sort of armor women wear when they know men are about to mistake polish for concession. Jenna stood beside me in a dark blue dress and Joshua’s watch on her wrist. Ellis had arranged the dining room exactly as I requested, documents at each place, water glasses, coffee service, projection screen hidden in the ceiling, and two additional doors left conveniently unremarkable.

When the brothers entered, they carried themselves like men stepping into a negotiation they had largely predetermined.