Legalities, Grit, and Gavel
The morning air in Carson City was crisp, but for Amber Ann, it felt suffocating. She stood in her father's office at Lance Ind, the "Cease and Desist" order—which had been hand-delivered just an hour ago—crumpled in her hand. The City Council had voted; the "investments" Jessica and her cronies made had paid off.
She had gone directly to her father and the Lance family lawyers and found out that it was legal. It wasn't cast in iron or even stone, but it was a strong stumbling block.
"Construction on the villas was stopped," Amber whispered, her voice trembling. "They're citing city ordinances from over a century ago."
Samuel stood by the window, his jaw tight, but it was Damon Sr. who spoke.
"Amber, it is merely a legal tactic, a ploy. They're trying to choke your cash flow until you're forced to sell. We knew this was coming. Do not worry. Your boutique hotel is completed, and they cannot force you to cancel any current bookings."
Samuel nodded. "And you were already booked solid for the next year, both in your hotel and villas at Calm Stays and at the spa. This zoning doesn't touch the restaurants, bakery, or dairy. It is only the villas Dan is constructing that have been affected."
Amber looked at her tablet, where the news was already breaking. Her endeavors were being labeled as "big business stealing from the needy of the city." The headlines made her dreams seem corrupt and her goals shallow. Blue Serene Lake now felt like a stone around her neck and not the diamond on her finger that it should have been.
Thousands of miles away, Dan Trace wasn't looking at the news. He was standing knee-deep in a gray, bubbling mineral spring at the foot of a jagged mountain range. This was the source—the "heart" of the Blue Serene Bath's mineral products and spa.
Dan's expensively maintained hair was matted with sweat, silt, and gray mud. He wasn't wearing his normal designer clothes—he had on native gear acquired from the locals, and yet it still clung to his chest as he worked alongside the harvesters to pull a fresh batch of raw clay from the earth.
The camera zoomed in, and Dan looked into the lens again. He spoke with determination and grit. He sounded raw, tired, and deeply sincere.
"Everyone is talking about zoning, manipulation, and legislation today," Dan said, gesturing to the rugged, beautiful terrain behind him. "But this is what the Carson City Council is actually trying to kill. They call this 'muck.' Amber Ann Lance-Trace calls it medicine. She hunted down the best, but not only that—it had to be sustainable. Amber Ann Lance-Trace is a biochemist and environmentalist first and a businesswoman second."
He paused, breathing hard. "I've spent the last twelve hours with the people who have lived off this land for generations. I have helped them fill the largest order they have ever had—an order that will show the world just how precious and important their home is. They have shown me how to do this without harming or depleting their lands."
Dan worked alongside the workers around him as they all pulled a large block of mud from the dark waters. "The politicians in Carson City aren't trying to protect the environment. They're trying to steal a legacy."
He picked up a handful of the thick, mineral-rich mud and let it slide through his fingers. "Amber Ann Lance-Trace built Blue Serene Lake Resort and Spa to share this with the world. If the City Council wants to shut us down, they're going to have to explain to five million of you why healing, quality, and legacy are all against the law."
Amber watched the feed from her office. She saw the grit under Dan's fingernails and the way he spoke her name—not as a trophy, but as a visionary. For the first time, she didn't see the man who had cheated; she saw the man who was willing to get dirty to save her soul.
But she wasn't the only one watching. Both Jessica and Anthony Shaw watched Dan stand tall for Amber Ann.
Jessica pursed her lips as she watched Dan look into the camera with determination. She was annoyed beyond belief, but her only thought was, 'How could he travel without me?' Her selfishness surfaced easily in the moment.
In a darkened room, Anthony Shaw sat with a tablet. He watched Dan Trace—the man Jessica claimed to want. He watched how the public was reacting to Dan's "heroism" as the comments poured in during the live post.
Shaw reached out and touched the screen, right over Dan's face. "Too much notoriety, Mr. Trace," he whispered to the empty room. "It's going to make it very easy to kill you."