I threw it away.
The fourth offered $2.25 million.
That one made me suspicious.
Why would someone offer that much for a house they had never inspected?
Then a fifth letter arrived.
$2.4 million.
Exactly what I'd spent.
I called the company.
A receptionist answered.
"I received an offer from your company."
"Can I have the property address?"
I gave it to her.
There was a pause.
"One moment."
She returned.
"I'm sorry. We don't have a current offer listed."
My stomach tightened.
"Someone sent it to me."
"Could you provide the reference number?"
I did.
Another pause.
"Sir, that reference number belongs to a property acquisition file."
"What property?"
"Your property."
"Who opened it?"
"I can't disclose that."
I hung up.
That night, I checked the county property database.
My stomach dropped.
Someone had filed a preliminary development inquiry concerning my parcel.
I hadn't filed it.
And the applicant wasn't me.
It was a company called Caldwell Strategic Holdings.
Vivian Caldwell's company.
The next morning, I confronted her.
She didn't deny it.
"I have investment interests," she said.
"In my property?"
"In the neighborhood."
"Your company filed paperwork on my house."
"Anyone can inquire about a property."
"You offered me $2.4 million."
She smiled.
"That's a fair offer."
"I'm not selling."
"Everyone has a price."
"Not this house."
Her expression hardened.
"You don't understand what you're sitting on."
"What does that mean?"
She stepped closer.
"This neighborhood is changing."
I looked around.
"What does that have to do with me?"
"Everything."
Then she walked away.
I watched her leave.
For the first time, I wasn't angry.
I was concerned.
Because I knew something was happening.
And I didn't know how deep it went.
The following month, things escalated.
The HOA suddenly claimed my pool equipment was "commercial grade."
Then they claimed my fence was too tall.
Then they claimed I had failed to obtain approval for landscaping.
Each violation carried a fine.
$500.
$750.
$1,200.
Then $2,000.
I appealed every one.
I won every appeal.
But Vivian kept filing more.
My attorney told me something that changed everything.
"She's trying to create a paper trail."
"For what?"
"To make you look like a problem homeowner."
"Why?"
He looked at me.
"Because problematic properties are easier to force into compliance."
I stared at him.
"You think she's trying to push me out?"
"I think you should assume she is."
Then came the morning of the gasoline.
6:12 a.m.
My security system caught everything.
Vivian walked through my side gate.