Martin looked at him.
"And you are?"
"Ethan."
"Expert witness?"
"Grandson."
Martin smiled faintly.
Then his expression grew serious.
"There is something else you need to know."
He opened another file.
"Years ago, Silver Ridge proposed converting most of the old aquatic corridor into residential development."
Daniel and I looked at each other.
"How long ago?" Daniel asked.
"Early concept work several years back. Then again recently."
Martin turned a map around.
The planned expansion sat directly over the land where the old breeding ponds and drainage corridor had existed.
"If registered broodstock remained there," Martin said, "the project would have to account for it. Depending on state findings, that could mean relocation approvals, management obligations, disclosure, perhaps preservation of part of the corridor."
I understood then.
Not every detail.
Enough.
Karen was not simply trying to remove fish from a retention pond.
The fish were evidence that the old Riverstone system was not dead.
And somebody wanted that system gone from the development map.
The next morning, Silver Ridge sent me another letter.
This one came by certified mail.
It demanded five things.
Payment of the $4,800 emergency management invoice.
Immediate removal of the transferred fish.
Suspension of any commercial activity involving the fish.
No further third-party inspections without HOA coordination.
And execution of an aquatic management acknowledgment recognizing Silver Ridge's authority over water conditions affecting the community drainage network.
Daniel read it twice.
Then laughed.
"They are panicking."
"Why?"
"Because this document tries to create control they did not have before the transfer."
"What happens if I refuse?"
"They may sue."
"Can they?"
"Anybody can file something. The question is whether they can win."
Three days later, Silver Ridge filed for an emergency injunction.
The complaint accused me of maintaining an uncontrolled fish population that posed environmental risk to connected community waters. It alleged overpopulation, possible contamination, unapproved commercial planning, and refusal to cooperate with mitigation efforts.
Karen attached photographs.
Daniel called me less than an hour after receiving the filing.
"I need you to come in."
"Why?"
"Karen just gave us something useful."
At his office, he placed the photographs on the conference table.
They showed tagged fish in the Silver Ridge retention system.
Not my pond.
The dates were embedded in the original image metadata included with the filing exhibits.
Six weeks before the transfer.
Then Daniel showed me a second set.
Same tagged population.
Two months before that.
"They knew what they had," he said.
"Maybe they just knew there were fish."
"Look at this."
He opened a county email obtained through a records request.
Subject: