For four generations, the Vance family had cultivated the soil of the Emerald Valley. Arthur Vance, a man whose hands were as weathered as the antique tractor he drove, was the last of his line. The valley was a sprawling basin of rich, dark earth, surrounded by rolling hills. For over a century, the Vances grew corn, wheat, and soybeans, living in peaceful isolation.
But progress is a relentless beast. Over the last decade, the city had crept closer to Arthur’s sanctuary. Developers bought up the ridges overlooking the valley, clear-cutting the pines to make way for a luxury subdivision known as Whispering Pines Estates. Arthur didn't mind the new neighbors at first, so long as they stayed on their side of the property line.
With luxury homes came a luxury Homeowners Association (HOA). Whispering Pines was governed by a strict set of bylaws and an even stricter President, Eleanor Vance—no relation to Arthur, a fact she made sure to loudly clarify at every board meeting. Eleanor was a woman who measured the world in perfectly manicured lawns and uniform beige paint colors.