The balloons were deflated.
The coolers were loaded back into the HOA van.
The guests left angry.
Some asked for refunds before driving away.
Others stayed to talk among themselves.
Marcus remained beside the pool.
The water had stopped draining.
The hose lay coiled near the equipment pad.
His attorney stood beside him.
"How are you feeling?"
Marcus looked toward the street.
"Tired."
"Anything else?"
"Relieved."
Daniel nodded.
"You handled it well."
Marcus laughed quietly.
"I almost lost my temper six times."
"But you didn't."
"Still felt like it."
Daniel smiled.
"Feeling angry isn't the same as acting recklessly."
Marcus looked at the empty pool.
"What's next?"
"Documentation."
Marcus nodded.
"Of course."
"Because I don't think this ends here."
Marcus turned toward him.
"Why?"
Daniel lowered his voice.
"Because people don't collect nearly five thousand dollars, advertise private property, and create false authorization documents by accident."
Marcus stared at him.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying we need to know how far this goes."
That afternoon, Marcus sat at his dining room table with every document spread across the surface.
Payment confirmations.
HOA emails.
Event announcements.
Board meeting minutes.
Property records.
Security-camera footage.
Messages from Patricia.
Messages from residents.
The fake authorization.
And something else.
A document Daniel had found in the HOA office.
It was a spreadsheet.
Marcus read the first page.
Then the second.
Then the third.
His expression slowly changed.
"What?"
Daniel sat across from him.
"What is it?"
Marcus turned the laptop around.
"It's not just my pool."
Daniel leaned forward.
The spreadsheet contained a list of neighborhood properties.
Pools.
Guesthouses.
Outdoor kitchens.
Private tennis courts.
Clubrooms.
Home theaters.
Large patios.
Every property had a name beside it.
And next to each name was a notation.
COMMUNITY ACCESS POTENTIAL.
Marcus stared.
"What does that mean?"
Daniel scrolled.
"It means someone has been identifying private amenities."
"Why?"
"That's what we need to find out."
The next column was even stranger.
OWNER COOPERATION LEVEL.
Green.
Yellow.
Red.
Marcus saw his own name.
REED β RED β HIGH RESISTANCE.
He stared at it.
Daniel kept scrolling.
Another name.
Then another.
Some were marked green.
Others yellow.