The Strongest Curse Master-Chapter 83: Lansky’s Conspiracy

"What is it you? I said nobody, didn’t I," Ace muttered, his tone defensive as he sidestepped Mandy’s question. He retreated from the minibar, making his way towards the dock railing savoring the soothing view.

Mandy trailed behind, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. "So, it was a girl? Someone you like?" she guessed. She knew it was unlikely that a good-looking nerd wouldn’t have female friends, unless the school girl’s today have developed unrealisticaly high standards.

"You’re not going to let this go, are you?" Ace asked, turning to face Mandy and leaning against the railing. Seeing her cute nod, he shook his head in irritation. To get her off his case, he lied with a straight face, "One of my friends shared a funny meme in the group chat, which garnered amusing reactions and reply from the group. That’s all."

"What was it?" Mandy questioned, her intuition nagging at her. Ace’s story sounded reasonable, but something still didn’t feel right.

"It’s a crude meme, not really your kind of humor," Ace scoffed, hoping to end the conversation.

"I’m not some delicate little girl from your class. Show me, I can handle it," Mandy insisted, her suspicion mounting with Ace’s dismissiveness.

"I’m not going down that road again. You all say that at first, then suddenly I’m a creep. Nope, not happening," Ace rejected Mandy’s demand, shaking his head in protest. Then crushing the empty can, he trudged to the minibar to fetch another one.

Mandy was stunned by Ace’s accusation. It infuriated her that he would lump her in with the other girls he knew, her, the three times Ms. Country Rose. She was fuming, but found herself at lose of words to retort him as he wasn’t wrong.

*Brup!* With a satisfying burp, Ace cracked open another soda. Mandy, jolted from her thoughts, demanded, "Ace Lander, as your aunt I order you to show me your chat history. Otherwise, I’ll tell on you to your mother."

"Please, don’t, Auntie Mandy," Ace mocked. Returning to the dock rails, he added, "Aren’t you a bit too relaxed for someone who needs to raise $2.4 million in cash by noon? Not to mention, the paperwork for the land transfer and the loan." Someone crafty like Old Greg wouldn’t trust Mandy to gather that much money if she wasn’t capable of it, Ace wasn’t concerned, he was just trying to change the subject.

"Why, nephew, are you worried about your dear auntie?" Mandy teased, deciding to drop it. She’d lost the moment she mentioned his mother.

"No, I’m just curious. I know you won’t handover the golden goose to Old Greg just so you can keep a golden egg. What are you scheming?" Ace knew Mandy was plotting revenge as she blamed Old Greg for her liquidating a profitable investment prematurely. Its just that he didn’t how helping Old Greg played a part in it.

"Scheming? Nephew, you make me sound like a two-bit villain from a daytime drama," Mandy exaggerated, dramatically shaking her head. She feigned disappointment in Ace’s view of her, yet answered him, "Since you asked, it’s water."

"Water?" Ace questioned, perplexed. He couldn’t understand why the townspeople hadn’t solved their water problems, given the abundance of water in the nearby lake.

As if reading his mind, Mandy explained, "Based on the lake water level, a fixed amount of lake water is divided among the surrounding towns, then allocated to farms based on acreage. Plus, most farms have borewells or alternative water sources, so most farmers have enough water year round but avocado orchards are water-guzzlers. Your father was wise to advice Dan to stick to tangerines. Only the greedy continue to grow avocados."

"Old Greg must know this, right? He owns an avocado orchard, too," Ace exclaimed, confused. Why would he buy another one if he can’t even meet the water needs of the current one?

Listening to Ace’s doubts, Mandy grinned and revealed, "Lansky’s avocado orchard has an abundant water supply. It’s famous around town for growing avocados almost twice the size of those from other orchards. That’s why last season, Lansky’s 45 acres outperformed Old Greg’s 60-acre orchard.

"However, what that old fool and the townspeople don’t know is that this season, that won’t be the case. The output of water from the borewells in Lansky’s orchard has shown a sharp decrease, with signs of drying up. He thought that by hiring experts from outside town to examine the borewells, no one would find out.

"Knowing it would be too late to act once the news got out or the borewells dried up, that crafty old bastard blew a minor IRS investigation out of proportion at the town hall as a cover to offload the ticking time bomb for a good price."

’Fuck!’ Ace cursed in his mind, learning the hidden conspiracy. Soon, he asked in doubt, "If the water is no longer sufficient in his orchard, how is he keeping up appearances to avoid scaring away potential buyers?"

"Lansky has a total of 70 acres in that part of town. However, he only used 45 for the avocado orchard, leaving 11 acres for a shooting range, 10 acres for water harvesting trenches, 2 acres for a solar power station, and the remaining 2 acres for a fancy ranch house with all the luxury amenities, proper spacing, and roads. The construction of house was completed last month and before they could move in the water shortage began. For now, he’s using the water from his 10 acres of water harvesting trenches to maintain the status quo. But that’s only temporary; he needs a buyer, and he needs one fast."

Mandy’s insights into Lansky’s conspiracy astonished Ace. He now had no doubts that Mandy’s success as a young real estate agent, earning millions, wasn’t a fluke or coincidence but pure skill. No wonder a seasoned millionaire like Old Greg respected her.

"If you know all this, why are you leading Old Greg into Lansky’s trap? Something like this could spark a blood feud," Ace warned, hoping she knew what she was doing.

Mandy laughed at Ace’s concern, finding him cute for finally reacting. "Don’t worry," she said. "Lansky won’t sell his orchard to Old Greg, even if he’s willing to pay double. At most, he’ll use Greg’s offer to reel in the organic farm company into his trap. Lansky is crafty like Greg but also a man of principle. He won’t harm the townsfolk or farmers. After all, the family name is more important than any wealth."

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"So, Old Greg would have sold his 25 acres to you for $800k and taken a $1.6 million loan for nothing. Auntie Mandy, remind me to never make you angry," Ace said, his face turning grim as he grasped Mandy’s revenge plan for Old Greg. He couldn’t help but feel pity for Old Greg for crossing paths with her.

"Sure, Nephew. Now unlock your phone and let me go through your chat history."