The inspector measured from the survey pins and confirmed everything Walter had found. The fence, the pergola corner, and the staked pool all sat on my land or inside the required setback. Travis insisted the fence company had made a mistake. The inspector asked for the contractor’s invoice, and when Megan fetched it, the handwritten note on the bottom said, “Moved line per owner request.” Megan read it aloud, and her face fell.

She turned to her husband and asked quietly whether he had told them to do it. Travis said nothing for a long time. Then he admitted he had wanted the bigger yard and figured no one would check. The inspector issued a stop-work order, fined him for the false permit, and told him the fence and pergola had to come down within forty-five days, at his own expense.

Diane filed the claim for damages, and Travis settled before it reached court. He paid for the fence removal, replaced the sod he had ruined, and covered my legal fees. The concrete truck left empty, and the pool was redesigned ten feet farther back. Megan came to my door that evening, apologized, and said she had never known. I believed her.

By spring the cedar fence stood exactly on the true line, and Travis paid for that too. I reset the orange flags as permanent markers and mowed my full yard that Saturday. Lily’s swing hangs from the oak again, and the grass runs straight to the boundary. Travis still keeps to his side, but now he waves, and I wave back.