~Reo’s~

“They want us to sign off on rural displacement?” I ask, even though I already know the answer.

The air in the conference room is stiff. Cold. Like the walls are waiting to hear me crack. The contract lies open on the glass table. Even the pages are too clean, the clauses too cruel. Across from me, Mr. Ranse from Veldron Energy leans back with the smugness of a man who knows his net worth protects him from consequences.

“It’s standard,” he says as he tilts his watch to catch the light. “Villages adapt. We bring jobs. It’s not personal—it’s business.”

But I hear the truth underneath his smooth...