“Then there was not only invasion of property here. There was also deliberate destruction of agricultural heritage and possible complicity of officials.
Mercedes pressed his lips.
I want them to pay for every tree.
“They’re also going to pay for every year that those trees took to exist.
During the following weeks, experts from different parts of the country arrived.
Dr. Santiago Uriarte, a specialist in fruit conservation, walked through the remains and recovered labels, root fragments and branches that still retained living tissue.
His report was devastating.
The Alvarado Red could not be replaced by buying young plants. Each adult tree was the result of decades of genetic selection, grafting and climate adaptation of Michoacán.
They had destroyed 110 mature specimens of that variety, in addition to hundreds of almost missing Creole trees.
Added to that were the lost harvest, future contracts, irrigation system, soil pollution with diesel and the cost of recovering the land.
The initial damage was calculated at 96 million pesos.
However, Clara did not settle.
He requested compensation for loss of profits, ecological restoration, willful invasion and irreversible affectation of agricultural heritage.
The final demand demanded 288 million pesos.
When Patrick received the notification, he released a laugh in front of the board of directors.
That old woman lost her mind. They were apple skewers.
The lead attorney for Lomas Doradas did not laugh.
They were registered apple trees. And there is something worse: the municipal drainage permit expressly mentions the protected area.
Patrick’s smile disappeared.
That doesn’t mean I knew.
Your signature is on the file.
Patrick remained silent.
The company tried to negotiate. First they offered 5 million, then 20 and finally 60 million pesos, always on the condition that Mercedes sold the ranch and remained silent.
She rejected every proposal.
His 2 children, Eduardo and Leticia, traveled from Guadalajara when the news appeared in the newspapers.
Mercedes hoped to receive support, but both came in annoying.
“Mom, you’re 72 years old,” Eduardo said. Accept the money. Why do you want to fight such a big company?
I’m not fighting for money.
“Well, you should,” Leticia said. With 60 million we could solve the life of the whole family.
Mercedes felt a more painful blow than the destruction of the garden.
“Could we?”
Leticia looked away.
Edward breathed into it.
“We have a share. The ranch will be our inheritance, too.
Mercedes then understood that her children had not returned to accompany her. They had returned because they believed that their pain could become a quick fortune.
“The inheritance his father left them was in those trees,” he replied. When he got sick, no one came to help him. Now that someone has offered millions, suddenly everyone remembers the way.
Eduardo hit the table.
Don’t be unfair! We’re just trying to keep you from missing what little is left.
“What little is left is me.
Leticia started crying, but Mercedes didn’t back down.
If you want to be with me, stay. If they came to hand out the check before it exists, the door is open.
They both left that same afternoon.
The family breakup reached the ears of Patrick, who decided to take advantage of it.
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