Page 66 of The Vines Between Us
After lunch, as we were preparing to resume work, Jean-Marc pulled me aside. "Alexandre, could I speak with you privately?"
We walked a short distance from the others, stopping beneath a cypress tree at the property's edge.
"I've received an offer," he said without preamble. "From VitaVine."
My stomach clenched. "For your vineyard?"
He nodded, unable to meet my eyes. "Triple what it's worth. Plus guaranteed contracts for the next decade, even if they keep my current staff."
"And in return?" I asked, though I already knew.
"I withdraw from the alliance. Immediately."
I let out a slow breath, trying to control the anger rising in my chest. Jean-Marc's barrel-making business was crucial to our collective bargaining power. Without him, our ability to produce and age wine independently would be severely compromised.
"Have you made a decision?" I kept my voice neutral, though it took considerable effort.
"Not yet." He finally looked at me directly. "But Alexandre, I have three children to put through university. My wife's mother needs expensive daily nursing care. This kind of money... it would solve everything."
I placed a hand on his shoulder. "I understand, Jean-Marc. Truly. But consider what happens after that money is gone. When VitaVine controls everything—the vineyards, the equipment, the distribution. What will Saint-Émilion become then?"
He nodded slowly, though I could see the conflict in his eyes. "I'll think about it. I promised Rousseau an answer by Friday."
"That's all I ask."
I watched him walk back to the group, my mind racing. IfJean-Marc was wavering, others might be too. VitaVine was picking us off one by one, applying pressure exactly where each person was most vulnerable.
This wasn't business anymore. This was war.
Two days later, Hugo and I sat at my kitchen table, surrounded by spreadsheets and financial projections. The news wasn't good. Between the sabotage repairs and the regular expenses of maintaining seven struggling vineyards, our collective resources were stretched dangerously thin.
"If we divert funds from the new press installation," Hugo suggested, "we could cover the irrigation repairs and still have enough for basic operations until harvest."
I shook my head. "Without that press, we're dependent on Beaumont's facility, and he's already hinted he might not have capacity for us this year."
"Convenient timing," Hugo muttered.
"Too convenient." I pushed away from the table, pacing the length of the kitchen. "We need to call an emergency alliance meeting. Tonight, if possible."
Hugo watched me, concern etched on his face. "You think there are more wavering besides Jean-Marc?"
"I think we need to know where everyone stands before the village meeting tomorrow." I ran a hand through my hair. "Rousseau will be there, and he'll be prepared."
Within an hour, Hugo had arranged for everyone to meet at Madame Fontaine's café after closing. As the sun set over Saint-Émilion, casting long shadows across the ancient stone buildings, I felt the weight of what we were facing. Not just the loss of our vineyards, but the soul of this place that had shaped us.
Madame Fontaine served wine from her private cellar as the seven vineyard owners and three affiliated businesses gatheredaround pushed-together tables. I noticed immediately that Jean-Marc wasn't the only one avoiding eye contact.
"Let's not waste time," I began. "We all know what's happening. The 'accidents' at our vineyards aren't accidents. The sudden equipment failures, delivery delays, and labor shortages aren't coincidences."
"You're saying VitaVine is behind it all?" Pierre Dubois asked, though his tone suggested he already knew the answer.
"I'm saying we're being systematically attacked," I replied. "And I suspect some of you have received individual offers, as Jean-Marc has."
A ripple of uncomfortable glances confirmed my suspicion.
"I haven't decided anything," Jean-Marc said defensively. "I told Alexandre I'd think about it."
"And that's your right," Hugo interjected smoothly. "We all have difficult choices to make. But we should make them with full information."
