Chapter 3: The Offer
“Get out,” I said. My voice didn’t even sound like mine.
The landlord, Mr. Kline, stood up. He was 60, sweaty, and holding a glass of red wine at 9 a.m. “Maya, let’s be adults here.”
“Adults don’t fake evictions,” Jess snapped.
Tyler didn’t even stand. “Look, this can all go away. One condition.”
He tossed a key onto the coffee table. My apartment key. The spare I thought I lost.
“You come back to me,” he said. “We ‘work things out.’ Kline drops the eviction. I delete the videos. Everyone’s happy.”
I felt sick. “You’re blackmailing me for a relationship?”
“Call it… negotiation,” Kline chuckled. “Building’s getting renovated. We need 4C empty for the new tenants. They’re paying triple. You’re just… in the way.”
Jess stepped forward. “You realize this is illegal, right?”
Kline shrugged. “Prove it.”
I grabbed Jess’s arm. “We’re leaving.”
Tyler’s voice followed us out: “30 days, Maya. Or I post the video of you ‘breaking’ the TV. Deepfakes are crazy good now, huh?”
May you like
Back in our apartment, Jess locked every lock we had. Then she whispered, “Maya… I think they’re recording us. Right now.”
She pointed to the smoke detector. A tiny red light blinked.
To be continued…
