Chapter 5: The Receipts
“Do you have a warrant for the cameras too?” I asked the cop. Loud. For the neighbors.
Tyler’s smile twitched.
The cop frowned. “What cameras?”
I pointed to the smoke detector I’d ripped down. Wires and a lens. “That one. And I bet there’s more.”
Jess was already on her phone, screen-recording everything.
The cop took the smoke detector. He looked at Tyler. “You install this?”
Tyler’s face: “I… uh… building maintenance—”
“Building maintenance doesn’t record bedrooms, son,” the cop said.
That’s when Mrs. Alvarez from 3A opened her door. She held up her phone. “I got it all. I was watching the live. I called 911 when he mentioned the bedroom video. That’s a felony, right?”
The cop’s radio crackled. “We’re gonna need you to come with us, sir.”
Kline tried to sneak down the stairs. Two more cops met him at the bottom.
A week later, the fake TikTok was gone. Charges were filed.
Jess and I got to stay. Rent-controlled.
And @MayaVsTheSlumlords? 800k followers.
Last post: Me and Jess, sipping coffee, with the caption: “30 days to vacate? How about 30 years to life.”
May you like
Tyler texted me from jail: “You win.”
I never replied.
But I did post his text.
With the hashtag #Receipts.
The End.
