You Want My House? Over My Dead Body

"Oh, Eric, you're finally here. This young lady tried to break into my apartment and even claimed it's hers! You should help me!"

Eric moved in front of her, putting himself between us, and glared at me. "How did you even get in here? Do you have any idea where you are? Coming here to cause trouble for the homeowner, huh?"

I've seen unreasonable people before, but never one this ridiculous.

I brandished the deed and said firmly, "Take a look at this. I'm the real owner of the apartment!"

The moment Eric saw the deed, his expression froze. When he noticed the other neighbors giving us weird gazes, he immediately tried to snatch it from me.

After what Jane had just pulled, there was no way I was handing the deed over to him. I quickly stepped back.

"What do you want? I can hold it up for you to see!"

Eric snapped in frustration, "Who knows if that deed of yours is even real? You think you can wave a fake one around and claim the place? Get out of here, now!"

He moved as if to shove me aside, while Jane hurriedly took out her key and unlocked the front door.

The moment it opened, an indescribable stench rushed out, so foul it nearly made me throw up my last meal.

Through the half-open door, all I could see were towering piles of trash. A rat suddenly screeched and darted out through the gap!

"Ah!" I jumped in shock.

By the time I recovered, Jane had already slipped inside and slammed the door shut.

Just as I was about to rush forward and knock on the door, Eric planted himself in front of me and waved his baton. "You won't leave? Do you want me to throw you out?"

Maybe feeling a bit guilty for pretending not to notice earlier, the locksmith warned me, "Don't bother knocking. That old lady always causes trouble and loves taking advantage of others. She's notorious in this area. We all avoid getting involved with her, as you can't reason with her."

With that, he picked up his toolkit and hurried away.

Giving the burly Eric one last glance, I had no choice but to swallow my frustration and leave.

…

As soon as I left the residential complex, I rushed straight to the police station. I had no idea Jane was infamous at the police station, too.

The officer who received me looked completely exasperated. "This is a tricky one. We can't just force her out of the apartment. She's elderly and has a fiery temper."

The officer's words were careful, but I could already tell what he really meant.

Jane obviously liked to lean on her age to cause trouble, and the police couldn't do anything about it.

The officer then offered a friendly suggestion, "We can only help with a mediation at most. Since this is a civil dispute, you could file a lawsuit and get the court to evict her."

Get the court to evict her? How long would that even take?

Just thinking about the chaos inside the apartment made me feel sick. Jane had turned it into a dumping site!

I took a deep breath, then something occurred to me. I turned to the police officer. "Sir, it isn't illegal for me to enter my own apartment and clear out the trash, right?"

The officer cleared his throat. "If you didn't sign any tenancy agreement, then it's legal. Just make sure no one gets hurt."