Chapter 6 - The Unwanted Tenants
The muffled, angry voice echoing through the air vent sent a chill straight down my spine.
“Servers?” Ellen whispered, her sharp legal mind instantly connecting the dots.
“Margaret, he is running an illegal operation right under your feet.”
I grabbed the lantern from the desk, my anger finally overriding my fear.
“We are going to find out exactly who he invited into my home.”
I unlocked the study door and marched back down the dark hallway, with Ellen close behind me.
Daniel and Vanessa were standing in the kitchen, arguing loudly about the ruined Easter party.
“Who is in my basement, Daniel?” I demanded, shining the lantern directly into his face.
Daniel flinched, holding up his hands to block the blinding yellow light.
“It is none of your business, Mom, they are my private tenants.”
Vanessa scoffed, crossing her arms defensively.
“They are cryptocurrency miners, Margaret, and they pay us five thousand dollars a week in cash.”
I stared at them, absolutely appalled by their sheer stupidity.
“You allowed anonymous strangers to set up massive, fire-hazard server banks in my wooden basement?”
“It is a highly profitable sublease!” Daniel argued, trying to sound like a legitimate businessman.
“And since I am the owner of the house, I have every right to lease the basement.”
Ellen stepped forward, her voice dripping with judicial authority.
“Running an unzoned commercial server farm in a residential neighborhood is a massive zoning violation.”
She pointed toward the heavy basement door at the end of the hall.
“And I highly doubt they are just mining cryptocurrency if they are paying in untraceable cash.”
Before Daniel could respond, a loud, metallic crack echoed through the hallway.
Someone was using a crowbar to pry open the heavy basement door from the inside.
“Hey!” a rough voice shouted as the door finally splintered open.
Three large men covered in tattoos stepped out of the basement, holding heavy flashlights.
They did not look like computer nerds; they looked like hardened criminals.
The lead man, a massive guy with a scar across his jaw, glared directly at Daniel.
“I told you we need uninterrupted power, Dan, or the encrypted data gets corrupted.”
Daniel swallowed nervously, taking a small step backward.
“I’m sorry, Spike, my mother caused a little security glitch, but we are fixing it.”
The man named Spike shined his flashlight onto me and Ellen, his eyes narrowing aggressively.
“You didn’t say anything about your mommy being home, Dan.”
I stood my ground, refusing to be intimidated in my own hallway.
“I am the legal owner of this property, and I want you out of my house immediately.”
Spike laughed, a dark, rumbling sound that made Vanessa visibly flinch.
He reached into his leather jacket and pulled out a folded piece of paper.
“Actually, lady, we signed a binding commercial lease agreement for the next twelve months.”
He tossed the paper onto the floor at my feet.
“So unless you want a massive lawsuit, you better get the power back on.”
Ellen picked up the paper and examined it under the light of my lantern.
She gasped softly, turning the paper around so I could see the bottom line.
It was a perfectly forged lease agreement, complete with my exact signature and a registered notary stamp.
“They didn’t just forge the deed, Margaret,” Ellen whispered in horror.
“They forged a legally binding commercial lease, which means the police cannot forcibly remove them without a court order.”
I looked up at Spike, realizing Daniel had effectively turned my home into a criminal fortress.
Then, a loud, electronic beep echoed from the front door.
May you like
The battery backup on the magnetic locks had just died.
The front door slowly creaked open, and my ex-husband Richard stepped out of the shadows.
