"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."

After getting a clear answer, I instantly felt refreshed and strode out of the police station.

The moment I stepped outside, I spotted Jane sticking her head into a trash can by the road. Another person was standing beside her, holding a large plastic bag.

I took a closer look and realized it was the security guard, Eric.

I came to a stop and quickly moved closer, then hid behind an advertising board outside the store next door. Their conversation drifted over.

"Eric, that woman has come looking for us. She won't get the apartment back, will she?"

"Don't worry, Mom. I'll make sure she won't even get into the neighborhood next time!"

Well, well. No wonder Eric had been acting strange. He was in cahoots with her, stealing what he was supposed to guard!

Their conversation continued.

"She has the deed. What if she calls the cops?"

Eric patted his chest and declared smugly, "No worries. Next time, I'll find a chance to snatch the deed and tear it up. Once that woman has no proof, I'll get Uncle Frank to write us a new one since he's the property manager."

The corners of my mouth twitched. These idiots were driving me up the wall! They couldn't seriously believe that ripping up the deed would fix everything, could they?

I glanced at the screen showing "Recording Ended" and let out a cold snort.

I had been wondering how two strangers dared to move into my apartment, but now it looked like the property management was involved, too. Just wait. I'd make sure not a single one of them got away!

…

Early the next morning, I headed into the residential complex with a group of people, while Jane was out picking trash.

Eric tried to stop us, but the moment he saw the burly men behind me, he instantly backed down and trailed after us meekly.

When we reached the unit, I told them to pry the door open.

The moment it swung open, that same foul stench from yesterday rushed out. The piles of garbage inside were so high that everyone there stood frozen in shock.

Cans, cardboard, foam boxes, leftover unwashed food containers…

What I saw yesterday was just the tip of the iceberg!

"Ugh…" I gagged and pinched my nose. "Get everything out!"

After a pause, I added deliberately, "Be careful. Stack them neatly in the garbage area!"

I hired those guys with a hefty sum. Even though the mountain of trash was disgusting and smelled foul, they immediately put on their gloves and got to work.

Meanwhile, Eric quietly called Jane behind me, asking her to come back. I pretended not to notice.

When Jane stepped out of the elevator with her garbage bag, her precious trash had been cleared away by those whom I hired.

"Stop! You thieves! Put everything down!"

Jane, who had been wailing and crying like a frail old lady yesterday, leaped up high and screamed as she lunged at the burly men moving her precious trash.

Before she could get anywhere, one of the burly men grabbed her by the back of her collar and lifted her clean off the ground. He carried her a few steps and set her down in the corner.

Jane, who had been so aggressive just moments ago, quickly went silent when she saw the burly man's biceps.

Then she caught sight of me out of the corner of her eye and immediately screamed, "You again, you little bitch! You'll pay for this!"

Her sharp nails were right in front of me when the burly man grabbed her by the back of her collar again and hauled her aside once again.

I blew on my nails and said casually, "Get the place cleared out fast. I'm changing the locks!"

Unable to fight back, Jane pinched her son and urged, "Quick, call your Uncle Frank and get him over here!"

That caught my interest, so I did nothing and watched as the call was made.

Perfect. I wanted to see what kind of person this property manager really was, the one who had handed my house over to someone else.

In no time, a short, stocky middle-aged man wearing glasses hurried over. Trailing behind him were the two police officers I had spoken to the day before.

Jane looked at him as if she had seen her savior, but before she could speak, she was pushed aside.

The property manager, Frank Bernard, wiped the sweat off his forehead and said politely to the police. "Officers, we're here. This lady opened a resident's door without permission and removed their belongings!"

I had to admit that this property manager was fairly clever. He knew to lower himself first and turn the tables.

The police officers glanced at me and asked in a professional manner, "Ma'am, please explain what's going on."

I obliged and pulled out the deed from my bag to hand it to the police officers. "Officers, I didn't pry open anyone's door. This apartment is mine."

Before the police could even get their hands on the deed, Eric, who had been lurking nearby silently, rushed forward and snatched it away.

He tore the deed with my name on it to shreds and shoved the pieces into his mouth.

"What are you doing?"

The two police officers quickly restrained Eric, trying to get him to spit it out, but it was too late. Eric had swallowed everything.

He had brazenly destroyed the evidence. What was it if it wasn't guilt?

One of the officers scowled. "Sir, you're under arrest for destruction of property. Please follow us to the station."

"Wait!"

Frank stopped them and glared at Eric before stepping forward to say, "Let's keep things straight. I was the one who called the police first. You should first solve my problem, right?"

As the police frowned, Frank continued, "He destroyed the deed, but none of us saw what was written on it. No one can prove it had this lady's name on it. Evidence is important, isn't it?"

As he spoke, he winked and smirked. "Besides, we don't even know if the deed is genuine."

The police replied coldly, "If the deed is damaged, we can verify it with proper identification at the local county clerk's office."

"I know that." Frank rubbed his hands together and pointed at me. "That might take some time, though. Shouldn't we stop this lady's actions first?"

His words made sense, so the police officers couldn't refute them. They gave me an apologetic look.

A smug glint flashed in Frank's eyes. Any delay would give him a hundred ways to dodge responsibility.

I raised my hand lazily. "No need for that."