Family Landlords Raise the Rent to Force One Sister Out
My father sat opposite her, his thumb moving over his leather key fob as if he were trying to rub the grain away.
“Your father and I have been talking, Lauren,” Helen said, placing her hands flat on the table. “We know the rent increase is a transition for you.”
“It is a nine-hundred-dollar transition,” I said, my voice flat and measured.
“We only want what is best for both of my girls, Lauren, if you would just trust me,” she said, her rapid words carrying a strange, soft warmth that did not reach her eyes.
Arthur murmured an agreement, keeping his eyes on his plate.
“I have drafted a new agreement,” Helen said, reaching into her purse and sliding a printed sheet of paper across the wood. “It keeps the rent at twelve hundred dollars instead of eighteen hundred, provided you agree to a few minor updates.”
I looked down at the white paper, but I did not touch it. “What kind of updates, Helen?”
“Just standard administrative details,” my mother said, tapping her phone screen once more. “To ensure Vanessa’s stability while she finds her footing.”
