Family Landlords Raise the Rent to Force One Sister Out
“I was at the county records office today,” I said. “I know about the transfer.”
The tapping on the other end of the line stopped instantly.
“That is family business, Lauren,” my mother said, her tone hardening into a flat command. “How we structure our estate is none of your concern. If you do not pay your landlord, you do not stay in the building. It is that simple.”
“I am not paying,” I said.
“Then we will have the locks changed tomorrow morning,” my mother said. “Vanessa already bought a twelve-key metal lockbox for the front porch, and you will not have the code.”
“I am leaving,” I said.
The silence that followed lasted so long I thought the call had dropped, but then I heard the sharp intake of her breath.
“You will not last a month out there without our help, Lauren,” my mother said.
“I can manage my own life,” I said.
“You have no savings, you have no reference, and no landlord in Portland will take you without our signature on the lease,” she said.
