The Landlord's Game of Control

her with quiet urgency. They said it was severe carbon monoxide poisoning, and they were doing everything they can. Every minute felt lik

umber. It was his personal cell, the one he gave ou

d on the t

ders

at the hospital. The paramedics confirmed it. It was carbon monoxi

epartment called me. They had to ventilate the whole floor. A r

d by his lac

he emergency room. You have to fix the furnace. It's n

ve already got my guy looking at it. But these things cost money. A full furnace replacement isn't cheap. I have a bud

y voice rising. "This is a life-threate

me, but you were three days late last month, weren't

ther voice in the background on his end of th

again, but the screen on my window has a small tear in it. A bug got i

ed instantly, becoming

d by bugs? Of course, Dave. I'll have someone up there this morning to

y lungs. A torn screen was an immediate priority, while a furn

ear in my stomach

th fury. "You're going to fix his window screen right now, but you c

rom Dave because his voice was lo

time, he doesn't complain, and he doesn't cause drama. He understa

k for men? Is that it? You'll bend over backward for any man in th

ng a good, low-maintenance tenant. Frankly, you're a liability, Sarah. Always something with you. Maybe

into the waiting room. She

lright? You're as

ssed to my ear, listening to the echoing silence from Henderson's end. He

stable. The poison has put a great strain

mother's life was in danger, and the man responsible

ruggling to carry groceries up the stairs while a man breezed past her, holding nothing but his phone. I saw an elde

unspoken rule that a man's comfort was a prio

approached m

asking for you. She's c

helplessness. I stood up, my body feeling strangely steady. I knew what I had to do. Talk

, my thumb hovering over the numbers. Not Henderson's number this time. I

ion. Then I remembered a dusty pamphlet my dad, a lifelong union man, had given me year

Mrs. Chen's broken lock. It was about my mother, lying in an ICU bed because a man like Henderson decided her life was