All Chapters of Evicted from the Chat: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1 Seven Thousand for a Lie

My fingers trembled slightly as I kept scrolling up.Cecelia was the group owner, and the group was created on January 12, 2023. That meant that she had already been plotting against me the day after I received my offer and shared the good news with her.It meant that she'd known the landlord for a long time.'Leonard, I found us a cash cow. She's my college roommate. She's naive, loaded, and all she does is study.''Not bad, Cece. We'll handle it the usual way,' the landlord replied instantly.They didn't correspond very often. It was mostly Leonard asking Cecelia when she was moving in and if she needed anything.Then, two more people joined the group after Christmas, specifically on December 28th. Those people were none other than Lillian Lauder and Isabel Corbin. They were both from Cecelia's hometown.'Girls, welcome to the Free Riders Club.' Cecelia sent a celebratory emoji.'Cece, can we really freeload here?' Lillian asked curiously.'Of course! The sucker already paid

Chapter 2 Playing the Fool

"Wow, the meat stew smells amazing," Lillian commented with an exaggerated sniff."Maddie's cooking is always the best," Isabel chimed in.I looked at their fake smiles and felt my stomach churn."I made it without scallions because I know Cece doesn't like them.""You really know me best." Cecelia beamed."Come on, eat before it gets cold." I sat down and picked up my cutlery."Maddie, the landlord said we need to pay next year's rent on the first of March," Cecelia said casually between bites."What? Didn't we always pay every six months before?" I asked, surprised."The landlord said this place is in a great location, so he's not worried about finding tenants. There are plenty of people willing to pay even more, and they all pay a full year upfront. This time, he's only keeping the price the same because of me. "However, we'll have to pay for a full year."My hand paused mid-air as I was serving myself some food. The messages from the group chat flashed through my mind.

Chapter 3 Rent Trap

However, Cecelia rejected my request. 'I'm busy today, Maddie. I'll likely be working overtime. Why don't you get it delivered?'In the end, I had to drag myself into a cab just to get to the hospital.I was stuck on the IV drip for four hours.No one checked in on me at all.Later on, Lilian sent a picture in the group chat around 1 p.m. It was a photo of a luxurious seafood feast worth hundreds.'The rent just got paid. Let's have a feast today,' she messaged.I was burning up with a fever in the hospital.Meanwhile, they were having a feast on my dime.I kept scrolling.Last year, on the 18th of October, which was my birthday, I had left work early that day, hoping to celebrate with the group.I had happily cooked up a feast and sent a photo of it to the group chat.…At least 30 minutes passed before Cecelia replied, 'Sorry, Maddie. I have to work late tonight.''Me too. My boss is glaring at me again,' Lillian added.'I'm still in a meeting with a client. You can eat

Chapter 4 Nearly 20,000

The payoff of that plan felt small, which was unlike them.Hence, I looked up rental units of the same building, asking for estimates on similarly sized units.The agent's response felt rehearsed.'Fully furnished units of that type would cost around 14,00 in this area. If you're after unfurnished and empty units, then it would cost around 12,000. The price can be negotiated if the unit has not been renovated in a while. Our lowest possible price is 10,000.'The apartment we rented was not renovated at all. There was basically no furniture.If the landlord wanted to make any money out of the deal, then the rent had to be lower than 12,000.I was lost in thought, sitting in front of my laptop.Why would the landlord go along with the act if he didn't get any extra money out of it?Was he benefiting in some other way?…Early the next morning, Cecelia banged on my door once more."Madison, what are you doing? Look at the time! You still haven't made breakfast. We're starving t

Chapter 5 Dropping a Bombshell

Brody immediately took on a professional tone."Sure. Why don't we meet up after you get off work tomorrow?" he suggested."Okay," I replied.…After I hung up the phone, I felt a bit more relaxed and decided to go out for some fresh air.Cecelia was lounging on the living room couch and painting her nails. When she saw me coming out, she rolled her eyes."Oh, look. Someone's finally decided to come out," she said sarcastically.I ignored her and went straight to the entrance to change my shoes."Buy some ribs tonight. I feel like having some barbecue ribs," she ordered."Go buy it yourself if you want to eat it. I don't have time to drop by the supermarket."Then, I closed the door and left.…The next day, I arrived at the cafe downstairs from Brody's office on time after getting off work."Hey, over here!" He waved at me.I ordered two iced Americanos before passing him the USB drive. "The bill statements and chat history are all in there."Brody took the USB drive, p

Chapter 6 As They Wished

"Yeah, Maddie. We're such good friends," Isabel echoed."I'm burned out. I need a change of environment," I replied blandly.Cecelia panicked. After all, none of them could afford the ridiculously high rent and property management fees once I left."Why are you only telling us that now? That's a breach of contract. The deposit is non-refundable! The deposit is up to nearly 10,000 dollars. I suggest you think this through," she remarked, thinking she could have me under control with money.I suddenly burst out laughing at the sight of her so frazzled. "Deposit? You're right. Not only do I want my deposit back, but I also want to take back every single penny that belongs to me."Then, I picked up my bag and left, leaving the three of them staring at each other in the room.The atmosphere in the living room felt oppressive when I got home from my overtime shift on Saturday.…Instead of going out for dinner, Cecelia, Lillian, and Isabel were all home that nightThe three of them

Chapter 7 Shifting the Blame

Well, that sisterhood bond all crumbled to dust upon the weight of this solid evidence.My eyes never left Cecelia's face. The cunning in her eyes was gone, and she looked ghastly with her lips trembling with fear."What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"I was unmoved by their panic-stricken state as I continued sending the screenshots. It was a chat history from a few days ago, showing Cecelia trying to force me to leave.'Girls, it's the beginning of March in another week. I'm thinking of forcing her out and having my boyfriend move in after she pays next year's rent and property management fees.'Cecelia's knees went weak as crumpled onto the sofa.Lillian and Isabel couldn't even look me in the eyes, choosing instead to stare at their phones in guilty silence."Is this the sisterhood bond you were talking about? The bond of wanting to kick me out after squeezing every last drop of value out of me and wasting my money on your desires. Some sisters you guys are," I scoffed.

Chapter 8 Finally Having a Life of My Own

"Don't you want to know where that extra 2,000 bucks goes each month?"An argument immediately exploded between the three stooges."What the hell, Cecelia?" Lillian bellowed."What? Do you seriously think you'd be living in such a nice, cheap place if it weren't for me?" Cecelia retorted sharply."Didn't you already split everything up 40-40? So, what right do you have to add another 2,000 bucks to the rent?" Lillian questioned as she shoved Cecilia onto the couch. "Besides, you were the one who came up with this stupid idea! You have to bear the main responsibility!""Why should I bear the main responsibility? You spent her money too!" Cecelia snapped.Lillian and Cecelia started fighting just like that. Isabel tried to separate them. After all, now wasn't the time to argue."Let's argue about this later. Didn't you guys see the indictment? We should calculate how much money we need to pay her back and how we're going to settle it among ourselves! I don't want to go to jail! Do

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