Chapter 4

Karen did call the police, of course.

Less than half an hour later, a patrol car, lights flashing, pulled up to the complex entrance.

Two police officers, led by Mr. Henderson, came down to the garage.

The garage was already crowded with early-morning commuters, all buzzing about the welded-down Santana and the trapped BMW.

I walked down calmly, dressed in a neat shirt and slacks, holding a file folder.

The moment Karen saw me, she lunged forward like a madwoman.

"Officers! It's him! This lunatic blocked my car! Arrest him!"

I stepped aside, easily evading her.

The lead officer looked at me, then at the solidly welded Santana, his brow furrowed.

"Did you do this?" he asked.

"Yes, Officer."

I opened my file folder and handed him my ID, my parking spot deed, and the Santana's registration and transfer documents, one by one.

"This Santana is my legal property. This parking spot is also my legal property. I am parking my own car in my own space. This is not illegal."

The officer meticulously verified the documents, then walked to the car, tapping the welded steel plates with his hand, producing a dull metallic thud.

He turned back to Karen's BMW.

"Ma'am, why is your car parked in someone else's deeded parking spot?"

Karen's face cycled through shades of red and white as she stammered:

"I... I was just parking temporarily..."

"Temporarily parking?"

I scoffed, pulled out my phone, and played the voice recording of her insulting me in the community group chat.

"You cheapskate! Will guarding that pathetic parking spot make you rich?! You deserve to be single your whole life!"

Karen's venomous voice echoed in the garage, and the onlookers let out a suppressed gasp.

The officers' expressions grew serious.

Finally, the lead officer handed me back my documents and said to Karen:

"Ma'am, we've verified that this is indeed Mr. Smith's private parking spot. Your vehicle was illegally occupying his private space first. As for him using his other vehicle to block yours, this falls under a civil dispute."

"The police cannot forcibly intervene. We recommend that both parties resolve this through negotiation or legal channels."

With that, they packed up and left.

Karen collapsed onto the ground, unable to believe the outcome.

Mr. Henderson sidled up to me again, sweating profusely as he tried to persuade me:

"Alex, Alex, look at the mess this has become... How about you be the bigger person this time, move your car first, and everyone can talk it over peacefully? For the sake of harmony, for the sake of harmony..."

I pulled another printout from my file folder and handed it to him.

It was a screenshot of all Karen's insulting remarks in the community group chat, each sentence highlighted in red.

"Mr. Henderson, is this also 'for the sake of harmony'?"

Mr. Henderson stared at the offensive words, instantly speechless, his face twisted like he’d swallowed a fly.

My "glorious deed" spread throughout the entire complex within a day.

The community SnapChat completely exploded.

Some cursed me for being too extreme, inhuman.

Others anonymously posted, saying that this was exactly the kind of drastic measure needed to deal with parking invaders, secretly cheering me on.

I became the complex's headline news, branded as a "ruthless one."

Chad, Karen's husband, seeing that neither the police nor property management could do anything, finally took matters into his own hands.

He started pulling his "connections."

The next day, people from the Fire Department showed up.

Their reason was that my junk car was blocking a fire lane and posed a safety hazard.

I pulled out the garage's blueprint, pointed to my parking spot, and calmly told them:

"This is a deeded parking spot, not a fire lane. The blueprint clearly shows it. My car is parked in my spot, not occupying any public area."

The Fire Department personnel looked at the blueprint, then at the scene, and, with nothing to say, left.

On the third day, City Bylaw Officers arrived.

Their reason was that my junk car was an "illegal structure" and an eyesore.

I presented a printout of property law, reading it aloud to them clause by clause.

"According to Property Law, Article 74, the ownership of parking spaces and garages within a building area, designated for parking, shall be agreed upon by the parties through sale,赠送 (donation), or lease. I own the deed to this parking space, meaning I have the right to use and control it. I am placing my private property on my private deeded property. This is entirely legal."

The officers exchanged glances and eventually left, helpless.

Chad, realizing brute force wasn't working, tried a softer approach.

Or rather, another form of threat.

On the fourth day, I received a legal notice.

It was from a locally recognized law firm.

The letter righteously demanded that I immediately remove the "obstacle" blocking parking spot B-77, restoring access for Karen's vehicle.

It also demanded compensation for mental distress, lost wages, and vehicle depreciation incurred by them, totaling one hundred thousand dollars.

Otherwise, they would initiate a lawsuit against me.

I sat in my study, holding the sternly worded legal notice, carefully examining it page by page.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

I looked through the peephole and saw an unfamiliar man standing at the door.

He was in his thirties, wearing a well-fitted suit and wire-rimmed glasses, looking refined and scholarly.

I opened the door.

"Hello, Alex Smith."

The man smiled and extended his hand.

"My name is David Chen. I live in the building across from yours. I'm a lawyer."

I was a bit surprised but shook his hand.

"Hello, David."

David's gaze fell on the legal notice in my hand, and he chuckled.

"Here about this?"

I nodded.

He pushed his glasses up, a glint of excitement in his eyes.

"Dude, what you did is brilliant! I've been annoyed with their family for ages, always causing trouble in the complex."

"Can I take a look at that legal notice? I can give you some advice."

I invited him in.

He took the legal notice, glanced at it, and snorted.

"Full of holes, purely trying to scare you."

He pointed to the clauses, analyzing them for me one by one.

"Look, they're suing you for infringement, but that assumes your actions are illegal. However, parking your car in your own deeded spot is perfectly legal. In fact, they've been illegally occupying your spot for a long time, which constitutes infringement on *your* part. He's just trying to turn the tables and play the victim."

"And this 'emotional distress' claim is complete nonsense. You could easily countersue them for trespass and defamation."

David's words opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me.

He put down the legal notice, leaned slightly forward, and lowered his voice.

"Let me tell you something else, an insider tip. Chad's small company seems to be having serious cash flow problems lately, looking for money everywhere. His current arrogance, to me, is mostly an act, trying to intimidate you into backing down."

An alliance against them, at this moment, began to form.

I looked at this sudden, unexpected ally before me, and the heavy stone that had been weighing down my heart for days, finally eased a little.