Luke didn't buy the building because it was impressive.
He bought it because it was solid.
West Chicago, Not Downtown
The apartment complex sat in West Chicago, far enough from the lake to be ignored by speculators, close enough to public transit to matter. Brick. Four stories. Twelve units. A tired-looking structure with good bones—just like most of the people who lived near it.
No skyline views.
No concierge.
No illusions.
Luke liked that.
The seller was an aging landlord who wanted out before the next wave of regulations and taxes ate what little margin remained. Luke didn't haggle like a shark.
He negotiated like someone who intended to stay.
Merchant Skills — Applied
Asset Evaluation: COMPLETE
Structural Risk: LOW
Cash Flow (Post-Renovation): POSITIVE
Long-Term Security Value: HIGH
Luke paid partly in cash, partly in financing—clean, boring, legitimate.
The kind of deal no one looked twice at.
The kind that lasted.
Not an Investment. A Shelter.
Fiona didn't understand at first.
"Why not downtown?" she asked. "You could make more."
Luke shook his head.
"I'm not buying profit," he said. "I'm buying certainty."
He handed her the keys.
One entire floor—three units—was quietly set aside.
No rent.
No deadlines.
No paperwork with traps.
Just doors that locked and heat that stayed on.
Security Without Control
Ian took one unit.
Debbie another.
Liam's room had new windows and a desk that didn't wobble.
Fiona cried in the kitchen, angry tears, the kind that came when relief arrived too late to feel gentle.
"You can't just fix everything," she said.
Luke didn't argue.
"I'm not fixing you," he said. "I'm fixing the floor under your feet."
Rules of the Building
Luke posted three rules in the lobby, typed and laminated:
No drugs in common spaces.
No violence.
No rent hikes without notice and reason.
No speeches.
No savior complex.
Just boundaries.
The Quiet Power
Neighbors noticed.
Heat worked.
Locks got fixed.
The hallway light stayed on.
People didn't thank him loudly.
They just slept better.
System Update
Major Stability Anchor Established
Family Security: GUARANTEED
Civilian Lives Impacted: MULTIPLE
Karma Gain: VERY HIGH
Psychological Burden Reduced: SIGNIFICANT
Luke's Thought
That night, Luke stood on the fire escape, looking at the windows glowing one by one.
No one was running.
No one was hiding.
No one was afraid of tomorrow's rent.
This wasn't power like in the dream worlds.
This was quieter.
He liked it more.