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The inheritance of my grandmother's
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house was meant to be a fresh start, a
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poignant but cherished connection to my
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My father had inherited it, only to pass
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away 3 days later in a tragic accident.
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The house became mine, and on the very
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first day I moved in, the nightmare
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began. My neighbor Todd, a man I'd never
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met, showed up on my porch with his two
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young children in tow. He didn't
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introduce himself. Instead, he launched
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into a furious interrogation.
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"Why weren't we invited to your
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grandma's funeral?" he demanded, as if
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my grief were an inconvenience.
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"Before I could even formulate a
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response," he demanded a copy of her
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will, declaring that his kids were like
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family to her and deserved whatever
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heirlooms they wanted. As if on Q, his
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children, a boy and a girl, bolted past
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him and into my house, already rummaging
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through drawers like they owned the
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place. His daughter, with a scavenger's
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glee, found a silver ring, a precious
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heirloom passed down three generations,
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and shoved it onto her finger. I told
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Todd to make her take it off, but he
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refused, repeating his baseless claim
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that his kids were like family.
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A fire lit inside me. "My grandma hated
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them," I yelled. The words fueled by
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years of hearing her complain about
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their entitled behavior and how they'd
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ruined her lawn with dog poop. I
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threatened to call the cops. The threat,
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more than my righteous fury, finally got
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through to him. His daughter screamed,
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resisted, and even hit him, but the ring
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As he and his children retreated, Todd's
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final words echoed. "This isn't
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finished. I'll get my heirlooms in the
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I knew he wasn't lying. For the next few
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days, Todd became an uninvited fixture
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on my front porch, dropping by
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unannounced. He found every flimsy
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excuse to talk about my grandmother's
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will, his children, and what he believed
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she would have wanted. He had the
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audacity to act as if his children were
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the rightful heirs, weaving absurd guilt
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trips about how much they had loved her
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and how devastated they were. It was a
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manipulative performance, a constant
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assault on my grief and my sanity. One
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evening, after a particularly draining
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day of sorting through my father's
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belongings, I came home to find Todd
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standing on my porch with a box of
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donuts, a predatory grin on his face. He
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launched into another soba story, this
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time claiming his daughter had cried
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herself to sleep. heartbroken over not
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getting any of my grandmother's things,
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he held out a donut, offering it as a
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peace treaty. "I just want to talk
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neighbor to neighbor," he said. "We've
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already been through this," I told him,
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my voice flat. "You and your kids aren't
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I walked past him and his donuts,
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leaving him standing there, looking
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I felt his eyes on me through the window
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for what felt like an eternity before he
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Things were quiet for a week, and I
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foolishly began to hope that he had
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finally gotten the message.
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A week later, I returned from running
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errands to find Todd and his kids on my
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His son was standing there, screwdriver
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in hand, actively trying to pick the
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lock on my front door. Todd stood behind
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him, coaching, as if this were some kind
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of valuable life lesson. It took me a
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full second to register what I was
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seeing and then I lost it. "What the
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hell are you doing?" I screamed, running
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up the walkway. "Todd, startled for a
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split second, quickly plastered on an
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irritatingly fake smile." "It's not what
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it looks like," he insisted. "Your door
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was stuck. We thought we could help you
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out." "Yeah," I shot back. "It was stuck
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by a lock to keep people like you out."
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son dropped the screwdriver and his
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daughter recoiled behind him, but Todd
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just kept smiling. He tried to convince
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me it was all a big misunderstanding and
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that there was no need to call the cops.
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My blood was boiling. I told him to get
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his little hoodlams off my property and
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if they ever tried a stunt like this
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again, I would call the police without
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He opened his mouth to argue, but I
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pulled out my phone and hovered my
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finger over the call button. That did
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the trick. He threw his hands up in mock
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surrender and they left just as quickly
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and mysteriously as they had arrived. My
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heart was still racing. I knew I should
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have called the police, but the sheer
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exhaustion of it all stopped me. I let
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it go. A terrible mistake that would
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soon come back to haunt me. A few days
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later, I noticed something was wrong. I
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had been slowly packing away my
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grandmother's sentimental belongings in
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my garage, things I wasn't emotionally
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ready to sort through yet. That
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afternoon, I went to grab a few more
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boxes and realized several were missing.
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My grandmother's old photos, letters,
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and some of the jewelry she had given
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me, all gone. The identity of the thief
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was obvious. Who else would have the
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audacity to break into my garage and
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steal from me? But without proof, I was
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helpless. I filed a police report, but
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the cops told me there was nothing they
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could do without concrete evidence. It
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felt like a slap in the face. I
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confronted Todd the next day, catching
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him watering his lawn. I demanded to
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know if he had taken my things. He just
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looked at me with that same smug,
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infuriating smile and denied everything.
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If a burglar came in the middle of the
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night, I reasoned, why would he break
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into the garage and leave the rest of
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My logic didn't faze him. He blamed one
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of my friends who had helped me move in,
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and his smile paired with the audacity
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of his lie made me see red. I knew a
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moment longer in his presence, and I
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would do something I would regret. I
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tried a different tack, a desperate
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final plea. "I'll pay you," I said, my
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voice choked with emotion, just to get
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the photos of my grandmother back. "You
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can keep everything else, but I need
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those photos. They're the last ones I
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have of her. His eyes flickered with a
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strange mix of remorse and triumph, but
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his mouth denied it all. I'm sorry for
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your loss. But it wasn't me. He lied. I
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knew then that I couldn't beat him with
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words or logic, so I did the next best
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thing. I installed cameras. If Todd or
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his kids tried anything again, I'd have
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A few days later, his kids showed up at
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my door. His son, Jason, all wideeyed
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and hopeful, said their dad had invited
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me for dinner. "The last thing I wanted
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was to sit at a table with the man who
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was actively trying to steal from me."
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But Jason was relentless.
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"We're family," he chirped, an echo of
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his father's manipulative words.
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"Grandma would want us to eat together.
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I knew Todd was up to something, but
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seeing Jason's hopeful face, I relented,
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agreeing to stay just for dinner. At
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Todd's house, the air was thick with the
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smell of roasting food and the cloying
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sweetness of his fake cheer. As we sat
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down at the table, I noticed his
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daughter Sarah fidgeting.
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She quickly, but not quickly enough,
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switched her plate with mine. When I
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asked her what she was doing, she
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shrugged and said, "Nothing."
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Then, just as Todd walked in with the
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last part of the meal, the plate that
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had been hers slipped from her hands and
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crashed to the floor, food scattering
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Todd rushed over to her, frowning. Sarah
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just walked to the kitchen to get
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another plate. It was then I knew that
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they were planning on trying to poison
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me. I stormed out of his house. I called
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the police again, and this time I had
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proof. The camera footage showed Todd
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and his children climbing the fence and
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rummaging through my things. This time,
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the police weren't buying Todd's flimsy
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excuses. They issued him a formal
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warning. Stay off my property or face
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serious charges. But Todd, of course,
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A few days later, I woke up to find a
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for sale sign planted in my front yard.
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Todd was there talking to a couple
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trying to show them my house. I yanked
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the sign out of the ground and called
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This time, they issued a formal warning.
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And yet, it still wasn't enough. A few
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days later, I woke up to a nightmare. My
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car had been vandalized. Tires slashed,
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windows smashed. I didn't need to check
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the cameras to know who was responsible.
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I called the police, and when they
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reviewed the footage, there was no
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doubt. Todd and his kids had been caught
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red-handed again. This time, Todd was
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arrested. As they hauled him away, he
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screamed that the house should have been
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his, that I had no right to it. With
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Todd finally behind bars, his kids,
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whose mother had been out of the picture
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for years, were placed into foster care.
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The neighborhood was quiet for the first
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time in what felt like forever.
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I watched them drive him away, feeling a
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weight lift off my shoulders. It was
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over. The nightmare was finally