Nancy believed in love, loyalty, and keeping things equal in a marriage. For two years, she handed over half the rent, trusting her husband. When she learned he and his mother had been scamming her out of thousands the whole time, she decided to settle the score with a lesson they\u2019d never forget.\n\n\n\n

They say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned? Well, they haven\u2019t met a woman who\u2019s been robbed by her husband and mother-in-law for two years straight.I\u2019m the kind of woman who believes in justice. The kind who works hard, plays fair, and expects the same in return. But sometimes life throws you a curveball that\u2019s so twisted and so perfectly designed to break your heart and ignite your rage that you have no choice but to embrace your inner vengeful goddess.\n\n\n\n

You know what\u2019s funny? I actually thought Jeremy and I had a solid foundation. We married young, built a life together, and split everything down the middle like responsible adults. That was our agreement \u2014 50-50. Rent, groceries, bills. Everything.\n\n\n\n

\u201cBaby, you\u2019ve got to see this place,\u201d he\u2019d called me at work, excitement bubbling in his voice. \u201cIt\u2019s perfect for us.\u201d\n\n\n\n

\u201cTwo bedrooms, modern kitchen, and that balcony you always wanted. And get this at just $2,000 a month\u2026 not bad for this area.\u201d\n\n\n\n

He was practically bouncing when he showed me around later that day, pointing out every feature like a kid showing off a new toy.\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll split it, $1,000 each. Just like we planned,\u201d he\u2019d said, wrapping his arms around me from behind as we stood on the balcony. \u201cOur first real home together.\u201d\n\n\n\n

Everything looked legit \u2014 the lease, the payments, and the so-called landlord. Not a single red flag.\n\n\n\n

Then came one random December night, a busted elevator, and a conversation that shattered everything I thought I knew.\n\n\n\n

I stepped into the elevator, my feet aching in my heels after a 12-hour shift at the hospital.\n\n\n\n

The elevator suddenly stopped at the fifth floor. Taylor, my bubbly 20-something neighbor, hopped in, and I barely had the energy to force a smile.\n\n\n\n

\u201cHey!\u201d she chirped, then tilted her head. \u201cOh, I know you! You live in Mrs. Lorrie and Jeremy\u2019s apartment, right?\u201d\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, Jeremy\u2019s mom. She and her son bought that place years ago, when the building first opened. Such a smart investment, you know! She was always talking about it at the building meetings.\u201d\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh yes, she never missed one. Always going on about property values and how they made such a killing when the previous tenants moved out. Then Jeremy moved in with his ex\u2026 though that didn\u2019t last long. And now you!\u201d\n\n\n\n

I clenched the elevator rail so hard my fingers ached. \u201cHis ex lived there too?\u201d\n\n\n\n

Taylor\u2019s smile faltered. \u201cOh\u2026 oh no. You didn\u2019t know? I mean, Mrs. Lorrie always brags about how well the arrangement works, having family manage the property\u2026 She was on the building board and everything.\u201d\n\n\n\n

\u201cNancy?\u201d Taylor touched my arm gently. \u201cYou\u2019ve gone completely white. I\u2019m so sorry, I thought you knew.\u201d\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo,\u201d I whispered, stepping out. \u201cBut I\u2019m certainly glad I do now.\u201d\n\n\n\n

My ears started ringing as I walked down the hallway. Jeremy owned the apartment?No, not just Jeremy. His mother too.\n\n\n\n

For two years, I had been handing over my hard-earned money to my husband, thinking we were paying rent together. But there was no landlord. There was no rental agreement. The whole damn thing was a LIE.\n\n\n\n

I staggered to our door, my hands shaking. My husband had faked everything \u2014 the landlord, the lease, the entire setup. He took my hard-earned $24,000 and SPLIT it with his mother. How could he betray his own wife?\n\n\n\n

I needed to sit down. And I needed to figure out exactly how I was going to burn Jeremy\u2019s world to the ground.\n\n\n\n

That night, I did some digging. Real estate records were public, after all. And there it was \u2014 the property deed in both their names, dated five years ago. They\u2019d even taken out a mortgage together. God, I had been such an idiot.\n\n\n\n

My phone buzzed with a text from Jeremy: \u201cGrabbing drinks with Mom. Don\u2019t wait up. Love you!\u201d\n\n\n\n

I looked at those words and felt nothing but ice in my veins. I clicked through my photo gallery, finding a picture from last Christmas. There we were, Jeremy and I on his mother\u2019s couch, his arm around me while she served her famous eggnog. They\u2019d been stealing from me even then.\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey own it,\u201d I said when she answered. \u201cThe whole time, they owned it.\u201d\n\n\n\n

\u201cJeremy and his mother. They own the freaking apartment. They\u2019ve been charging me rent for an apartment they own.\u201d\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, Nancy, you poor thing. They won\u2019t get away with this.\u201d\n\n\n\n

I stormed to the kitchen, yanked open a drawer, and pulled out the lease agreement he\u2019d shown me when we moved in. I scanned every line. It looked real. It even had some guy\u2019s name as the supposed landlord.\n\n\n\n

But now I knew better. He\u2019d faked everything. He and his mother had been pocketing my money, splitting it between themselves, probably laughing at my stupidity the entire time.\n\n\n\n

\u201cHey, babe,\u201d I said, forcing my voice to sound light. \u201cWhen\u2019s the rent due again?\u201d\n\n\n\n

Because I had just decided exactly how I was going to make him pay starting with step one\u2026. The Setup.\n\n\n\n

\u201cBaby,\u201d I called out one evening, \u201cyour mom invited us for dinner on Sunday. Should I make that butterscotch pie she loves?\u201d\n\n\n\n

Jeremy looked up from his phone, smiling. \u201cYou\u2019re the best, you know that?\u201d\n\n\n\n

That Sunday, I sat at his mother\u2019s dining table, passing the mashed potatoes and laughing at their jokes like I didn\u2019t know they were thieves.\n\n\n\n

\u201cNancy, dear,\u201d she beamed at me, \u201cyou seem extra cheerful today.\u201d\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, I just got some good news at work,\u201d I replied. \u201cHuge bonus coming up. Jeremy and I might even have enough saved for a down payment soon.\u201d\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s wonderful, sweetie,\u201d Jeremy squeezed my hand. \u201cBut maybe we should keep renting for now. The market\u2019s not great for buying.\u201d\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d I nodded. \u201cWhy rush into buying when we have such a great rental situation, right?\u201d\n\n\n\n

The next two weeks, I played my part perfectly. I smiled, laughed at Jeremy\u2019s dumb jokes, and let him kiss me goodnight. Hell, I even handed over my $1,000 like I did on the 27th of every month.\n\n\n\n

And with that, step two arrived \u2014 December 28, aka \u201cThe execution.\u201d\n\n\n\n

Jeremy kissed me goodbye that morning, grabbing his travel mug of coffee\u2026 the last cup he\u2019d ever drink from my coffee maker.\n\n\n\n

\u201cLove you too, honey,\u201d I smiled sweetly. \u201cOh, and Jeremy?\u201d\n\n\n\n

First, I packed very single thing I owned \u2014 clothes, shoes, the furniture I paid for, and even the coffee maker he loved. Then, I went to the bank.\n\n\n\n

We had a joint account, one where my paycheck had been going every month. And just like he had been stealing from me. I decided it was time to return the favor.\n\n\n\n

I had already signed the lease on my own place, a small but cozy apartment across town, and paid my first month\u2019s rent \u2014 Using JEREMY\u2019S MONEY.\n\n\n\n

No couch. No TV. No dishes. Just emptiness. Except for one thing. A letter, taped to the window. I could almost hear the panic in his breath as I imagined him tearing it open and reading the words:\n\n\n\n

Since you and your mother had such fun scamming me for two years, I figured it was time to return the favor.\n\n\n\n

Then I shut off my phone and drove straight to my new apartment, the place I\u2019d be calling home long after I filed for divorce.\n\n\n\n

A week after I left, I ran into Jeremy\u2019s mother at the grocery store. She looked like she\u2019d aged ten years.\n\n\n\n

\u201cNancy,\u201d she grabbed my cart. \u201cPlease, let me explain \u2014\u201d\n\n\n\n

\u201cExplain what, Mrs. Lorrie? How you and your son stole $24,000 from me? How you sat across from me at dinner every Sunday, asking when I was going to give you grandchildren, while you were robbing me blind?\u201d\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen? After the baby shower? After I\u2019d spent another year paying your mortgage?\u201d\n\n\n\n

Her face crumpled. \u201cJeremy\u2019s devastated. He\u2019s drinking, he\u2019s lost weight\u2026\u201d\n\n\n\n

\u201cFunny how karma works, isn\u2019t it?\u201d I leaned closer. \u201cHere\u2019s what\u2019s going to happen: you\u2019re going to let me finish my shopping. Then you\u2019re going to go home and tell your son that if he doesn\u2019t agree to my divorce terms, including full repayment of every cent I paid in rent, I\u2019ll be filing fraud charges against both of you.\u201d\n\n\n\n

\u201cTry me.\u201d I smiled sweetly. \u201cOh, and Mrs. Lorrie? That butterscotch pie you couldn\u2019t get enough of? Let\u2019s just say it had a special ingredient\u2026 and it wasn\u2019t love!\u201d\n\n\n\n

Three months later, I sat in my new apartment, sipping champagne and looking at my newly signed divorce papers. Jeremy had agreed to everything \u2014 full repayment plus interest.\n\n\n\n

My phone buzzed with a text from Taylor: \u201cSaw your ex today. He looked miserable. Mrs. Lorrie\u2019s selling her unit and moving to Florida. Building meetings won\u2019t be the same without her drama!\u201d\n\n\n\n

I smiled, raising my glass to my reflection in the window. The view wasn\u2019t as nice as my old apartment, but somehow, it felt a whole lot sweeter.\n\n\n\n

Then came the texts from friends saying Jeremy was losing it, ranting that I had \u201cstolen HIS money.\u201d\n\n\n\n

The irony was delicious. Did I feel bad? Not even a little. Because for two years, I had been their fool. For two years, they had taken from me without a second thought.\n\n\n\n

Ladies, if something feels off, trust your gut. And if a man ever tries to play you, make damn sure you play him harder. Because in the end, scammers get what they deserve. And I made sure Jeremy and his mother got theirs.\n\n\n\n

They say living well is the best revenge. But you know what\u2019s even better? Living well in an apartment you actually own, paid for with the money you got back from the people who tried to steal from you.\n\n\n\n

Some might call it cruel. I call it justice. And that butterscotch pie? Worth every granule of the \u201cspecial\u201d ingredient!\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"