The Neighbor Demanded A $10,000 Mommy Fee, So I Let Karma Destroy Her

My neighbor said she was leaving town for a month for work and dumped her five-year-old son right at my front door. Feeling sorry for the kid, I took him in and looked after him. I never expected that when she returned a month later, not a single word of gratitude would leave her mouth. Instead, she shoved a PayPal payment QR code in my face and demanded, "That’ll be ten thousand dollars. Pay up for your Mommy Experience Fee!" I stared at her in utter disbelief. "Excuse me? I babysat your kid for a whole month, and now "you're" asking "me" for money?!" She sneered at me condescendingly. "If it weren't for my son, would you even know the pure joy of motherhood? And you actually have the nerve to complain about paying?!" Without a second thought, I flatly rejected her absurd demand. Furious, my neighbor had her son sneak back the next day and set fire to my apartment. My entire family burned to death. Only after I died did I find out that she never went out of town for work. She had flown straight to Las Vegas to gamble. After blowing every last cent at the tables, she decided to extort ten grand from me under the guise of a "Mommy Experience Fee." When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the very day she was about to abandon her son at my doorstep. This time, I booked an immediate, month-long vacation tour for my entire family. I couldn't wait to see how she planned to pin this on us when none of us were even home. Sitting in the airport departure lounge with my family, I opened the security app on my phone to check our front door camera. On the screen, my neighbor Brenda was gripping her son Leo by the arm, roughly shoving him right against my front door. "Listen up! The second I leave, you start wailing at the top of your lungs and bang on her door as hard as you can!" "As long as you cry your eyes out, her heart will soften. She'll let you in and spoil you with good food and treats." "Stay here for a month. Once Mommy wins big in Vegas, I'll come back for you. Got it?!" Ignoring Leo’s protests, Brenda turned on her heel and hopped straight into the elevator without looking back. Realizing his mother had actually abandoned him, Leo plopped down on the hallway floor and unleashed an ear-splitting scream. He wailed, slamming his fists violently against my door. "Open up! Let me in! I want meat!" Watching the familiar scene on my screen, a cold, mocking smirk curled onto my lips. In my past life, that very crying deceived me into thinking he was just a pitiful, abandoned child. In this life, even if he broke my door down, he wouldn't set a single foot inside. Leo threw a tantrum for a solid ten minutes. Seeing that my apartment stayed dead silent, his cries degenerated into an irritable, dry screech. Just then, the door directly across the hall creaked open without a sound. An old, wrinkled face peeked out—it was Martha Jenkins, the crazy old lady next door. She was notorious in our building. Her son only had a daughter, and she had gone completely mad obsessing over wanting a grandson. She had previously tried to snatch someone else’s toddler downstairs and nearly smothered the poor baby. The police had warned her multiple times. Every resident with a child avoided her like the plague. Brenda had only moved in a few days ago, completely clueless about the lunatic living right next to us. On the camera, Martha scanned the corridor. Confirming no one was around, she stepped out. Pulling a lollipop from her coat pocket, she crouched down and gave Leo a chilling, unnatural smile. "Whose sweet little boy is crying out here? Hungry, sweetie? Grandma has yummy treats inside." Staring at the candy, Leo swallowed his spit and stopped howling immediately. Martha grabbed Leo’s arm, half-dragging and half-pulling him right into her apartment. Staring at the now empty hallway, I closed the app with a cold laugh. Brenda, now that your precious golden boy is in the clutches of that psycho, let's see how you try to extort me. A short while later, my phone began to buzz incessantly. Caller ID: Brenda. With a cold smirk, I hit the record button and answered. "Hello? Chloe, what the hell are you doing?!" "Is there a problem?" I asked coldly.Brenda’s voice dripped with impatience. "I’m leaving town for work. I was in such a rush that I accidentally locked Leo out." "I have a flight to catch and can't turn back. You'll just have to look after Leo for me." She paused, her tone instantly turning smug and superior. "Don't say I never look out for my neighbors. I’ve seen you staring at my boy all the time with envy in your eyes." "I know you can't have kids and crave one, so I'm being generous today and giving you a chance to experience motherhood!" Her shameless audacity almost made me laugh out loud. Before I could say a word, she began barking orders. "Leo has a temper, so you have to cater to him. Every morning, he must have organic imported whole milk, and he only eats organic Chilean cherries and Japanese Shine Muscat grapes." "If he wants to watch TV, do not stop him. Before bed, you have to read him three English picture books, and your pronunciation better be flawless!" "During the month my boy stays with you, don't you dare let him suffer a single scratch, or I will make you pay when I get back!" Listening to her rapid-fire list of ridiculous demands, my eyes grew colder by the second. "Brenda, are you out of your damn mind?" I cut her off sharply. The other end went dead silent for a second, clearly caught off guard by my attitude. "What did you just say? Chloe, I'm doing you a favor by lending you my son! What kind of attitude is that?!" "My entire family and I are currently at the airport heading out for a month-long vacation. We are not home." "If you dumped your son outside my door, he is out there completely alone." "You better turn your ass around and go get him right now. If anything happens to his safety, it's entirely on you." Brenda burst into a scornful sneer over the line. "Oh, please! Chloe, who do you think you’re fooling with this hard-to-get act?!" "You think I don't see right through you? You're just making up lies to trick me into coming back!" "Let me tell you, don't be ungrateful. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for you to experience being a mother. Other women would beg me on their knees for this!" I scoffed inwardly, utterly sick of her nonsense. "I am not lying. We are not home. I've said all I need to say. Believe it or not." With that, I hung up on her face. Immediately afterward, I securely saved the call recording. Then, I took screenshots of our family selfies at the airport, our boarding passes, and our month-long travel itinerary. I sent Brenda one last message on SnapChat: "My family is away on vacation for a month. Return immediately to ensure your child's safety. If anything happens to him, it has nothing to do with me." Now, let's see just how long you can play dumb, Brenda. The vacation that followed should have been pure bliss, except Brenda bombarded my SnapChat every single day. She completely brushed off my warnings and only grew bolder and more demanding. "Chloe, I saw on social media that other kids are eating imported Alaskan king crab. You better cook that for Leo today!" "I'm warning you, if Leo loses even half a pound, I will rip your face off when I return!" "Stop playing dead and ignoring my messages! I know your type. You're probably hoarding my son inside, cherishing every second with him!"Looking at the endless stream of arrogant, bossy texts flooding my screen, I found the whole thing darkly hilarious. I didn't lose my temper. I simply sent back the exact same automated reply every time: "My whole family is out of town on vacation. We are not home. Please check on your child's safety immediately. We assume zero responsibility for any accidents." No matter what crazy demands she threw my way, that was my only response. Late at night, I pulled up the playback from our security camera. A few days after Martha dragged Leo into her apartment, the camera caught her leaving the building carrying heavy luggage, leading Leo by the hand. They never returned. I watched the footage with a cold, unbothered detachment. Brenda, I warned you repeatedly. You were the one who chose to plug your ears. The month flew by in the blink of an eye, and our vacation came to an end. My family of four arrived back at our apartment building. The moment the elevator doors opened on our floor, a hand came flying straight at me. Brenda stood there, eyes bloodshot and hair completely disheveled, swinging her palm hard toward my cheek. "SLAP!" "Chloe, you disgusting bitch! Where did you hide my son?!" The blow stung, leaving my cheek throbbing and numb. Licking the metallic trace of blood from the corner of my lip, I stared daggers at Brenda. Brenda instantly threw herself onto the hallway floor, wailing hysterically. "Look, everyone! Come see this! This family stole my baby, refuses to admit it, and now they're attacking me!" "Pity me, a struggling single mother working herself to the bone out of town, only to come back and find my son gone!" Curious neighbors and building staff stepped into the hallway, shooting suspicious, accusatory glares at my family. A few older women immediately began whispering and pointing fingers. "They always seemed so decent. How could they do something so vile?" "I heard Chloe couldn't get pregnant. She must've lost her mind and snatched the boy because he was so cute!" My mother shook with rage, pointing a finger back at Brenda. "Stop spitting venom! We've been on an island vacation for the entire month! We literally just walked in from the airport! Nobody has seen your damn kid!" Brenda scrambled up from the floor, shrieking at me. "You're still lying through your teeth!" She snatched her phone from her pocket and thrust it high into the air. "Look at this, everyone! Here's the proof! Chloe stole my baby!" It was footage from the camera Brenda had installed on her own door. On the screen, it showed Leo crying outside my door after she walked away that morning. Moments later, Leo seemed to hear something. He stopped crying, got up, and walked toward the camera's blind spot. That blind spot happened to be right in front of my door. Due to the angle of her camera, it didn't capture Martha’s doorway at all. Seeing that the crowd had watched the clip, Brenda held her head high. "See that?! My son walked straight toward her door! She must have baited him inside with candy or toys!" "I texted her every single day on SnapChat, and she kept fabricating lies about not being home." "She was just stalling for time so she could traffic my son away in secret!" Her twisted logic actually had several clueless neighbors nodding in agreement. "She's right... the boy clearly walked toward their door. How can they deny it?" "That's horrifying! Keeping a child hidden for an entire month without letting his mother see him?!" "With dangerous people like this in our building, how can anyone with kids sleep peacefully at night?"A few heated residents even stepped forward, shoving my parents by their shoulders. "Hand the kid over right now! Otherwise, none of you are leaving this hallway!" "If you can't have your own, don't steal someone else's! Have some shame!" Seeing my parents get shoved, my blood boiled. I stepped forward to push away the woman grabbing my mother, but two other neighbors grabbed my arms, pinning me in place. Anger and urgency surged through me. Just as I was about to pull out my evidence, Brenda suddenly changed her tune. "Chloe, as things stand, I don't want to push this to the absolute extreme." Greed flashed blatantly across her bloodshot eyes. "Just pay me for this past month's Mommy Experience Fee, plus pain and suffering for me and my son—let's call it thirty thousand dollars." "Then bring my son back safe and sound. If you do that, I'll be generous and let this whole thing slide." Hearing this, the surrounding neighbors actually chimed in. "Look how forgiving this mother is! Her kid was stolen, and she's still willing to settle out of court." "Exactly! Just pay the money and give the boy back. If the cops get involved, your whole family is going to prison!" I stared at Brenda’s smug, triumphant face, completely sickened to my stomach. "I will say this one last time. My family just landed today. We haven't laid eyes on your son once." "And as for your thirty grand? You won't see a single damn penny." Brenda’s face darkened instantly. "So you want to do this the hard way?! You really think I can't touch you?!" Right at that moment, the screech of police sirens echoed from down the street, followed by heavy footsteps echoing up the stairs. Two officers hurried down the hall, pushing through the crowd with stern expressions. "Who called 911 reporting an alleged missing child?" Brenda immediately threw herself at the officers. "I did! Officers, it's her! This woman locked my five-year-old son away and refuses to give him back!" Several neighbors who had shoved us earlier jumped in to back her up. "Officers, we saw the footage! Her doorbell camera caught it all—the kid walked right into their apartment!" The lead officer sized up my family, his expression hardening. "Ma'am, since there is video evidence, I need your family to come down to the precinct for questioning. If the child is inside your unit, bring him out immediately." Ethan grew anxious, opening his mouth to explain, but I grabbed his arm to hold him back. Meeting the officer’s stern gaze, I allowed a cold, sharp smile to touch my lips. "Officer, you're welcome to investigate. But before we go anywhere, I have evidence of my own." "Why don't we all take a look together?" I pulled out my phone and tapped play on a video. As the video played, everyone’s eyes went wide, their jaws dropping in shock. "Wh... what?!"