I was fourteen when my mom died. Dad buried himself in work, and I drifted. A year later, he remarried. Karen came in with perfume, lipstick, and contempt for my mother’s memory. By eighteen, the mask was gone—she demanded I pay rent for the house that was legally mine.

I stayed quiet until the deed arrived in my name. When she snarled “Not in my house,” I set the papers on the table. Her face drained. From then on, I documented everything—her spending, her temper, her lies.

When Dad found her flirting with another man, I laid out the folder. She left in disgrace, then tried suing. Mom’s savings paid for a lawyer who crushed her case.

Months later she begged to “come home.” I wrote back: Home was never yours.

The sweetest justice wasn’t her downfall—it was the peace that followed.