She and Josh had maintained this "future Harvard genius" act for years. She bragged about him to anyone who'd listen, and whenever you ran into him, he played the part—quiet, studious, laser-focused. It fooled a lot of people.
The group chat erupted.
"Isn't the owner of 1402 going too far?"
"Right before his college entrance exams? How could you do this!"
"Leave some room—you still have to live here."
"Just apologize already. Don't ruin the kid's future."
Watching the tide of public opinion surge in her favor, Rachel sent a smug voice message:
"Thank you, everyone. Thank you to all my kind neighbors. On Josh's behalf—thank you."
I stared at my phone and smiled.
I didn't type a single word in my defense.
I just dropped the video into the chat. Rachel at 1 a.m., creeping to my door, dumping trash, scrawling a turtle on my door, then strutting home like she'd accomplished something.
The footage wasn't long. But every frame was razor-sharp.
The group chat went dead silent.
Thirty seconds later, it exploded.
"Holy shit—that's Mrs. Lawrence?! Sneaking around at 1 a.m. doing THAT?"
"This plot twist gave me whiplash."
"My God. You really never know people. I actually felt sorry for her."
"Dumping trash AND vandalizing? That's disgusting."
"I literally just defended her. I feel like such an idiot."
The same neighbors who'd been ready to crucify me instantly switched sides.
Overnight, everyone's target shifted—from me to Mrs. Lawrence.
She'd obviously seen the video too. She panicked.
Voice messages flooded the group chat, her pitch climbing with each one.
"It wasn't me! That wasn't me!" "It's fake! That Lin guy set me up!" "Don't believe him! He's just a petty villain!"
I ignored her dying struggle.
Instead, I sent another recording.
Everything she and her son had said the day the power company came—how they'd cursed me out at my own door.
"Bottom of society." "Trash." "Mud." Those filthy, unbearable words echoed through the group chat.
And Josh's line—"Once I get into Harvard, I won't ever have to be neighbors with this kind of trash again"—set the whole crowd ablaze.
"Oh my god, the 'future Harvard genius' really said that?" "That level of character... getting into Harvard? Don't embarrass Harvard." "Too scary. He always looks so refined. Who knew he was this kind of person."
"Mrs. Lawrence's parenting is really something else."
Public opinion reversed completely.