When we moved into our new house, we were thrilled to meet our neighbors, the Johnsons, who seemed friendly and welcoming. Jane brought us a pie, and Tom offered gardening tips. Everything appeared perfect.

Months later, I found a note from the previous owner hidden in a drawer, warning us: “Beware of the Johnsons. They’ll make your life hell.” I showed it to Mike, but we decided to dismiss it as a personal grudge.

A few months in, after returning from a vacation, we discovered our property trashed. The garden was ruined, the pool filthy, and garbage littered everywhere. Shocked and angry, we confronted the Johnsons, but they denied involvement and suggested the blame lay with other neighbors, Ethan and Olivia.

Ethan and Olivia, who had security cameras, were confused by the accusation. We reviewed their footage and saw that the Johnsons had held multiple parties at our house, leaving it in a terrible state.

Furious, we confronted the Johnsons with the evidence. They seemed unremorseful, so we decided on a bit of retribution. That night, we gathered up the trash from our property and spread it across their lawn. Our kids added a touch of paint to their fence for good measure.

The next morning, Jane and Tom were horrified to find their yard covered in trash. We strolled over casually, feigning innocence. Jane and Tom’s anger was palpable, but we calmly explained that this was just a taste of what they had done to us.

The neighborhood quickly sided with us after seeing the footage. The Johnsons were forced to clean up their mess and faced significant social backlash. Through it all, we learned the value of standing up for ourselves and taking warnings seriously.

As the Johnsons cleaned their yard, Mike and I felt a sense of justice. We were glad to have found supportive neighbors like Ethan and Olivia, who showed us that real friends were just around the corner.