I closed my eyes and leaned back against the leather seat. Behind my eyelids, the past played like a slow-motion film.
David’s mother, Brenda, belittling me at dinner tables. David despising me in private while smiling beside me in public. His sister, Savannah, stealing from me with a pretty face and a helpless voice. His brother, Kyle, dragging his debts to my doorstep as if my bank account had been created to rescue him.
Brenda was an insatiably greedy woman who claimed to love her daughter-in-law while demanding cash at every opportunity. Savannah only knew how to buy designer clothes with money she never earned. Kyle was drowning in gambling debts and excuses.
They had attached themselves to me like leeches, draining my emotional and financial strength. But today, the old Victoria was gone.
I was going to teach them a lesson they would remember for the rest of their lives. A lesson about entitlement. A lesson about consequences. A lesson about karma.
While I leisurely enjoyed an iced latte in the corner of a Beverly Hills café, a meticulously orchestrated clown show was unfolding across town.
I knew David would not be with them. He was at a rooftop bar in West Hollywood, popping champagne with his friends to celebrate his new bachelor life, leaving the labor of moving to his mother and brother.
I did not have to guess how it went down. Mrs. Higgins, their nosy neighbor, happily described the entire scene to me later, with enough detail that I could picture it as clearly as if I had been there.
In a cramped, noisy apartment in the San Fernando Valley, Brenda was directing the packing of her precious children’s belongings. The place was chaos.
Brenda wore a gaudy floral silk robe and fanned herself while aggressively ordering everyone around.
“We are going to throw such a massive party that all of Bel-Air will know who we are. Savannah, pack all the clothes and shoes. Do not leave anything behind. Even these cheap rags can be used as floor mops. I am not leaving them for the landlord.”
Kyle, taping a cardboard box shut, laughed loudly. “Mom, don’t worry. I’ve got it all planned out. The basement is huge. I’m turning it into a man cave, setting up the best home theater system, and inviting the boys over. They’re going to be so jealous. This is where real life begins.”
Savannah, touching up her lip gloss in the mirror, was already daydreaming. “I’m taking the master suite with the balcony facing the city. Mom, the lighting there is perfect. I’m going to livestream and make TikToks. My followers are going to lose their minds when they see me living in a ten-million-dollar estate.”
Brenda broke into a wide grin. “That house is your brother’s, which means it is my house and yours too. Vicki got kicked to the curb. Now that residence belongs to the Petersons.”
Her booming voice echoed through the apartment complex courtyard. Neighbors peeked out with curiosity, watching two large moving trucks block the driveway.
Gary, the lead driver of the moving company, stood leaning against his truck, checking his clipboard impatiently while barking orders at his crew to speed things up.
A neighbor called out, “Brenda, where are you moving with all this racket? Did you win the lottery?”
Brenda lifted her chin. “Oh, it’s just too cramped to breathe in this dump. My son David is taking us all to live with him in Bel-Air. A ten-million-dollar mansion. Ten thousand square feet, with a pool and botanical gardens. Starting today, we are high society.”
Some neighbors widened their eyes. Some smirked. Some shook their heads. Brenda melted under every bit of attention.
They loaded the trucks with everything from tacky faux-leather recliners and knockoff designer bags to half-empty bottles and cracked lamps. Brenda insisted luxury was luxury, but saving money still came first.
Kyle and Savannah sweated as they hauled their junk, but smiles stayed plastered on their faces. Visions of living like royalty danced in their heads.
They had no idea the trip was not leading them to paradise. It was leading them straight into humiliation.
The trucks roared to life, kicking up dust. Brenda climbed into the cab with the driver and waved to the neighbors like a pageant queen.
Kyle jumped into his red Dodge Charger, revving the engine loudly as he pulled out to follow right behind the heavy vehicles. The convoy rolled out, carrying the Peterson family’s delusions toward the west side of Los Angeles.