MY HUSBAND AND HIS MOM GOT RID OF MY CAT — BUT THEY NEVER EXPECTED MY NEIGHBOR TO HELP ME GET REVENGE

Benji wasn’t just a pet—he was my heart, my family, my comfort after losing my dad. My husband, Jake, never understood. He always rolled his eyes when Benji curled up in my lap or purred against my chest.

“You love that cat more than me,” he’d joke. At least, I *thought* he was joking.

Apparently not.

I had only been away for a weekend trip with my girlfriends when I returned to an eerily silent house. No soft paws running to greet me. No familiar, warm purring. Something was *wrong.*

“Where’s Benji?” I asked, my voice sharp.

Jake didn’t even look up from his phone. “No idea. Maybe he ran off.”

I turned to his mother, Margaret, sprawled out on my couch like she *owned* the place.

“Where is my cat?” I demanded.

She smirked. “I did what was necessary. Freed you.”

My blood turned to ice.

“You’re obsessed with that stray like it’s your child. It’s *pathetic.* Now maybe you can focus on your *real* family and give us grandkids,” she added with a smug grin.

I turned to Jake, my voice shaking. “You let this happen?!”

He had the audacity to *shrug.* “You needed to move on.”

I saw red.

Before I could completely lose it, there was a knock on the door. My neighbor, Lisa, waved at me through the window.

I stormed outside, my heart racing.

Lisa walked up, her face serious, and held out her phone. “I saw your MIL with Benji… You might want to see this first.”

I took one look at the screen and felt my stomach drop. **NO WAY.**

It was security footage. From Lisa’s camera.

Clear as day, Margaret dragging Benji into a car. Jake standing beside her, nodding. And then—Margaret pulling up at a run-down shelter. Dumping Benji into a cage. **Smirking as she drove away.**

They got rid of him. **Like trash.**

My fists clenched. My nails dug into my palm.

Lisa touched my arm gently. “That’s not all. I called the shelter. They still have him.”

I could’ve sobbed in relief.

But first? *Revenge.*

Lisa, bless her, had **ideas.**

First, I retrieved Benji immediately. The joy in his eyes when he saw me? **Unmatched.** But I didn’t take him home just yet. I had a better idea.

Step one: **I made sure the entire neighborhood saw the footage.**

Lisa helped spread the word. We posted it in the local pet owner groups, and soon, every neighbor, coworker, and friend I had knew exactly what kind of man Jake was—and what kind of monster his mother was.

Step two: **I got creative with payback.**

I printed out **hundreds** of missing cat flyers—except instead of “MISSING,” they said **“DUMPED BY HER HUSBAND AND MIL”** with clear screenshots from the footage.

Guess where I put them?

Jake’s office. His mother’s church. The grocery store she bragged at. The gym he went to. *Everywhere.*

Step three? **I left.**

I packed my things while Jake and his mother scrambled to do damage control.

“You’re overreacting!” Jake had the *nerve* to say.

I laughed in his face. “I don’t stay married to people who throw away my family.”

And then I took **everything** that mattered to me.

Benji. My belongings. And **every penny from our joint account.**

Because, as it turned out? Jake never **legally** took me off the account. So, I took what I had contributed. And I wasn’t sorry.

Last I heard, Jake was *begging* friends for a place to stay after his mother’s reputation got her kicked out of every social circle she had.

As for me? Benji and I are living our best lives.

**And my only regret?**

Not seeing Margaret’s face when she realized *her* precious reputation was in the litter box where it belonged.