Teaching My Overbearing Neighbor a Good Lesson

My cat, Stinko, was lying on the scratching post, sleeping soundly with his little whiskers twitching. It looked absolutely adorable.

I picked up my phone and walked over. As I was ready to snap a picture of this cute moment, a flurry of message notifications popped up.

I checked my phone and saw that the notifications were from the homeowner's group chat. They were all from a user named "402 Nicole Porter" on WhatsApp.

"Hey, neighbors, I have some great news to share. My daughter-in-law, Brianna, is pregnant! I consulted a fortune teller, and he said this baby was destined for greatness. He will accomplish great things when he grows up!"

…

I clicked on her profile picture, and there it was—a round-faced, angry-looking old woman.

She looked kind of familiar. Then it hit me.

Yesterday afternoon, I'd been walking Stinko downstairs when I ran into a few stray cats, so I went back home to grab some cat food to feed them.

That was when this old woman suddenly approached, narrowing her eyes at me and the cats. "Are these all your cats?"

I didn't think much of it and casually answered, "Yeah, they're mine."

To my surprise, Nicole instantly became furious. She pointed a finger at me and said, in a harsh tone, "Who gave you permission to keep cats here? You need to get rid of them by tomorrow, or else…"

Nicole suddenly changed her expression, and it startled me.

But thinking it wasn't worth fighting with a neighbor right after moving in, I quickly grabbed Stinko and ran back home. I barely caught the rest of her words.

I figured she was just one of those crazy old ladies. Maybe she wandered out of her house without anyone noticing.

I had no idea, though, that Nicole lived right across from me!

I continued reading the texts from Nicole.

"For the sake of my grandson, I stayed up all night to set some rules. Each of you must follow them. If anything happens to Brianna or my grandson because of any of you, I won't spare you!"

With that, she sent a few photos.

"Open your eyes and look closely!"

I clicked on the first photo and saw that they were all handwritten rules. The first one already left me stunned.

"1. Brianna needs to go for a walk every day between 10:00 am to 12:00 pm and 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Everyone needs to stay away from the elevator and the gym during these hours to avoid disturbing her!

"2. Anyone with a daughter at home must avoid these times to prevent harming my grandson!"

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Was this woman seriously out of her mind? Just because her daughter-in-law was pregnant, she thought she was some kind of queen?

I clicked on the second picture, and things just got even crazier.

"For my grandson's health, each household must buy beef, pork, expensive fruits like peach and cherries, plus some genetically modified vegetables. Bring them to my house so Brianna can enjoy them.

"Of course, I won't make you do this for free. When my grandson is born, I'll give each of you a chance to share in the good fortune. You'll need to prepare 300 dollars and deliver it to my door in an envelope. If anyone fails to do so, I'll come collect it personally!"

I kept scrolling through the pictures, and each one was filled with even more absurd demands.

What was going on? Did her daughter-in-law's pregnancy turn her into a queen?