My Family Broke In With Baseball Bats When I Refused to Sell My House to Pay Their $150K Debt…

“I’m calling them right now if you don’t get out of my house.”

I said.

They could tell I was serious. Mom started crying harder.

“Fine! But this isn’t over, Vivian. If something happens to Melissa, it’s on your head.”

she said.

“And if something happens to my financial security because I bail out her bad decisions, that would be on my head too. At least this way, only the person who made the mess deals with the consequences.”

I said.

Dad pointed his finger at me.

“You’re going to regret this. Family is supposed to stick together.”

he said.

“You didn’t think that five years ago.”

I said.

After they finally left, I called the realtor I’d been talking to about maybe selling my house to move in with Sebastian.

“Hey, it’s Vivian. Remember we talked about putting my house on the market? I need to sell it as fast as possible. I’m willing to take a 5% discount if that helps move things along.”

I said.,

“Well, that’s interesting timing. I actually have a buyer who’s been looking in your area. With that kind of discount, I think he’d be very interested.”

he said.

Three days later he called me back with an offer. It was lower than I’d hoped but fair considering the quick sale.

I accepted immediately. Sebastian was confused when I told him.

“Why the rush?”

he asked.

I explained about my parents showing up at my house uninvited, their threats, and their refusal to leave when asked.

“I don’t trust them, Sebastian. I think they’re going to keep harassing me, maybe even do something crazy. I’d rather sell the house and get the money somewhere safe where they can’t see it or use it as leverage against me.”

I said.

“That’s probably smart. And hey, this means you can come stay with me sooner than we planned.”

he said.

That made me smile for the first time in days.

“Are you okay with me staying at your place while I look for a new house in your area?”

I asked.

“Are you kidding? I’ve been hoping you’d move here. This just speeds up our timeline.”

he said.,

The closing happened fast. Within a week all the paperwork was done and the house was officially sold.

Sebastian drove out to help me pack everything up and move it to his place. It felt good to have him there, to not be dealing with the stress alone.

As we were loading the last of my boxes into the moving truck, I looked back at the house one more time.

I’d been genuinely happy there. I’d worked incredibly hard to afford it, but I felt good about my decision to sell.

I was starting a new chapter with Sebastian and my family couldn’t use my house as emotional blackmail anymore.

“You okay?”

Sebastian asked, putting his arm around me.

“Yeah, I’m good. Let’s get out of here.”

I said.

We drove off together and I felt this huge weight lift off my shoulders.

Whatever happened with Melissa and her debt problems, it wasn’t going to involve me or my money. I was finally free of their drama for good.

Breaking and Entering

Living with Sebastian turned out to be incredible. His place was comfortable and welcoming, and working remotely meant I could settle into a routine pretty quickly.,

We spent our evenings looking at houses online and planning our future together. For the first time in months, I felt genuinely happy and completely stress-free.

I’d been living with Sebastian for about a month when my phone rang one Tuesday morning. The caller ID showed a number I didn’t recognize, but it had my old hometown area code.

“Is this Vivian Smith?”

the voice asked.

“Yes, who’s calling?”

I replied.

“This is Officer Hughes with the Lincoln Police Department. I’m calling about an incident involving your parents, Wade and Susan Smith.”

he said.

My blood went cold.

“What kind of incident?”

I asked.

“They were arrested last night for breaking and entering and destruction of property. The homeowner wants to press charges.”

he said.

I was completely confused.

“Breaking and entering where?”

I asked.

“The address they broke into is listed as your former residence. Is 847 Maple Street a house you used to own?”

he asked.

“I sold that house a month ago. What were my parents doing there?”

I asked.

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out. They caused significant damage to the interior of the home. Destroyed furniture, broke windows, spray painted obscenities on the walls.”

he said.,

“The new owner came home to find them in his living room smashing his coffee table with a baseball bat.”

he added.

I sat down hard on Sebastian’s couch, my legs suddenly unable to support me.

“Are you serious?”

I asked.

“Very serious. The damage is estimated at around $40,000. Your parents claimed they thought it was still your house and that you’d wronged them somehow.”

he said.

“They said they were getting back at you for abandoning your family.”

he explained.

I told Officer Hughes everything. I told him about Melissa’s debts, about them showing up at my house uninvited, and about the whole five-year family drama that had led to this moment.

He listened patiently and took detailed notes.

“So they didn’t know you’d sold the house?”

he asked.

“Obviously not. They probably went there to vandalize my property as revenge for not giving Melissa money. Instead, they destroyed some innocent person’s home.”

I said.

“That’s exactly what it looks like. The problem is they destroyed someone else’s property instead of yours.”

he said.,

After I hung up I told Sebastian what had happened. He was as shocked as I was.

“That’s insane, Vivian. They could have been shot. What if the homeowner had been armed and thought they were dangerous intruders?”

he said.

I hadn’t even thought of that. My parents could have been killed over this stupid vendetta, this pathetic attempt at revenge.

Choosing Yourself

Over the next few weeks I got regular updates from the police and from mutual friends back home about what was happening with my parents’ case.

The legal proceedings were moving forward and the reality of their situation was becoming clear.

Mom and Dad were facing serious criminal charges, but their lawyer managed to work out a plea deal.

They admitted guilt in exchange for avoiding jail time, but they had to pay full restitution to the homeowner they terrorized.

It was $40,000 for property damage, plus legal fees, plus court costs. It ended up being close to $60,000 total.