After a long, exhausting 14-hour hospital shift filled with chaos, all I wanted was a shower, a frozen pizza, and some peace. Instead, I came home to find myself locked out again — this time because someone had jammed a toothpick into my front door lock. It wasn’t the first time, and standing there with tweezers in the cold, I knew it was intentional.
I called my brother Danny, who showed up with a toolkit and his usual sense of humor. He confirmed it — someone had done this on purpose. We laughed it off at first, thinking it was a strange prank. But then it happened again.
That’s when Danny installed his old security camera — the one he swore had survived a full-on raccoon battle. We hid it in a tree outside and waited.
The next evening, I finally got a motion alert. I watched the footage and couldn’t believe it: there was my ex, Josh. Quietly inserting another toothpick into the lock like it was some kind of mission. We had broken up six months ago. I thought things had ended peacefully — clearly, he had other ideas.
I called Connor — a longtime friend with a calm voice, lots of tattoos, and a willingness to help in any situation. I showed him the video. “Want me to talk to him?” he asked. “No drama,” I said. “Just a little clarity.”
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