“Why would you do that?” Lisa asked, her heart breaking.
“They were annoying my friends,” Jake replied without any remorse.
Mark, visibly shaken, said, “Jake, that’s not okay.”
“Do something about it!” Lisa urged. Mark hesitated but finally told Jake to apologize.
“Sorry, Emma,” Jake mumbled, rolling his eyes.
“That’s it?” Lisa fumed, feeling completely betrayed by both Jake and Mark.
The next day, Lisa noticed money missing from her wallet. When she confronted Jake, he denied it, acting as if it was no big deal. That’s when Lisa knew it was time to teach him a lesson.
She decided to set a trap. Lisa bought some fake money from a novelty store and placed it in her purse. A few days later, she caught Jake rummaging through her bag and taking the fake bills. It was time to act.
Lisa called her friend, Officer Mike, and they devised a plan to give Jake the wake-up call he needed.
That afternoon, Lisa followed Jake to a café where he was hanging out with friends. Officer Mike, in full uniform, walked in and approached their table.
“Excuse me, son. Where did you get this fake money?” Mike asked, holding up one of the bills.
Jake went pale. “I… I didn’t do anything!”
“Stand up. You’re coming with me,” Mike said sternly.
Jake stood, trembling, while his friends watched in shock. “Is this a joke?” one of them asked.
“No joke. Counterfeit money is a serious crime,” Mike replied.
Lisa walked in, feigning surprise. “What’s going on?”
Mike turned to her. “Do you know this boy?”
“Yes, he’s my stepson. What’s happening?”
“We found him using counterfeit money.”
“There must be a mistake! He’s a good kid,” Lisa said, playing along.
“Please, Lisa, help me!” Jake pleaded, nearly in tears.
Mike sighed. “Since it’s his first offense, I’ll let him off with a warning. But next time, there will be real consequences.”
Shaking, Jake hugged Lisa. “I’ll never do anything like this again, I swear.”
Once they were far from the café, Lisa showed Jake a video she had recorded of the entire scene.
“Jake, if you keep up this behavior, I’ll show this video to all your friends.”
Jake’s face fell. “You… you did this?”
“Yes, and it was for your own good. You needed to learn a lesson.”
From that day forward, Jake changed. He started helping around the house, treated Emma and Noah with kindness, and even apologized to them. Mark noticed the shift as well.
“What happened to Jake?” he asked one evening.
“I just gave him a little wake-up call,” Lisa replied with a smile.
Finally, peace returned to their home, and for the first time all summer, Lisa felt hopeful that Jake had truly turned a corner.