A man had a tough childhood because of his stepfather, who constantly made his life unbearable. Once he became an adult, he sought revenge and turned his stepfather's life upside down.
A young boy and a man sitting on brown chairs | Source: Pexels
A Reddit user shared that when he was 15 years old, his mother started dating a man he had met online. The boyfriend moved in with them two months later.
"I didn't like him the first time I met him," the Original Poster (OP) admitted. Three weeks after the man moved in, he started removing OP's belongings, including a BMX bike, ramps, ice hockey gear, skateboards, and a self-built halfpipe, while he was still at school.
OP said the man told him he threw his belongings away because he did not want his stuff to clutter "his" garage.
A family having dinner in the backyard | Source: Pexels
The man continued getting rid of OP's prized possessions, and this time around, he went for his extensive comic book collection, Pokemon card collection, PS2, and My Game Boy.
According to OP, his mother's partner believed that teenage boys should participate in sports instead of playing with Pokemon cards or reading comics and books.
"My mom never intervened," OP divulged, adding that instead, she "acquiesced" when her lover demanded that she stop giving him lunch money because he spent it on comics and "gay" things.
A mom giving her son a lunch bag | Source: Pexels
One day, OP took about $3 from the man's change jar to buy a slice of pizza and fruit punch at school, as he was tired of going hungry. But unfortunately for OP, his twin sister told their stepfather what he had done. He recalled:
"This man actually called the police and pressed a larceny charge against me."
After the police left, he physically attacked OP, who then ran away from home. But law enforcement officers brought him back home, and OP found out his stepdad had been telling his mother that she should send him to military school.
A military officer talking to students | Source: Pexels
OP ran away again, and it became a reoccurrence. Before he knew it, "the larceny charge ended up turning 16 in juvenile detention," the Redditor explained, adding:
"I spent the next couple of years miserable and afraid, frequently contemplating suicide."
Once he left home, he cut communication with his mother, but they later reconciled, and by that point, she had already married the man. OP said by then, he had gotten much bigger than when he was a teenager. He had gotten into weightlifting, so his stepparent no longer intimidated or hit him again. They mostly avoided each other.
A man working out in the street with a barbell | Source: Pexels
Things shifted once OP's mother discovered she had Stage 4 cancer and did not want to waste any time that she had with her husband. So, she had a lawyer draw up a separation agreement where the spouse would get a sum of money upon separation and would have 45 days to get his belongings from the house.
OP's mom sadly died nine months after the couple's separation. Afterward, he gradually set his revenge in motion by going against his late parent's agreement with his stepfather.
He sold the stepdad's prized possessions, including his autographed sports memorabilia, his baseball card collection, all his woodworking equipment, and some pieces of furniture that he had made.
A man drilling a wooden plank | Source: Pexels
One day, OP bumped into his stepfather at a grocery store and told him what he had done. The man attempted to assault him and succeeded in punching him a few times. OP then called 911, and as the police arrived, they found the man ramming his grocery cart into OP's new car in the parking lot.
"He was arrested for assault, communicating threats, and destruction of property," OP revealed. Consequently, the man, who worked as a teacher at a local middle school, lost his job and pension money.
OP's nephew, who attended the same school, told friends that the man had abused his uncle as a child. This led to parents calling for his resignation from refereeing and umpiring for local sports games.
A man coaching a group of kids | Source: Pexels
Moreover, OP's niece and his girlfriend's younger sister were enrolled at the middle school and revealed that many disliked the man. When he went to get his belongings, he made a scene and ended up hysterically crying as he left.
The man's son refused to take him in, and he ended up working as a cashier at Walmart. OP tends to shop there often and divulged:
"I purposely stand in line longer than I need to just so that he could be the one who has the pleasure of ringing up my purchases."
A barista inserting a card into a payment terminal | Source: Pexels
The first time OP went through the man's line, he attempted to overcharge him, and when he called him on it, his former stepfather said he was mistaken. OP asked for the manager, who also believed it was an error. According to OP, this made his mother's ex aware that he could not get away with it.
The next time OP went to the store, he was as polite as possible when the man was rude. He asked for the manager again, and the people in line backed OP, and the man got in trouble.
"Every time I go there and step into line, I see him die a little bit inside, and it may be petty, but it gives me such satisfaction. [...] Now I get to see him all the time and rub his nose in it," said OP.
After OP shared his story, fellow Reddit users flooded the comments section and commended him on his revenge. One person said they also experienced a similar situation growing up and that the mother eventually divorced the "evil stepdad." "I only wish I had the opportunity and creativity to get this kind of revenge on him. Well done OP!" said the Redditor.