When we first moved into our new home, it didn’t take long to notice that our neighbor had a peculiar obsession with parking. Even though there were no community rules limiting the number of cars a household could have, she seemed determined to enforce her own version of order. One morning, we found a handwritten note taped to our windshield, demanding that we “remove the extra car immediately” — or face consequences. We laughed it off, assuming it was just harmless irritation.

That illusion didn’t last long. Three days later, just before dawn, the screech of engines and metal clanking jolted us awake. Rushing outside, we found both our cars being hooked up by tow trucks — and there she was, standing on the curb with a smug grin. “Maybe now you’ll listen when someone tells you the rules,” she said, arms crossed in triumph. I couldn’t help but laugh, which clearly threw her off. When she asked what was so funny, I pointed to the permits on our windshields.

Both of our vehicles carried government-issued specialty car tags, meaning unauthorized towing carried fines of up to $25,000. The towing crew, realizing the mistake, immediately stopped and unhooked the cars. Our neighbor’s face turned pale as the reality hit — she wasn’t the victim of broken rules, she was the one who had broken the law. Her expression shifted from arrogance to panic as she stammered, “I didn’t know…” I simply smiled and replied, “Maybe next time, you’ll think twice before enforcing rules that don’t exist.”

From that day on, she’s avoided us completely — no more notes, no more lectures, not even a hello. It was the perfect kind of justice: no shouting, no revenge, just the quiet satisfaction of watching someone learn that arrogance always carries a cost.