My neighbor ripped out my fence to make room for her dream deck, smiled at me, and said, “Complain as much as you like—by tomorrow morning, your yard will look just like mine.” I did not argue with her. I pulled out the survey from my closing documents, and five inches of cedar was about to make her renovation cost far more than the fence ever had.

I sprang out of my chair and sprinted up the basement stairs.

I had assumed the slight drop in my water pressure over the last few days was just a municipal issue.

Now I knew the terrifying truth.

I ran outside to the side of my house where the men had been digging.

The ground was soft, muddy, and covered with a fresh layer of decorative mulch that Vanessa’s crew had strategically placed there.

I sank to my knees and frantically dug through the mulch with my bare hands.

Cold, muddy water immediately bubbled up from the soil, confirming my worst fears.

The severed pipe had been quietly leaking hundreds of gallons of water directly against my home's foundation for nearly a week.

I rushed back inside and heard a horrifying dripping sound coming from the lower level.

My finished basement, where I kept my expensive electronics and family heirlooms, was already covered in two inches of murky water.

I had to call an emergency plumbing service to shut off the water main at the street.

The plumber examined the damage and handed me a preliminary repair estimate that made my stomach churn.

The structural damage to the foundation and the flooded basement would cost tens of thousands of dollars to fix.

While I was desperately dragging wet carpets out of my house, I heard loud music starting up next door.

Vanessa was hosting a lavish afternoon party on the finished half of her new deck to celebrate her construction progress.

She had invited the corrupt city inspector, her real estate colleagues, and a dozen other local elites.

They were drinking champagne and laughing, completely ignoring the disaster they had caused me.

I gripped my wet carpet, wondering how I could possibly fight someone with this much money and power.

Suddenly, a loud, violent cracking sound echoed over the loud music.

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My father bet twenty dollars that I would walk through his front door al...

My Husband Slapped Me Out of His House for His Mistress, Then the Most F...

The partygoers screamed as a massive section of Vanessa’s newly poured concrete foundation violently collapsed into a hidden sinkhole.

Through the gaping hole in her ruined deck, a massive, rusted steel container was exposed deep in the earth.

Chapter 7 - The Flood