On New Year's Eve, the youngest son of our next-door neighbor was trapped inside their apartment, wailing uncontrollably. Relying on his decades of experience as a locksmith, my dad picked the lock in five seconds. But what greeted us inside wasn't a crying child—it was a tape recorder. Right then, the neighbor, Mrs. Higgins, blocked our exit with a crowd of people. "I knew a little bait operation would lure the suspect out!" "Picking a lock that fast, you've clearly done this plenty of times! I bet you're the one who's been stealing everything in our building!" I tried to explain nicely that my dad used to be a professional locksmith. And that we only picked the lock today to save her grandson. But Mrs. Higgins wouldn't let it go. "Did I ask you to save him? Who knows what you were really planning to do in my apartment?" "If you don't pay for my broken lock and all the items missing from my home, you're not leaving here today!" My dad stopped me from arguing back, swallowing his pride and the injustice. A few days later, Mrs. Higgins' grandson was playing around and climbed into a safe. He was trapped and suffocating. Mrs. Higgins came looking for us again, but my dad just looked at her with helplessness. "Another bait operation?" "Stop testing me. To put the neighbors at ease, I threw all my tools away days ago." ...... "Waaah, waaah." "Waaah, help..." Intermittent sobbing came from the apartment next door. My dad stopped in his tracks, frowning deeply. "Is that kid locked in his room again? Why aren't the adults doing anything?" My mom wiped her hands on her apron, bringing dishes out from the kitchen. "I just saw Mrs. Higgins head out. She'll probably be back soon, let's not worry about it." I looked at the lavish dinner spread on the table, my mouth watering. I chimed in to support my mom. "Yeah, that kid is a menace. He locks doors all the time. It's not the first or second time." "He's probably just messing with people again." Mrs. Higgins' precious grandson, Leo, was a notorious troublemaker. His favorite game was locking doors on purpose to make the adults panic outside. I popped a piece of braised pork into my mouth, closing my eyes in bliss. "Besides, Dad, you're too nice. You always unlock their doors for free, and you do it so fast. Didn't you see the weird look Mrs. Higgins gave you last time?" "If you ask me, you should stay out of this mess so you don't get dragged into their drama." My dad sighed. He picked up his glass of whiskey and took a sip in silence. But ten minutes passed, and not only did no one return next door, the crying only got louder. My dad finally couldn't take it anymore and stood up abruptly. "No, I have to go check." My mom nodded too, helping him fetch his toolbox from the utility closet. "Yeah, better safe than sorry." "It's just a little effort. If something really happened to that kid, we wouldn't be able to live with ourselves." I shook my head helplessly. Without saying anything else, I followed them out. My parents were kind-hearted people. Even though Leo played this trick all the time. Given a second chance, they would still choose to help. If I didn't let them go check it out, they wouldn't be able to eat this New Year's Eve dinner in peace anyway. Stepping outside, the hallway was empty. Leo's cries sounded especially piercing. I couldn't help but feel suspicious. "With so many families here, we can't be the only ones hearing him cry. Why isn't anyone else out here?" My dad, busy rummaging for his tools, chuckled. "It means everyone trusts me. They know I'll come out and help." My mom, holding the flashlight, exchanged a look with me. We both saw each other's mouths twitch. The faint click of the lock picking echoed in the silent hallway. A growing sense of unease rose in my chest. Was it a bit too quiet? The moment the door swung open, my anxiety peaked. Behind the door, there was no crying Leo. It was a black tape recorder! In that exact second, the main hallway lights flared on. A crowd of people surged down from the upper floors, holding up their phones. Leading the pack was our neighbor, Mrs. Higgins. And in her arms was Leo. Mrs. Higgins pointed a finger at my dad, her voice shrill with excitement. "See? I told you a bait operation would work! Caught you red-handed!" "David Carter is a thief! He picked my lock when he thought I wasn't home! All the thefts in this building are definitely his doing!" My dad's face instantly turned beet red, and he frantically tried to explain. "I heard Leo crying inside! I was afraid he was in danger, that's why I picked the lock to check!" Mrs. Higgins refused to back down. "You think you're justified in picking my lock?!" "You did it so fast and smoothly! Who knows what kind of shady business you get up to normally!" I was instantly furious. "Mrs. Higgins, you're out of line! What do you mean 'bait operation'? Putting a tape recorder in there to trick us? What do you take us for?" I wanted to keep arguing, but my mom pulled me back. She let out a dry laugh, trying to de-escalate the situation. "Mrs. Higgins, it's true David shouldn't have suddenly picked your lock today." "But we were genuinely worried Leo might be in danger." "After all, Leo has a history of locking doors to cause trouble, and you've asked David to unlock them several times before." "We've been neighbors for so many years, don't you know David's character by now? How could he possibly steal anything?" My mom tried to reason with her, appealing to emotion. She genuinely thought Mrs. Higgins just misunderstood and wanted to clear the air. But Mrs. Higgins scoffed coldly, remaining unyielding. "Since you know my Leo likes to play with locks, you shouldn't have been so nosy today!" "I didn't ask for your help, why are you getting involved?" "I think you're just using this as an excuse to cover up the fact that you wanted to break in and steal!" Arguing with her was like talking to a brick wall! She was a complete ingrate! Furious, I turned to the other neighbors in the hallway. "Leo locks doors and causes trouble all the time. My dad is always on call for them, and he never charges a dime! Whenever anyone here needs a lock picked, he never refuses." "My dad's character is obvious to everyone. Please, be the judges here!" The neighbors Mrs. Higgins had gathered looked at each other, whispering among themselves. "Yeah, David does pick locks for free around here." "He's a nice guy too, doesn't seem like the type to do something like this..." My dad breathed a sigh of relief, his eyes red. "Thank you everyone, thank you..." Seeing the tide turning against her, Mrs. Higgins immediately countered. "Picking a lock costs next to nothing anyway! Offering free services is probably just a front to gather information, scope out our homes, and prepare for robberies!" "We've lost a lot of things over the past few months. The value of those things far outweighs a few lock-picking fees. Don't let this little girl twist the narrative!" As soon as she said that, the way the neighbors looked at my dad changed instantly. Human nature is like that. Small favors are easily forgotten. But when personal interests are threatened, it's a completely different story. "Now that I think about it, that seems true. The day David helped me pick my lock, he kept chatting with me. Was he trying to find out when nobody would be home?" "Yes, exactly! Last time I invited David in for tea, we happened to talk about the porcelain collection in my house. A few days later, some pieces went missing!" They got more and more worked up. Their voices grew so confident, it was as if they had seen my dad stealing with their own eyes. I watched this scene unfold in absolute disbelief, feeling sick to my stomach. My dad always thought of others and was willing to help. Whenever anyone needed a hand, he was always the first to run over. I never expected these people to blindly believe Mrs. Higgins' one-sided accusations! My dad's face looked just as terrible. Mrs. Higgins' shrewd eyes narrowed. She pulled out her phone and tapped on it. Finally, she shoved the screen in my face. "This is a list of all the items everyone has lost recently, along with the total value." "David, if you have any shame left, pay up as soon as possible." I glanced at the list and exploded. Five electric scooters, three antique vases, one bicycle... Total amount: $50,000. "Mrs. Higgins, are you trying to stock a store using my family?! You're even pinning the electric scooters on my dad?" "And the toy Transformers? A children's bike? I clearly saw your grandson break those and throw them in the apartment complex flowerbed last week! Don't you feel ridiculous listing them here?" Mrs. Higgins showed not an ounce of guilt upon being exposed; instead, she acted even more self-righteous. "Who can say for sure?" "Why did Leo's toys disappear after he threw them in the flowerbed? I bet your family stole them!" I laughed out of sheer exasperation. "The recycling collectors took them, obviously! What would I want with a pile of broken toys?" Just then, my dad suddenly stepped forward. Seeing his tense expression, I couldn't help but feel worried. "Dad." My dad gave me a reassuring look. Then, looking deeply disappointed, he scanned the crowd around us. "Neighbors, do you really believe that I, David Carter, am a thief? Do you want me to pay this money?" A flash of joy crossed Mrs. Higgins' face. She knew my dad was soft-spoken and easy to push around. She figured she had this in the bag. The crowd began chiming in, trying to persuade him. "David, as long as you admit your mistake and change your ways, everyone will forgive you." "Yeah, just pay the money and we're still good buddies." They talked over each other, spit flying, all eager to get a piece of the compensation. Looking at the greedy, hypocritical faces of our neighbors, the last bit of light in my dad's eyes completely died. He grabbed my mom and me, pulled us inside, and slammed the door shut heavily. Leaving behind only one sentence: "If you want compensation, show me the evidence." "I, David Carter, will die before I confess to something I didn't do!" The food on the table was completely cold. My dad silently reheated the dishes and served rice for me and my mom. I was afraid he was heartbroken, hesitating to speak. To my surprise, my dad recovered faster than we did. He held our hands, his eyes resolute. "No one gets to bully my family." "Neighbors like this aren't worth knowing." The people outside refused to leave at first; banging and foul language drifted in occasionally. Inside, our family was entirely unfazed, continuing to enjoy our New Year's Eve dinner. I thought giving them the cold shoulder would solve the problem. I never expected to be woken up early the next morning by a continuous series of jarring noises. Loud bang, bang, bang sounds were hitting the front door, shaking the entire apartment. I fought through my grogginess, opened the door, and instantly felt a dull pain in my calf. "Ouch!" It was Leo. He was holding a toy shotgun, repeatedly shooting at me. "Bad woman, I'll kill you!" The front door was covered in scratch marks from his toy knife. The walls were scribbled all over with colorful markers. "What are you doing, you brat?!" My mom rushed over, furious. Leo made a face and ran back into his apartment. Mrs. Higgins' arrogant voice drifted out. "If you don't pay up for stealing our things, I'll just let Leo get payback! Let's see how long you can last!" It was the New Year, and our doorway was covered in garish scribbles. Even the holiday banners were defaced with profanities. My mom and I were absolutely furious. We immediately contacted the HOA. But the person on the line brushed us off dismissively. "Oh, is that so? Well, you shouldn't have refused to pay them. Serves you right." Then, they hung up, and we couldn't get through again. By the afternoon, our water main was shut off, and our electricity meter was pulled. I went downstairs to fix them, but half an hour later, it happened again. It was the middle of winter. One minute my parents and I were sweating profusely from rushing around, the next we were shivering from the cold with no power. Finally, we were too exhausted and out of breath to keep running up and down. "This is outrageous!" My dad slammed his fist on the table in anger. My voice was hoarse as I rubbed his back to calm him down. "We're going to the police tomorrow! I refuse to believe they can just do whatever they want!" The next day, as soon as we stepped outside, the usually friendly elderly neighbors avoided me like the plague. As soon as I walked far enough away, they gathered together to gossip. "The old man is a thief, I bet the young one is no good either." "What's there to be afraid of? If we all gang up on them, they'll have to pay up eventually!" I clenched my fists tightly. Mr. Davis, an empty-nester whose son rarely visited. My dad was the only one who checked on him regularly, even buying him groceries and meat to supplement his meals. Mrs. Miller, who had bad legs. When she fell last time, it was my dad who carried her on his back all the way to the hospital. Filled with righteous anger, I went to the police station to file a report. To my surprise, I ran into Mrs. Higgins. Seeing me, she flashed a triumphant smile. She pointed at me and complained to the officer. "That's her! They stole from us and refuse to pay!" "I even have a video of her dad picking our lock, that's proof right there!" The officer gave me a look of contempt. I cursed internally and quickly tried to explain. "That was because my dad thought someone was in danger! He thought her grandson was trapped inside!" "Officer, my dad is not a thief! They're the ones pulling our electricity meter without any proof! Why is that allowed?!" Mrs. Higgins crossed her arms, looking like she had anticipated this. Before I could finish, two women from the HOA walked out. "No one pulled your electricity meter. That never happened!" "Your dad was caught red-handed picking the lock and still refuses to admit it. The police aren't blind!" With them muddying the waters, my plan to involve the police completely failed. The police promised they would continue investigating the thefts. But regarding my complaint, they brushed it off as a "neighbor dispute" and told us to mediate it privately. I returned home empty-handed. Facing my parents' expectant looks, I shook my head bitterly. "It didn't work. The police didn't believe me." After that, Mrs. Higgins and her family ramped up their harassment. Playing loud music in the middle of the night, making it impossible to sleep. Slamming doors and throwing things around during the day, giving me a splitting headache. A few days later, I got a call from my company. "Maya, I'm sorry, but regarding your return to work after the holidays... the company has decided to put it on hold." My intuition told me this was definitely connected. "Why? Didn't we agree on just a seven-day suspension?" The voice on the other end remained flat but carried a hint of disdain. "Behavioral issues. Are you really not aware?" After asking around, I found out that Mrs. Higgins had taken the video of my dad to my office and caused a huge scene, bringing a lot of negative attention. This led upper management to suspend me indefinitely. The tension and suppression I had been feeling for days finally broke me. My mom hugged me, crying. My dad looked exhausted, his face full of guilt. "I'm sorry. This is all my fault. Why don't we just..." I wiped my tears fiercely and cut him off. "No! We will absolutely not bow down to them!" That day, our entire family was enveloped in gloom. But next door, Mrs. Higgins' family was having a grand old time. Leo's parents had come back from working out of town, having made some money, and brought back a massive safe. Mrs. Higgins had been bragging about it outside all morning. "Our family is destined for wealth! When you make money, you have to hide it in a safe, so thieves don't get any ideas!" They made a racket celebrating all day. Until the evening, when a commotion broke out. "Leo is missing!" "He was just in his room, where did he go?" Our family was used to their drama, until another scream echoed from next door. "Leo, don't scare Mommy! Why did you crawl into the safe?!" Mrs. Higgins, who prized her grandson above all else, was trembling as she spoke. "It's locked from the inside, we can't get it open!" "Call 911! Hurry, call the police!"
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