Jacob never imagined that checking his phone would change his life forever.
He had spent the afternoon playing with his nieces, Mia and Ella, in his brother Liam’s living room. It was a weekly tradition, and one he cherished. Mia, only six years old, was battling liver failure, and no one in the family was a match for a transplant. Despite her illness, she lit up whenever Jacob visited, her laughter filling the room as they played with dolls and made silly voices.
“No! Uncle J! Barbie is married to Ken!” Mia giggled, shaking her head at him.
Jacob grinned, glad to see her happy. “Well, Mia, Barbie could have a girlfriend, right? It’s the 21st century, girl.”
Ella, her four-year-old sister, chimed in. “Yeah! A girlfriend!”
They all burst into laughter, and Jacob felt a warmth in his heart. These were the moments that mattered—family, love, and laughter. But everything changed when his phone buzzed with a notification from his security system.
Frowning, he stepped away from the girls and Emma, his sister-in-law. “Just a second, Em,” he said, heading to the kitchen.
He tapped the notification, expecting maybe a package delivery or a false alarm. Instead, his entire body froze as the live feed from his living room appeared on screen.
His wife, Melissa, was in their home. She was supposed to be at work.
She wasn’t alone.
Liam, his older brother, sat on the couch—Jacob’s couch. His hands were on Melissa’s waist, pulling her onto his lap. Then, she took off her skirt and—
Jacob’s vision blurred. His breath came in sharp gasps. His brain screamed at him to look away, but he couldn’t. He watched, his heart shattering into a million pieces, as his wife and brother betrayed him in the worst way imaginable.
The sound of children laughing in the other room reminded him where he was. He forced himself to shut off the stream, his hands shaking. His eyes darted to the refrigerator in front of him. Photos of Liam and Emma’s wedding. A calendar of Mia’s hospital appointments. A reminder of what truly mattered.
How could they do this? How could they betray him? His brother, the man he had idolized his whole life? His wife, the woman he had vowed to love and cherish?
He pressed the phone to his chest, his mind spinning with thoughts of revenge.
The Plan
Jacob played it cool that night. When he got home, Melissa greeted him with a smile.
“Hey, darling. How was your day? Is Mia doing better?” she asked as she chopped onions in the kitchen.
Jacob forced a smile. “She was fine. Nothing new. How about work?”
“Busy, but fine,” she said easily. “Dinner will take a little longer. Hope you don’t mind.”
Lies. Lies so smooth he almost believed them. Almost.
“I’ll be in my office,” he said, walking away.
Sitting in his chair, he cracked his knuckles. Liam had always been careless with technology. Jacob had helped him set up everything—his home security, his computer network, his passwords.
Now, it was time to use that knowledge.
Within minutes, Jacob hacked into Liam’s computer. He deleted every work file he could find. Financial documents, projects, saved passwords—gone. Then, he activated a virus that would corrupt any backups Liam tried to restore. By the time he was done, Liam’s professional life was in shambles.
But it wasn’t enough.
Jacob wanted them both to suffer. He wanted the world to know the truth.
The Dinner That Changed Everything
The next evening, the family gathered at their parents’ house. Liam sat across from Jacob at the dining table. Melissa, the woman who had vowed to be faithful, sat beside her lover.
Jacob counted down in his head.
Three…two…one.
Everyone’s phones buzzed at the same time.
Liam grabbed his phone first. The color drained from his face. Melissa gasped. Around the table, their parents and Emma stared at their screens, eyes widening as the video played.
“Liam,” Emma’s voice trembled. “What is this?”
Melissa reached for Jacob’s arm. “Jacob, please—”
“Shut up,” he snapped, standing abruptly. “You cheated on your wife with my wife, and you think I did something wrong?”
His mother, Marianne, shot up from her chair, stormed over to Melissa, and slapped her across the face—twice. The sound echoed through the dining room. “You home-wrecking whore!” she spat.
Emma, usually the calm one, followed suit. She turned to Liam, her face red with rage, and smacked him hard across the cheek. “You disgust me. We have children, Liam! A family!“
Victor, their father, tried to calm everyone down, but it was too late. Chaos erupted. Melissa sobbed. Liam stammered out excuses. Marianne kept yelling. Emma demanded a divorce.
Jacob simply sat back down and helped himself to another bite of mashed potatoes.
The Unthinkable Consequence
Jacob thought his revenge was complete. He thought he had won.
Until his phone rang the next morning.
“I HOPE YOU’RE HAPPY!” Liam’s voice was raw with grief. “Mia is DEAD because of you!”
Jacob’s blood turned to ice. “What?”
“SHE SAW EVERYTHING! She heard us fighting! She got so stressed—her condition worsened. Mom and Dad rushed her to the hospital, but they couldn’t find her medical records. You WIPED OUR COMPUTER! THEY COULDN’T TREAT HER IN TIME!”
Jacob’s breath caught in his throat. No. No, no, no. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He had wanted Liam to suffer, not Mia. Not the little girl who had laughed with him just yesterday.
“I—” Jacob choked on his words. “Liam, I—”
“I don’t care about my job. I don’t care about the money,” Liam sobbed. “MY DAUGHTER IS GONE! I HOPE YOUR REVENGE WAS WORTH IT!”
The call ended, leaving Jacob in silence.
His knees buckled, and he sank to the floor, staring at nothing. Hours passed, but the weight in his chest only grew heavier. He had won the battle, but at what cost?
Finally, with trembling fingers, he picked up his phone.
“Rabun County Sheriff’s Office,” a voice answered.
Jacob swallowed hard. “I have a confession to make.”
Lesson Learned:
Revenge may bring temporary satisfaction, but it never erases the pain. Jacob let his emotions drive his decisions, and in the end, the price was far too high.
