My story begins badly but concludes on a somewhat positive tone. It’s all about my Gran-Gran, who is the sweetest lady alive. This amazing woman virtually raised me, Sandra, and my brothers when our parents were divorcing.

I’m stating this so that the reader understands how valuable and dear this wonderful woman is to us, or at least me. Being the wonderful person she is and not wanting to cause difficulties, she surprised everyone ahead of her 83rd birthday.

Instead of us preparing anything special for her, my grandmother had organized a complete brunch at her place! She had all of this planned despite her deteriorating health. She got up before daybreak that day to create her own bread and pastries!

I found out about the celebration, like everyone else, through invites sent by my grandma a week in advance. As if preparing her own meals wasn’t enough, the woman had sketched and handwritten her invites, despite her shaking hands!

The effort and care she’d taken to prepare for her special day were more than enough motivation for me to attend. Yet, on the day of her birthday, I was held back by work and arrived at the party 10 minutes late.

Although I hadn’t arrived on time, I had bought her a present long ago and pitched with the gift in hand. As I walked in, I found my angel of a grandmother removing plates from the table and pouring coffee down the sink.

Confused I asked her, “Gran-Gran, did I get the time wrong for your birthday party? What happened? Where is everyone?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady. I thought I had missed the festivities! But with a lump in her throat, my granny admitted:

“Sany, you aren’t too late, no one bothered showing up on my birthday. But it’s okay, sweetheart. I know everyone is busy.”

My heart broke into a million pieces, and my BLOOD BOILED as I saw her eyes watering. The poor woman could barely maintain a shaky smile as she tried to pretend that everything was okay.

“Busy? Mom retired, Tim is jobless, and Sarah is ‘between jobs,’ whatever that means! They have no excuse!” I hugged my Granny. Everyone in my family had PROMISED to be there. But none of them had the decency to pitch!

I pledged to make up for everyone. As I hugged her, a revenge plan began to shape in my mind. Grandma wouldn’t have to know, but it was PERSONAL to me now! After spending some quality time with her, I excused myself and went outside to make some phone calls.

I determined to teach my family a well-deserved lesson. The first call I made was to my mother. “Hi, Mom! Where are you? Gran-Gran fell, and I discovered her alone in the house!” My mother sounded concerned when she asked what had happened.

Continuing the falsehood, I stated, “I’m not sure what happened. I arrived late for her birthday party and discovered her laying face down in the kitchen.” I informed her that my grandmother was now in the hospital receiving medical attention.

“This could’ve been avoided if you guys had bothered to attend,” I convinced her. “I apologize, Sandra; I got caught up in something, honey. “I’ll go check on her now.”

“Caught up in what? “You’ve retired!” I snapped, unable to conceal my rage. “Don’t take that tone with me!” she said before I could calm down.

“Sorry, Mom, I am just so worried about Gran-Gran,” I told the truth. “Another thing I need you to do is send some money to cover the hefty hospital bills.” Feeling guilty, my mother agreed to give her portion of the bogus $2,000 bill.

After dropping the phone, I went back in and spent some more time with my grandma before she asked to go take a nap. Taking advantage of the situation, I contacted all of the other family members who had not pitched.

I called my brother, Tim. “Where are you? Why didn’t you come to Gran-Gran’s brunch?”

“Something came up,” he mumbled. “Like what? Another video game marathon?” I retorted. “She’s in the hospital, Tim. Do you even care?” His breath caught in his throat before asking, “Is she going to be okay? What happened?”

I brushed him off, telling him I was too stressed to go into the details. But I rubbed in the fact that what happened to her wouldn’t have occurred if someone had attended her brunch.

The premise of my plan was to make them all feel guilty and to hit them where it hurts: their wallets. I also fed Tim the same story that hospital bills had to be paid and everyone was chipping in some money.

“I’ll hustle some cash from a friend,” he promised. By then, my mother had already sent some money. She was also asking for an update on Gran-Gran’s health since I hadn’t told her what hospital she was admitted to.

I made similar calls to my sister and a few other relatives. Each one, feeling guilty, agreed to send money. In no time, I had collected a significant amount! I kept them all in suspense, claiming Grandma was hanging in there. I revealed that visitation would be allowed the next day.

I slept over at Gran-Gran’s so she wouldn’t be alone. The next morning, I booked a trip for her and myself to a beautiful destination she’d always wanted to visit. I surprised her with the tickets.

“Gran-Gran, pack your bags. We’re going on a trip!” I said, grinning from ear to ear. Her eyes widened. “What? How did you afford this?”

“Let’s just say I collected a few IOUs,” I replied with a wink.

We spent a week at a beach resort, enjoying the sun, the sea, and each other’s company. I made sure Gran-Gran had the birthday celebration she deserved. We took countless pictures, capturing EVERY joyful moment.

Before we left I reassured everyone by informing them that Grandma was being discharged. I stated that her fall was due to stress. I assured them that I would take care of her and that they did not need to worry.

I shared the trip images on social media and tagged all of our family members. The captions included phrases such, “Best birthday ever!” and “Gran-Gran’s special getaway!” It didn’t take long for my phone to begin vibrating with calls and texts.

The first one was from my mom. “But you said the money was for the hospital!” she cried. “But you promised you would come to her brunch and you didn’t,” I replied calmly, then hung up.

Next, my brother called. “What the hell, sis? You tricked us!”

“And you broke Gran-Gran’s heart,” I shot back before ending the call.

Each family member received the same response. I felt a sense of satisfaction watching them squirm. They had let her down, and they needed to understand the consequences of their actions.

When we returned home, Gran-Gran was glowing. She hadn’t stopped smiling since we left! “Thank you for this, darling. It’s been the best week of my life,” she said, hugging me tightly.

“You deserve it, Gran-Gran. And don’t worry, next year will be even better.” From that day on, my family never missed another event. They showed up for every birthday, holiday, and Sunday dinner, but they still gave me a cold shoulder for what I did.

Some of them even tried to make me feel guilty. But whenever they did, I asked them, “Do you want us to go and discuss this with Grandma?” This usually got them to back off as they weren’t brave enough to face what they’d all done.

And every time I saw Gran-Gran’s happy face, I knew it had all been worth it! But a part of me felt a bit guilty for scamming everyone the way I did. So to all those who read my story, do you think I overreacted and took things too far?

What would you have done if you were in my shoes?