After a 14-hour hospital shift, all I wanted was pizza and a shower. Instead, I came home to find my front door jammed. A toothpick had been shoved into the lock. My brother Danny came over to fix it, warning me to stay alert in case it happened again. I brushed it off as a prank—until the very next day, it happened once more. This time, Danny installed a small camera to see who was behind it.

That evening, we watched the footage together and finally had our answer. It wasn’t a stranger, but Josh, my ex. He crouched at my door, carefully pushing a toothpick into the lock. His bizarre way of forcing contact left me unsettled, but instead of calling the police, I decided to handle it differently. I reached out to Connor, an old friend I could trust, and together we came up with a plan.

The following night, I pretended to leave the apartment, only to sneak back in and wait. As Josh approached with another toothpick, Connor—dressed in a hot pink bathrobe for dramatic effect—burst through the door holding a wrench. The look on Josh’s face was priceless as he bolted down the hall. The plan had worked perfectly, and for the first time, I felt a sense of relief.

The next morning, I uploaded the footage with a playful caption: “When your ex won’t stop jamming your lock, sometimes you introduce him to your new roommate. #toothpickgate.” Within two days, the video reached millions of views. Danny later installed a new lock, and Connor showed up with pizza to celebrate. We raised our slices in a toast: “To small wins.” Sometimes the best revenge isn’t dramatic—it’s clever, lighthearted, and just enough to finally move forward.