When the new intern, Felix Madden, hears that I'm going back to my hometown for the Thanksgiving weekend and won't be home in my fully paid-off luxury lakeview apartment, he goes out of his way to cozy up to me.

"Come on, Carl. Your place is going to be empty anyway. Why not let my parents stay there for a few days during the holiday? It'll save them the cost of paying for a hotel," Felix says.

Worried that my belongings might be tampered with, I politely turn him down.

His expression darkens slightly, and he mutters under his breath, "Fine. If you won't lend it to me, I'll find my own way."

I don't think much of it at the time.

Then, on the first day of the holiday, the property management company sends me a message. They inform me that a group of strangers has entered my building using my access code and appear to be heading to my unit.

My heart sinks to my stomach.

Something is very wrong. I've only ever shared my access code with my closest family members. There is no way an outsider could know it.

The next thing I see is Felix's social media post. The photo shows him and his entire family relaxing in my apartment.

The caption reads, "Spending Thanksgiving in a luxury lakeview apartment. Life is good. If you work hard enough, you can enjoy this kind of lifestyle too."

Not once does he mention that the apartment belongs to me. Instead, he deliberately makes it look like he owns the property himself.

Quietly, I save every piece of evidence. I save the security camera footage and make screenshots of his social media posts.

I don't throw them out, nor do I expose them—I simply wait.

By the final day of the holiday, they've thoroughly enjoyed themselves and start packing up without a care in the world. As they prepare to leave, they are dumbfounded.

My name was Carlos Aguilar, and I had worked my way up in the IT industry for eight years, rising through the ranks from a low-level employee to the department director that I was today.

Instead of spending my first pot of gold on a luxury car or using it for investments, I bought a huge lakeside luxury apartment in Lakeview Heights in the city center of Dunnington with cash instead.

Just the renovation alone took me another six months, and I cherished this apartment with all my heart, never letting anyone other than my closest family set foot in it.

Felix Madden was an intern who had just joined the department three months ago. He was in his early 20s, and he was very good at sweet-talking and getting things done. He fawned over the senior employees the moment he joined the company, especially me, affectionately calling me "Carl".

His actions and attentiveness bordered on being forced and deliberate. At first, I thought that he was just a young man trying to curry favor with his seniors at the workplace just to gain a foothold in the industry, so I didn't pay much attention to him and even offered him a few work-related tips occasionally.

One day, during a department dinner before the long Thanksgiving weekend holiday, someone asked about everyone's holiday plans, and I casually replied that I was going back to my hometown to visit my parents.

As soon as I said that, Felix leaned over and said, "Since you're going home for the holidays, that means your apartment is going to be vacant for a few days, right?

"My parents happen to be coming to Dunnington then. I've called up the hotels nearby, and the prices are three times as expensive as usual.

"Since your place is going to be vacant anyway, why don't you just let us stay there in the meantime? Don't worry, we'll put everything back in place once we're done."

I rejected it without any hesitation.

"It's not that I don't want to let you stay, Felix, but there are too many personal items of mine and quite a number of valuables there. I think you should book a hotel room as soon as possible before they actually run out of rooms."

Felix's smile froze on his face at once. He didn't say anything more and just got up and left. While turning the corner, I clearly heard him mutter under his breath, "Fine, don't let us stay, then, you selfish bastard. I have my ways."

I didn't take it to heart and just assumed that he was being a sulky brat.

I had taken an extra day off before the actual Thanksgiving weekend. After checking the water and electricity meters, I locked up all the doors and windows. Then I locked the main entrance door and went all the way back to my hometown.

My hometown was very far away, and the drive alone would take an entire day. That was also why I seldom went back at all.

After reaching my parents' home, I'd only just sat down to take a sip of water and rest when I received a call from my apartment management.

"Mr. Aguilar, a young man just led a group of people into your apartment. They have your door passcode and said that they were your relatives, so we didn't have to tell you about their arrival, but we still decided to report it to you."

My heart sank, and I quickly turned on the security camera app linked to my phone.

In the video, the young man leading the group was none other than Felix.

Behind him was a middle-aged couple, presumably his parents, who were dressed simply and carrying large suitcases behind them. Their faces were filled with excitement and curiosity.

There was also a young woman behind Felix's parents. Her hair was dyed blonde, and a cigarette was dangling from her lips.

"Look, Mom, Dad. Don't you think this is an apartment big enough for everyone? It's got a wonderful view of the lake too, and everything is furnished with designer brands and renovations. I worked really hard to make this all possible!"

Felix's smug voice came in through the surveillance video.

His mother, Iris Osborn, immediately pounced on the leather couch, stomping all over it with her outdoor shoes still on.

"This is great! You're such a capable son, Felix! You're a hundred times better than old Sam's useless son next door!"

Meanwhile, his father, Alex Madden, clicked his tongue in amazement while smoking a cigarette. "This apartment is really something, and the lakeview is beautiful. It's better than seeing it on TV. This was a good purchase, son! Your mom and I will be coming here often next time to enjoy the view!"

As for Felix's younger sister, Fiona Madden, she rushed straight into my study, ripped off the precious contemporary painting hanging on my wall, and threw it onto the floor.

"This is rubbish! You know that I don't like pretentious junk like that! You'd better turn this room into my gaming room the next time I come here! I want all the latest gaming equipment!"

Then, she pulled open all of my drawers and shelves and smashed all of my treasured rare books and personal laptop onto the floor.

Felix just stood to the side without stopping her. He even chuckled and said, "Go ahead and trash anything you don't like. I'm going to replace them all with better ones next time anyway. This trash doesn't all amount to much."

I stared at the surveillance video on my phone, gripping it so hard that my knuckles turned white.

I had spent more than 100,000 dollars on that contemporary painting, and the laptop that she'd smashed contained classified information on the company's core project. Everything they threw carelessly to the floor was equivalent to years and years of my hard work.

I trembled with anger, wanting nothing more than to rush back home and tear their faces apart. However, I couldn't figure out how they'd managed to get their hands on my address or my front door passcode.

I had deliberately come up with a unique passcode for that door, combining both Mom's and Dad's birthdays and the anniversary of my first day of work in the IT industry. It was highly personal and extremely private, and I'd only ever mentioned it to Mom, Dad, and my younger sister, Carrie Aguilar.

Nobody at the office could have possibly found out about it, let alone an intern who had barely worked there for three months and whose interactions with me were only work-related.

Just then, I heard footsteps behind me.

"Carl? Why aren't you resting? Why are you glaring at your phone like it did something bad to you? What happened?"

I turned around and saw Mom coming up to me with a warm glass of milk, looking at me with worry and gentle concern.

She handed me the glass of milk and patted me lightly on the shoulder.

"You finally got a break from work to come home, and you even drove all day to be here. Why the long face? Is someone bullying you at work?"

I held the warm glass tightly in my hands and felt my nose tingle. I felt the anger in me subside at once.

"It's nothing. It's just something minor about work, but it's not worth getting angry over. It's been a while since I've been home, and I'm not going to let anything upsetting ruin my mood."

Then, I slid my phone back onto the coffee table, completely ignoring the distressing footage on the screen.

I would just swallow my anger for now and spend this Thanksgiving weekend peacefully with Mom.

Didn't Felix want to show off and enjoy his life in my luxury apartment for free? Well, I would let him be smug and gloat about it for a few days, then. And then, I would teach him a lesson for his arrogance!

I inhaled deeply and texted my building management.

"Keep an eye on them. And send me a copy of the security footage from the hallway, the entrance, and the elevators. But don't interfere with whatever they're doing in my apartment, and report any issues to me immediately."

Less than an hour later, I saw that Felix had just posted a few photos on his Instagram account.

He'd posted a total of nine photos, all of them taken from my apartment—the floor-to-ceiling windows with the lake view, the master bedroom, the walk-in closet, and the bookshelves in my study. Yet, he neatly avoided showing any of my personal belongings in each photo.

The caption read, "Financial independence in my early 20s has never felt better. I love enjoying my comfortable and carefree Thanksgiving weekend at home by myself."

Felix's post attracted plenty of comments from his friends.

"What? This is amazing! You bought such a massive apartment right after graduation?"

"What a winner in life! I'm so jealous of you!"

Even our colleagues at the company left comments under his post, and Felix made sure to reply to every single one of them, pretending to be humble while bragging even more.

"It's really nothing. I just saved up enough with tons of overtime work, having a passive side income, and slowly saving up over time. Let's all continue working hard!"

He never once mentioned that the apartment actually belonged to me.

Anger burned in my chest. However, I forced myself to keep calm. I knew that I couldn't afford to make any rash decisions at this time.

If I called him now and demanded an explanation for all this or kicked them out of my place, he would at most just feel a little embarrassed, and that was about it. Maybe he just had to pay a few thousand bucks for all the damages caused.

But he could definitely and easily play the victim afterward and act aggrieved online, claiming that he was simply confused and had no idea he was doing anything wrong. In fact, he could even turn the tide against me and accuse me of being selfish.

For all I knew, he could say, "I'm only just borrowing your place to stay in for a few days! Why are you being so petty and selfish, you stingy bastard?"

And then, he could always go back to the office and put on his innocent act at work, gaining sympathy from the colleagues as he badmouthed me at the company and claimed that I was a heartless person who picked on interns.

That would be going too easy on him.

I just silently took screenshots of everything, including his Instagram posts, stories, comments and replies, surveillance footage, and chat history, then filed them away under a special folder. I even recorded his exact words when he asked to stay at my place and mine when I refused, and stored them away on my phone.

The evidence was sufficient.

However, I never expected that Felix would completely disregard the consequences of his actions and allow his family members to continue escalating their horrible behavior.

That very night, his mother turned my expensive custom-made kitchen cabinets into her storage space. She stuffed them full of pickle jars and old lunchboxes, leaving the shelves all covered in grease.

She also took out all of my imported fruits, seafood, and treasured liquor from my refrigerator and left all the uneaten portions on the dining table to spoil and stink up the whole place.

Meanwhile, Felix's dad kept smoking in the living room, flicking the ashes and cigarette butts onto my pristine white wool carpet. He even smashed a ceramic teapot on my coffee table, muttering, "What kind of useless junk is this? It breaks as soon as you pick it up."

His sister was even more outrageous. She barged into my master bedroom, found my safe under my bedframe, and ransacked the cash and jewelry box inside.

She stuffed her pockets full of jewelry and even took out all my expensive skincare products from my dressing table and smashed the glass jars and bottles all over the floor.

When Felix found out about this, instead of scolding her, he went up to her, picked out a diamond necklace, put it around his neck, and took a selfie of himself in the mirror. Then, he posted it on his Instagram story.

"Gotta dress up elegantly even when I'm just staying home all day. Nothing special going on…"

I watched them through the surveillance camera footage, my anger nearly reaching its peak and overwhelming my reason, but I still managed to hold back.

…

Over the next few days of the long Thanksgiving weekend, Felix and his family made themselves exceptionally comfortable and at home in my apartment. They spent their days cooking and chatting at home and even went out to visit scenic tourist spots at times before coming home to relax in the spacious apartment.

His parents bragged to everyone that Felix had bought a big apartment in the city, and his sister boasted to her friends about his booming career and how he owned a luxurious lakeview apartment at such a young age.

On the fourth night, the property manager messaged me, saying that Felix had brought several of his friends over for a party, with a total of seven or eight people.

They sang loudly, drank their hearts out, and played drinking games loudly and aggressively in the living room, making a complete mess out of the place.

Even worse, they had a barbecue on my balcony, and the aggressive smoke drew plenty of complaints from my neighbors. Some of my neighbors actually came to my door, but they were all rudely chased away.

I tapped into the surveillance footage again and saw my living room in a royal mess, with liquor bottles, empty chip bags, and soiled paper napkins strewn all over the place. There were also stains and scuffs everywhere.

Several young people sat around the barbecue grill they had set up on my balcony, grilling meat while being exceptionally loud and noisy, filling the air around them with thick smoke and not caring that the sparks from the fire were flying onto the carpet on the balcony.

Felix was standing in the middle of the group, wearing my designer jacket as he laughed and chatted merrily with a wine glass in his hand.