My Lamborghini Was Damaged by Karen’s Spoiled Son, Until He Discovered Who It Actually Belonged To

Proof that every rejected loan application had not stopped me.

Proof that every customer who doubted me before eventually trusting me had helped build something real.

I knew exactly what that machine represented because I understood every inch of its finish.

The paint had been customized.

The protective coating had been applied carefully.

Certain carbon-fiber pieces had been upgraded.

The entire car had been corrected until the yellow looked almost liquid beneath direct sunlight.

I did not park it outside every day.

I did not rev the engine for attention.

Most mornings it sat quietly in my garage.

But on that particular morning, I had planned to drive it to my shop.

I stepped outside carrying coffee and my laptop bag.

For several seconds, my brain refused to understand what I was looking at.

Something red was dripping down the hood.

I stopped walking.

My coffee remained halfway toward my mouth.

A thick line of red paint crossed the yellow finish.

Then another.

Then another.

The paint had been poured across the hood, splattered onto the windshield, dragged across the driver’s-side fender, and kicked onto the door.

Across the center of the hood, someone had painted one hateful word in huge uneven letters.

I stared at it.

For a moment, everything around me became strangely quiet.

Then I heard laughter.

Beside the car stood my neighbor’s nineteen-year-old son.

He was laughing with his girlfriend.

He still had the open paint can in his hand.

Red paint covered two of his fingers and dotted the front of his shoes.

His girlfriend had her phone raised toward him.

She was recording.

He leaned against the damaged fender like he was posing beside something he had accomplished.

When he noticed me, he smiled wider.

“Morning.”

His girlfriend laughed.

I looked at the paint can.

Then at him.

Then at my car.

He lifted the can slightly like he was making a toast.

“What?” he said. “You don’t like the new color?”

His girlfriend nearly doubled over laughing.

I did not answer.

He started mocking my business.

He said everybody knew people like me exaggerated how successful they were.