I Saw What My Neighbor's Doing to His Wife in Their Backyard and Called 911 Immediately – Story of the Day

After their drone records their neighbor abusing his wife, Dean, and Kaylee face legal backlash for intervening. Determined, Kaylee embarks on a risky mission to save the victim, defying a system where right and wrong blur dangerously.

Kaylee brought the freshly made iced popsicles out to enjoy in the garden. Dean was thrilled that his new drone had arrived and was testing it in the backyard. He would finally live his dream of taking the drone on his weekend hikes, documenting every precious moment.

"Watch this, Kay!" Dean called out, executing a complicated series of maneuvers with the remote control.

"Impressive," she said, running toward him. "Show me what else you can do!"

Dean chuckled, and Kaylee put her arms around him from the back, causing the drone to go off.

The drone, now without Dean's guiding hand, wobbled, dipped, and then nosedived toward the fence separating their yard from the neighbors they were yet to meet.

"Sorry!" Kaylee exclaimed. "Let's see if a fall changed the video quality in any way."

But Dean didn't hear anything he said. He was staring at the screen on the drone's remote, held so tightly in his hands that his knuckles were white. A woman, her face twisted with distress, was crawling toward the fallen drone. Her movements were frantic like she was running from something — or desperately trying to find help. She glanced at the camera, her eyes red and wide.

"Dean!" Kaylee gasped. "This is happening next door?"

Dean didn't get a chance to respond because a man emerged from behind the unknown woman. He looked like every evil person Kaylee had seen in her True Crime documentaries.

"Here you are, dolly," the man said in a muffled voice. "Why are you running away from me? Come on, we haven't finished playing yet."

The woman flinched and tried to crawl further away in the live footage. Her fear was raw, and her whimpers echoed through the feed.

"Dean," Kaylee said, hanging onto his arm. But Dean's eyes were focused on the hell unfolding before them.

"Aren't you a naughty dolly," the man said as he crouched down. "It seems like I'll have to punish you, or would you rather go to the dollhouse?"

He oozed sadism, Kaylee could feel it in her gut, and it made her skin crawl.

In the video, the woman was trying to shield herself from the man's blows when he seemed to notice the drone. He looked around their garden and then directly at the camera. He sneered and picked the drone up, his hand covering the camera before the feed cut abruptly.

"Dean," Kaylee said desperately. "We have to help her. We have to help that woman right now!"

"I know," he said, his face pale. "We have to call the police. They would know how to deal with this. They're equipped to deal with domestic violence."

Kaylee nodded. She agreed. But a part of her just wanted to run inside their neighbor's house and find the woman herself. Kaylee had never seen someone so afraid before, which shocked her.

"We need the drone back," she said suddenly while Dean dialed the police. "It's the only proof we have. The police need to see it."

Dean nodded.

**

Together, they went next door. Kaylee's hands shook, still reeling over what they had seen moments before. The well-manicured lawn and perfect garden made Kaylee feel sure something sinister was happening here — she wasn't one for conspiracy theories. Still, she had seen enough documentaries to know this was a sign.

"It's okay," Dean whispered to her. "We'll help her out."

He knocked on the front door, his heart pounding. The door swung open, and a man in his early forties appeared neat as a pin.

"Hello," he said with a big smile. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"We're your new neighbors, Dean and Kaylee," Dean said, his voice clear. "I think our drone ended up in your garden. Sorry, I'm new to the controls."

Kaylee knew Dean was trying to be friendly — let them trust you first. That was something else she had learned.

The man introduced himself as Edward and looked Kaylee up and down. The longer she stood there, the more uncomfortable she felt. She couldn't take it any longer.

"Stop playing games," she blurted. "We've contacted the police already. They should be here soon."

Edward grinned at her while Dean frowned.

"So, you called them," Edward said. "I wondered what that was about. I figured it was an error. Probably gave the wrong address. They're here, having some hot chocolate. Would you like a cup?"

Kaylee's eyes narrowed at him. Of course, the sleazy kind always had the police wrapped around their fingers.

"Did your wife make it?" Dean asked.

Edward's eyes flashed, and he grew agitated. Kaylee could see it in his body language. She knew that Dean wanted to retaliate, but he was wary of the policemen — even if they were drinking hot chocolate in the home of an abuser.

"You must be the owners of the drone?" one of the officers asked. "I will have to ask about your license to fly it."

"Of course, I have everything in order, but you must see the footage saved on it — it's proof that this man was about to abuse his wife."

The police officers looked at each other momentarily before telling Dean and Kaylee that they had caught Edward and his wife in an intimate moment of roleplaying. They said they no longer wanted to discuss Edward's private moments on his property. Edward returned the drone to them.

"It's illegal to record and monitor your neighbors with drones," one of the officers said. "You're lucky that Edward doesn't want to press charges."

Kaylee and Dean walked away, trying not to push their luck. Dean found that the drone's memory card had been removed, but he didn't want to cause a scene. They had no intention of leaving the woman behind, but they needed to think about a better plan. They went home, and Dean sat with his hands on his head — like Kaylee, he couldn't get the scene out of his head.

The couple could barely function as the evening dragged on. Eventually, Kaylee changed into her running gear.

"What are you planning?" Dean asked her, his voice tinged with anxiety.

"I'm getting the memory card, and I'm getting the woman. You need to trust me on this."

Kaylee didn't give Dean much of a choice. She ran around their backyard a few times so that she could break a sweat — she needed to be convincing. Then, she ran up to Edward's door.

"I'm sorry for earlier," she said as he opened the door. "I ran around the block so that I could think straight. I'm sorry that we imposed on your private moment."

"And you needed to run straight here to apologize?" he grinned at her.

"Well, not quite. I didn't take my key because I thought Dean would be home, but he wasn't. Can I charge my phone for a moment? Just to let him know that I'm waiting."

Kaylee held her breath. But Edward pushed the door open, inviting her in. He gave her a charger, and then the woman from before entered the room.

"I'm Mandy," she said in a cheery voice that Kaylee knew she was faking. She looked at Kaylee for a moment too long, and Kaylee knew that whatever she and Dean had thought about the situation was correct.

"I love the sunsets," Mandy said. "I watch them from our balcony. I've committed them to memory now. I missed today's sunset but won't miss it tomorrow."

Kaylee nodded. She understood.

Mandy was trying to tell her she would be on that balcony tomorrow.

The next day, Dean used the remote control to send the drone to Mandy, hoping she could slip the memory card in when it landed on her balcony. It was the only way they would get non-corrupt policemen to save her.

Dean and Kaylee watched as Mandy caught the drone, but Edward stepped out before she could put the memory card into it.

"Dolly, why aren't you listening to me?" he asked her, holding a lace dress that looked impossibly small for a grown woman. "I've called you so many times now."

Mandy stood up quickly, trying to hide the drone, but it was too late — Edward had seen it. He grabbed it and tossed it over the balcony, the drone smashing from the force.

"Playtime, Dollface," he said.

Kaylee ran.

"Call the police," she called over her shoulder.

And then she ran to Edward's house. Mandy needed her. She ran up the porch steps and found the door unlocked. Kaylee stood still for a moment, trying to hear any sounds to indicate where they were. At the top of the stairs, she heard muffled voices from a room down the hall.

She pushed through the door, only to find Mandy dressed in the lacy dress that seemed grotesquely out of place. In his hand, Edward clutched a belt, ready to strike Mandy.

With all the strength she had, Kaylee lunged at Edward, yanking on the belt. Edward struggled against her, but in a few moments, he had her pinned to the ground, his breath heavy on her face.

"You'd make me a happy doll collector," he spat at her.

Mandy threw odd objects at Edward, trying to distract him, but nothing deterred him from crushing Kaylee with his body weight.

Then, Dean and three police officers burst through the door, picking Edward right off Kaylee and restraining him.

"Are you okay?" Mandy and Kaylee asked each other simultaneously.

Kaylee nodded as Mandy burst into tears.

The policemen took Edward away in handcuffs, but not before he said, "Doll collectors are everywhere. You can take me away, but the dollhouse will remain intact."

Dean and Kaylee worked with the police to get Mandy to reveal the location of the 'dollhouse.'

"I know he goes to his mother's house a lot. It's an abandoned property. But that's the only place I can think of," she shook.

Dean and Kaylee trailed the police as they went to the location. There, they found at least twenty women trapped in the basement of the derelict house. It was a shocking sight — the walls were painted in pastel hues, and the space had been converted into an imitation of a dollhouse.

"These men are powerful. They call themselves doll collectors. They come in here and choose who they want to play with," one woman said. "They're policemen and lawyers, doctors. One is even a judge."

The police officer taking the woman's statement swore loudly while another wrapped the woman in a blanket.

"They'll get medical help and be protected," the officer told Dean. "Thank you for following your instincts. You've saved so many lives with your persistence."

Dean held tightly onto Kaylee. Neither of them could believe what they had uncovered. It shocked Kaylee, but all she could do was turn and hug Mandy. Kaylee couldn't believe how she had survived the life that Edward had forced on her.

As Dean and Kaylee took Mandy home, a police officer promised to find every man involved in this sinister nightmare. Kaylee sighed deeply, glad that the women were safe but traumatized nonetheless.

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