15 Times Karma Struck Back and Justice Finally Won

In fiction, justice almost always wins—the villain is punished, the good are rewarded, and balance is restored. But in real life, things rarely work out so neatly. That’s why it feels so satisfying when we come across stories where a cruel boss, a selfish partner, or an unbearable neighbor finally face the consequences of their actions. These moments make us cheer because, for once, life plays out like the movies.

• My parents divorced before I was born. Dad mistreated mom, cheated—even with her friends—and never wanted me. He was rich, arrogant, and cruel, until mom finally left with nothing. She raised me alone, working countless jobs until we found stability. Years later, on my way from school, I saw a homeless man by the lake—it was him. He didn’t recognize me, the “useless girl” he once rejected. For two months I secretly gave him food and money. Then one day, he was gone, leaving only a silver cup. I still keep it, along with the ache of a father I never truly knew. @Rose Cruz / Quora
• Simon was my best friend at university. At a job interview, recruiters told me we had the same degree and asked why they should hire me over him. I refused to compete, praised Simon instead, and walked out when they pushed me to expose his flaws. Hours later, they called back—Simon got the job, I was offered team leader. He never forgave me, convinced I’d betrayed him. In truth, he had spoken against me. I still miss our friendship. I think he carried guilt, and I never judged him for one mistake. Karma played its hand, but the loss of a friend stayed with me. © Isabelle / Quora
• My little brother got a grass-cutting job for this older, single woman when he was young. He cut it, weeded it, took care of stuff for her, minor repairs, oil changes.
  As they grew older, he continued cutting her grass and doing things for over 30 years. He never charged her because she was old and female and needy, and he was a great guy. When his divorce came, she let him stay in her garage apartment until he could get back on his feet.
  Long story short, he worked for free for years, but she died and left him the house he had taken care of for so long. It sold for $350,000 in Nashville, and he retired 4 years early. © mossgard007 / Reddit
• My uncle used to be a firefighter. One time, he and his crew were racing to an emergency — an apartment building was on fire. They were rushing as fast as they could, sirens and lights going, just like they’re supposed to.
  On this narrow street, everyone’s pulling over, except for one guy who just keeps creeping along, totally ignoring the fire truck behind him. Finally, the street opens up, my uncle drives around him, and they take off. They get there, put the fire out — thankfully nobody was hurt, but a few apartments were badly damaged.
  And then that same car pulls up. Out steps the very guy who refused to get out of the way. From the look on his face, it was obvious he lived in that building — and his own apartment was one of the ones that burned. My uncle knew it wasn’t right, but he couldn’t help giving a smug smile. © godfry404 / Pikabu

• I had a manager who was a tyrant and thought everyone’s lives revolved around the store, like hers did. She regularly demanded that they go to work on weekends, even though she herself always had a scheduled day off. Eventually, people started to leave.
  I had a hard time, but finally got an offer for another job. The day I was going to quit, she pulled me into her office in a panic. She told me another employee had quit — this was the beginning of November, with Black Friday right around the corner.
  I remember her coming up with a “game plan” for scheduling and reassuring me we would get through this together. I got to respond with “No, we won’t because I found another job, this is my 2 weeks.” She just stared at me, it was like looking at a ghost.
  She called me a few days after my last day asking if I could please work Black Friday because she couldn’t pull a double shift and was exhausted from working every day without coverage. I got to respond with a simple “No.” Felt good knowing she was forced to work because she forced others. © Daisy**** / Reddit
• This girl came into the pizza place that I work at with her mom. The mom left me a tip, and the girl basically said I didn’t deserve a tip because I work at a lousy pizza place and probably don’t do any work. Ouch.
  The mom replied with, “This girl could be doing absolutely nothing all day here and would still have done more than you in your entire life. Maybe it is time for you to get a job... oh wait, you can’t even put on something other than sweats to get some pizza.”
  6 months pass by... I am ordering pizza at another pizza place when the same girl walks in with a friend. She looks at me and raises her voice, saying, “That witch is the reason my mom made me get a job.” © fuzzysocks / Reddit

• A friend of my mother’s had been married to her high school sweetheart. He treated her terribly, but she was a door mat. He was cheating on her and finally decided to leave her for one of the girls he’d been cheating on her with.
  He moved out and into her swanky condo, making sure to spin the knife as many times as possible by visiting randomly with the girlfriend in the car to get his things and then mention how much nicer the condo was, etc.
  Well, ol’ girl stopped putting out and didn’t pick up after him the way that his wife had. In that year, my mother’s friend had grown somewhat of a backbone. He called her and said he missed her, wanted to know if she still loved him, the works.
  She acted like she was so enthusiastic that he wanted her back and promised this lavish dinner once he arrived, so he broke up with the girlfriend and gathered all of his things up. When he got there, she was laughing through the locked screen door and then went to the kitchen to make herself a drink and watch him — homeless and single. © Unknown author / Reddit
• I broke up with my boyfriend. I never thought people could be so petty. He actually made a list of everything he’d bought me over 2 years, put down the prices, and told me to pay him back. He didn’t even forget a bottle of water. © Overheard / Ideer
• So we’re at this party, everybody’s getting hungry, and we decide to order some pizza. The place has this deal, “If the delivery guy doesn’t make it on time, your order’s free!” Right away, half the group starts scheming how to make him late, while the other half is totally against it.
  We’re on the 23rd floor. We look down and see the delivery guy walking up — he’s got 11 minutes left. 2 of the schemers rush to the elevator, planning to tie it up so he can’t get upstairs.
  About 6 or 8 minutes later, there’s a knock at the door. It’s the courier, out of breath, saying, “Evening. Some people got stuck in the elevator, so I barely made it. Lucky for you, I was a competitive track athlete back in the day.”
  Turns out the freeloaders really did get themselves stuck in the elevator, and they sat there till morning — while the rest of us just hung out and enjoyed our pizza. © TalesVenditor / Pikabu

• I remember a former boyfriend told me their crazy neighbor accused them that their fence was on his property. So after getting the property (uh, maps? Land divisions?), he found out actually his fence was on my boyfriend’s family’s property instead, and he had to move it. He was pissed and tore it all down and put a 6-foot-high fence up. © 1_art_please / Reddit
• By a ridiculous coincidence, I ended up at the same hotel for my vacation where my boss was staying. We were both enjoying ourselves and didn’t bother each other, but when I got back, I was in for a surprise — my boss fired me, claiming I wasn’t sociable enough and that the team needed someone more socially adaptable.
  By another “ridiculous coincidence,” I happened to have photos of him getting handsy with several young women, and those photos went straight to his wife, along with an explanation of the situation.
  A week later, another surprise awaited me — my boss was fired, and I was politely asked to come back, this time to the vacant position of department head. It turned out his wife held a much higher position than he did, so she decided to “correct the injustice.” © Nу vse poymut / VK
• Back in my student days, my dorm roommate went grocery shopping with a friend after classes. My roommate filled up his basket with food, while his buddy walked up to the dairy section, twisted open a carton of milk, took a swig, and casually put it back.
  None of the staff noticed a thing. They paid for the groceries and left — no consequences for the “free sample.” Apparently this guy pulled that stunt on a regular basis.
  When I found out, I scolded my roommate for letting his friend get away with it. He just laughed it off, saying it wasn’t his problem. Well, one day karma caught up.
  My roommate came back from the store, pulled a carton of milk out of his bag — and it was already open. Whether it was a factory defect or fate, looks like it did end up being his problem after all. © EdokPechenek / Pikabu

• My boss has completely lost it. First, he asks employees to share their location, then to turn on FaceTime. And then one of the girls said her daughter came down with chickenpox, so this genius went straight to her place to check if she was telling the truth.
  Turns out he never had chickenpox as a kid. Now the entire office has a forced 21-day vacation. At least now, he takes everyone’s word for it! © Overheard / Ideer
• They sent me and a coworker on a 10-day business trip to a remote area. They promised we’d get daily allowances.
  The trip took about 20 hours, and somewhere along the way we get a call from our boss, “Here’s the thing — your trip is costing too much, so we’re cutting your daily allowances in half.” Of course, we were disappointed.
  We arrive at the address, get dropped off, and start looking for the building, but the GPS says it doesn’t exist because it’s a new development. Over the phone, they give us directions. It’s 3 in the morning, a city we don’t know, we’re exhausted, our daily allowances got slashed... we are frustrated.
  We’re wandering through the courtyards trying to find the building when I glance down and see a bill stuck to the curb. I pick it up — there are actually 2 bills, exactly the amount our daily allowances were cut. I say, “Oh, here’s our daily allowance!” — hand one to my coworker, tuck the other in my pocket. Instantly, our moods lift, and we find the building in no time. © riverside / Pikabu
• In 2011, I dated a vibrant medical student in Mumbai. She dreamed of a future with me, but my feelings didn’t match, so I left—just before her exams, which she failed. A year later, I dated a fellow CA intern for 3 years, only to break up before her finals. She struggled for years to pass. In 2016, karma turned. I fell for someone already committed. While I obsessed over her, she saw me only as a friend. The rejection broke me. Now, on the eve of a crucial exam I’ve failed for two years, all I can think about is her. I finally understand the pain I once caused. © Unknown author / Quora

And here you can read stories about suddenly uncovered family secrets.