When my teenage daughter saved up all the money she could to buy a sewing machine,

she didn’t know that her stepmother would destroy it out of sheer vengefulness.

But when I heard the news, I enlisted the help of a close friend to get sweet revenge.

I never thought I’d have to go head-to-head with my ex-husband’s new wife after all

the disrespect she’d shown to my daughter over the years, but when she took things too far,

I knew I had to act. Let me back up a little.

I’m 46, and my daughter, Rachel, is 16. She’s smart, creative, and has big dreams of becoming

a fashion designer. She usually lives with me but stays at her dad’s house every other weekend.

Let’s just say those weekends aren’t her favorite.

Rachel’s dad, Mark, and I split up years ago. Our relationship now? Civil but distant.

He’s always been the “hands-off” parent — more of a buddy than a father.

He remarried soon after our divorce to a woman named Karen, and she lives up to the stereotype.