Neighbour noise complaint turns out to be ex's cousin in custody sabotage

Mia Tran was already running late when she slid into her desk at the open-plan office, coffee in one hand, phone buzzing with a group chat she should have muted months ago. The chat was called "Wedding B Team"—leftover from a 2022 wedding she’d been a bridesmaid in—and it usually pinged with baby photos and bad memes. But this morning, someone had screenshotted a private message she’d sent to Priya Kapoor last week, the one where she’d typed: “neighbour had another 2am rave, I’m losing my mind, if I lose Lily I will literally combust.”

The screenshot was captioned: “Mia’s ‘stable home’ for custody, btw.”

Priya: Mia wtf is this
Priya: Who posted it
Mia: I don’t know but I’m gonna be sick
Priya: It’s been shared into the main office chat too
Priya: Management are “reviewing”

Mia, 9:14am: Brett sent this to his lawyer. He filed an urgent application this morning.
Mia: The neighbour swore an affidavit saying I threatened him
Mia: I never threatened him. I asked him to turn his music down at 2am.

Priya: Hang on. Let me look at the neighbour’s name.
Priya: Daniel Chen.
Priya: Mia. Daniel Chen is Brett’s cousin.

Mia: What.
Mia: That’s not possible. Daniel Chen is the guy who moved in last year.
Priya: Brett’s mother’s maiden name is Chen. I’m checking the electoral roll. Same surname, same address history.
Priya: He changed his name by deed poll six months ago.

Mia, 9:47am: So the whole thing—the noise, the complaints—Brett set it up?
Priya: The landlord’s eviction notice is dated 2 March. You complained about the noise on 4 March.
Priya: He backdated it. I’ve got the email timestamp from the rental tribunal.
Priya: They’re colluding.

Mia: I need to call my lawyer.
Mia: Priya, thank you.
Priya: I’m sorry I didn’t see it sooner.
Priya: The office chat is toxic. I’m deleting it.
Mia: Don’t. I need the screenshots for evidence.

Later that afternoon, Mia filed a cross-application for sole custody and a protection order against the neighbour. Priya forwarded the rental tribunal timestamps and the electoral roll search to Mia’s lawyer. The office group chat was deleted by management within the hour, but the damage was done—Mia’s trust in her colleagues had evaporated overnight.

At the interim hearing a week later, the magistrate dismissed Brett’s application with costs, noting the “deliberate fabrication of evidence.” Interim sole custody was granted to Mia, and an independent investigation into the landlord’s conduct was ordered. Walking out of the courthouse, Mia’s phone buzzed one last time.

Priya: Brett filed a notice of appeal.
Priya: But the magistrate also ordered a report on his conduct.
Priya: You’re going to be okay.

Mia didn’t reply. She was already drafting a text to her landlord—a formal request to produce the original eviction notice. The fight wasn’t over, but for the first time in months, she wasn’t fighting alone.