My parents thought they were clever, gifting me a car with a hidden dash cam to keep tabs on my every move. Little did they know, I was about to turn their surveillance into a hilarious prank to teach them a lesson about trust and privacy.

At 26, I should have more freedom. When my parents gifted me their old car, I was ecstatic—until I found the hidden dash cam. I fumed but decided to give them a show.

“Dude, you won’t believe what my parents did,” I told my best friend Alex. We headed to Inky’s Tattoos, got temporary tattoos, and bought candy cigars. That night, we went to Club Euphoria and left the car to make my mom think we partied all night.

The next morning, my mom was frantic. I showed her behind-the-scenes footage of our prank. “See, Mom? Nothing happened. Spying on me isn’t the answer,” I said calmly. She sobbed and apologized, admitting, “I’ve been so focused on protecting you that I forgot to trust you.”

My dad also apologized, promising to remove the dash cam. While my parents will always worry, they learned to respect my privacy.