She refused Dad's Kindle gift, then casually asked sister-in-law to 'return it' 14 years later — her FIL hinted she maliciously comply

The smell of grilled burgers and the easy hum of a family barbecue are usually the backdrop for standard small talk, not a sudden heist. Yet for one person (u/SeepyWeepy), this turned out to be true when a casual conversation about "The Witcher" series turned into a brazen demand for the return of a decade-old first-generation Kindle. This turned a family gathering into a lesson in petty property warfare. The person, following this entire exchange, took to Reddit to detail the story on July 1, 2026, in a post that has since gained over 4,400 upvotes.

A fateful workplace prize

The entire story started in 2012, when this person's father-in-law won a first-generation Kindle through a workplace raffle. Having no immediate need for the device, he first offered it to his daughter. However, when she flatly declined the offer, he extended the gesture to his son's partner, who eagerly accepted the offer. They then spent the next several years cherishing the device. They navigated the insane library and built their own collection of reads, filling the device to its maximum capacity. 

Ambush at the barbecue

However, after years of using the device and reading everything from highly anticipated books to notoriously bad ones, a conversation at the family barbecue with the sister-in-law took a sharp turn. After asking about "The Witcher" series, the sister-in-law, instead of asking for a reading recommendation for her husband, who wanted to start reading, demanded the device. "That was mine, but Dad gave it to you, so when you're ready, just drop it off at my place," she told this person. 

Consulting the FIL

Obviously, the demand got on the person's nerves, who straight up called up the original owner, the father-in-law, to consult about the matter. They wanted to confirm if they were interpreting the situation correctly. Unsurprisingly, the father-in-law reaffirmed that the Kindle belonged to them. Additionally, he also suggested that if they wanted to "return" it, the sister-in-law didn't specify the exact condition it should be in, giving this person some room to mess with the sister-in-law.

Wiping the slate clean

That's all the person needed to hear. Although they decided to return the Kindle to their sister-in-law, they first restored it to its factory settings, which meant it was empty, just like it was at first. They then dropped it off at her door, and sure enough, the sister-in-law was furious about this. "She told me I wasted an ebook cuz she had to throw it away," the person noted.

Borrowing leads to fights

Nonetheless, this incident highlights that informal lending remains a huge issue of conflict between family members. In fact, according to a survey held by JG Wentworth, 46.6% of people who have borrowed or lent money or other things to family or friends confirmed that it has caused a conflict amongst them, hampering their relationship. Moreover, 75.1% of participants also revealed that because of this lending and borrowing, they are no longer as close to the person they exchanged goods with. 

Should've kept it

People believe that this person should not have returned the Kindle at all. u/redskyatnight2162 wrote, "I don’t understand why you didn’t just tell her to kick rocks, and keep your Kindle." Meanwhile, u/tulamidan suggested, "This was really dumb on two sides. You didn't have to do anything — and why did she 'have to throw it away?' If she wanted to use it, she could just have put books on it."

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