I still hadn’t heard from my niece, until one day I received a random payment from her in the amount of $200. I was confused. This was hugely different from the agreed upon schedule which made her first payment $688. When I texted her about the difference she owed, she said she didn’t recall asking for the rent money and only considered the furniture when she made the payment. She eventually acknowledged the full amount, so I chose to believe it was a misunderstanding.
I didn’t hear from her often, so I would do little things to check-in. One day I took her out for lunch to see how she was adjusting. She told me work was okay and that she was still using the therapy resources that I provided. I asked if she’d spoken with her mother, she said no and that she really didn’t expect to hear from her. I told her not to worry and to stay focused on her future.
Time would pass and I knew my niece was okay when I received her monthly payments for the furniture. Although she and my daughter were roommates, they didn’t see each other much. Most of her time outside of work was spent with her new boyfriend. He would drive from Warner Robins, Georgia on her days off to spend the night at the girls apartment.
Things began to shift when the girls started looking for a new place to live. My niece told my daughter she had a sugar daddy, and that she was going to spend more time with him instead of her boyfriend in order to get money for her portion of their move. We were shocked, to say the least. It became more concerning when she tried to convince my daughter that “the life really isn’t that bad.” She said, most of the time she was with her pimp in California it was like being with a boyfriend; and that most of the men she slept with were like friends that needed to talk. I was angry. Not because she returned to prostitution, that was her choice, but because she tested my daughter to see if she would be attracted to the lifestyle.
My daughter responded well by telling her it was time for them to part ways. My niece didn’t seem to mind the news, so the girls began to round up their last couple of months together. All was fine until one day I received a call from my brother and his daughter; they were clearly upset and knew I would be too. Just days prior, my niece published a "self-help journal" full of half truths and blatant lies. She tells the story of her unfortunate upbringing with her mother; which left her homeless as a teenager. However, she goes further to claim that she had no one to turn to and no one would help her; so she created a plan for success that she can teach others.
And just like that, as my family continued to read my nieces journal, it became clear that her tricks were not only her johns, they were her new readers.
S
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