I am a 32 years old woman who survived the mean and dangerous life of prostitution led by my stepmother.
My mother died in child’s birth and my father cared for me as a single parent. At age 6, this woman started coming to our home; she would stay over with my dad most times . She was always nice to me in front of my dad, but would be nasty to me when he wasn’t there. She started living in our home and it made me unhappy because she never treated me good. By the time I was 8 years old they got married and she became my stepmother from hell.
My father was a Mason so he would work out sometimes. She would overwork me and curse me out calling me names that are not nice. When my father would come home, I would tell him and she said I was lying. I don’t know what that woman did to my dad because he was a changed man and would believe everything she said. My father would tell me that I must learn to love her because she is now my mother; how dare he refer to that cruel woman as my mother. The older I got, the worse things got at the house.
My father died of an unknown illness when I was 14 years old and I was stuck with the evil woman. His will stated that I should live with her until I am 18 then inherit the house among other things. She was mad about this and said it will not go like this. She would make me do all the housework while she smoked and watched TV. She did not work when my dad was alive and she still was not working..
A Couple months after my father died, different men would come by the house; they would go to her room and stay for short times then leave. Some of these men were friends of my father so I thought they were comforting her; but why in the room every time? One man in particular, usually scare me because he would look at me and lick his lips; I would run to my room and close the door. I usually cry and count down the days until I reached 18.
One night I was sleeping and I felt a heaviness on me; when I opened my eyes it was that same man on top of me. I remember crying out for my stepmother, but he told me she won’t help because he paid her big money to take my maiden. I cried and fought so hard, but that only made that monster more excited. That night, I lost my virginity to a monster who paid my stepmother to rape me. The pain and suffering was one I would wish on no other human much less 15 years old girl. The morning after, ‘Cruella’ came to my room and told me that it will feel better soon and I have to learn to work my body for money; that’s what she did with my father. That statement ripped my little heart into pieces. She also threatened me not to tell anyone what was going on or she would kill me and take all of my inheritance. The jobs started getting more and I started getting numb to the abuse; my stepmother literally turned my family’s home into a ‘whore house’. The things I would endure, the nasty men who had a funky scent; it was just crazy. More girls (over the age of 20) started living there and it was disguised as a massage parlor. She would pay the girls, but would tell me she was saving up my pay for when I was 18; whatever necessities I needed she would buy.
I was now 16 years old when one day a group of 3 gentlemen came by requesting 3 girls to go to a hotel on the Northcoast with them. It was me and 2 other girls who were there at that time. I heard her telling the men she have 2 girls available and she will call for a third one to come in; a voice told me to go out there and that I did. This particular one of the 3 said he will take me and she said no, I was not willing. I told her I would go and she was seeing red because she never allowed me to leave the house. I ran to the room and packed what I could because I didn’t want her catching me in there to beat me. We left with the men in a minivan for the hotel; it felt so good to be out of that monster hole. The guy who requested me came and sat beside me and told me he was not going to hurt me, but he is going to help me. I asked him what he meant and he told me that since he saw me ran out the room, he knew I was crying out for help. I told him I did not want the girls to hear and tell her back, so we would talk at the hotel.
We went to a very big hotel and it was like heaven to me. I just absorbed all the fresh air and cleanliness I could before the time came back to go in the hole. For the first 2 days I poured it all out to this stranger (I thought what was the worst that could happen) and I saw a tear escape his eye. I remember him saying to me, I will not be going back there. He told me that he lived overseas and would be going back the following week, but he had some family that he would let me stay with. He told his friends that he was going to stay at the hotel with me for 2 more days and called my stepmother to request the time. When his friends and the girls left, we checked out and went to his Aunt’s home. He told her what had happened and she welcomed me with open arms; that woman took me in and cared for me. It so happened that she worked with a legal agency so she reported everything to the law enforcement. They developed a case on her and arrested her. I was awarded the house and other things my father left in the will for me. I was sent back to school and later went to University. The guy who rescued me visited the house many times, but he would just give his aunt the necessary funding to take care of me.
I graduated University at age 25 at the top of my class. My rescuer came to my graduation and as a gift he said he would grant me one wish. My wish was for my family’s home to be used as center of support for girls who encounter any abuse. He said that was the most thoughtful thing he has ever heard and that he and his friends would get it done. They did make it happen; they renovated the home and it was turned into a care center. The day it happened was the happiest day of my life, well second to my wedding. Yes at the age of 27 I got married to my rescuer at a small romantic ceremony and I now live with him and my twin daughters in Atlanta.
Identity Withheld