The vultures circle

After my mother died I received a small inheritance which if I'm brutally honest - was mostly squandered on alcohol, partying, and more alcohol. I was an absolute wreck during this time of my life so didn't really care about the difference this money could have made to my future. I had just turned 20, was on the dole, spent my nights partying and my days sleeping, had no education, and this was my first experience over the poverty line. To be fair, I did attempt to be responsible a couple of times - both times ended up being just as disastrous. The first attempt was when I went into partnership with two people who I thought a) knew what they were doing and b) were "christians" which automatically ticked the trust box for me. You see, the only Christians I knew were my very good, and very loving family who wouldn't hurt a hair on anyones head. The business was a restaurant/nightclub and we built it from the ground up - blood, sweat, tears, most of my inheritance, and even a trip to the hospital from sheer exhaustion. The combination of our talents and skills seemed like a dream come true. I would run the club, having the most experience from working in the industry, he would run the business as he had recently graduated from business school, and she would take care of all the legal work, as she was a law student about to be admitted to the bar. 

To cut a VERY long story short, my two business partners, who happened to be romantically involved, turned out to be my worst nightmare.  They painstakingly managed to gain my broken trust using emotional blackmail, all the while scheming with each other behind my back to push me out of the business. I know this may seem all a bit melodramatic, I mean really, this is the kind of stuff you only see on Days of our Lives! However, predators do exist in our nice little world, yes even in New Zealand. We must never underestimate the power people can have over one another, especially when the prey is an easy target. This couple knew of my loss, recognised my weakness, and strategically placed themselves within a void that was so obviously present in my life. I was a sitting duck with something they needed, and so the game begun. Yes, there are people out there that will use the name of GOD to get what they want from you. But at during this stage in my life, I had no idea this concept even existed. Christianity was still a pure and untouchable concept to my relatively innocent mind.  

So how did these people gain my trust? Well, it really wasn’t hard given the state I was in. The woman knew I was desperate for a loving mother figure – knowing that my mother had just committed suicide, she put two and two together and quickly realised that I was desperate to feel loved and wanted. “I will never let you down Rebecca, I know what you have been through and I would love to fill that gap and be like a mother to you – you can trust me. From here on in just think of me as your mum”  On and on she kept chipping away at me until I actually started to believe her. Desperately and wholeheartedly.

I still struggle to understand why they thought it necessary to target a life that was already in tatters. I still struggle to understand how they could help me to rebuild and mend my brokenness and all the while plan to tear me down again – so meticulously.

By the end of this experience I was broke and very very scared. She took what money we did make out of the business accounts by fraudulently signing my name on the cheques and pretending to be me at the bank counter. Again she would pretend to be me and sign my name on tens of thousands of dollars worth of Hire Purchase and Contract for Service agreements, which left me 100% liable should the business fail to make payment. Which it did - simply because they were ciphering money out of the business accounts without my knowledge. Consequently, as I was told by our accountant some time later, our company was running “insolvent” and we were about to get in serious trouble with the IRD. This is just ONE of the despicable things these two got up to behind my back. To top it off, she never filed the legal paperwork that my lawyer had requested they sign and file - which proved that I had bankrolled the business and was owed that money back when the business became financially viable. 

I never got my money back, but I did team up with my lawyer who basically advised me to close the club down out from under them, then threaten to release the evidence if they tried to contest my actions. Basically, without getting into two much “business talk” I was in DEEP TROUBLE, but somehow managed to scrape out of that situation with my pride and dreams trailing in the dirt behind me. What a mission that experience was. I nearly didn’t make it out alive, such was my overwhelming pain and disgust for life. So what happened to the two scoundrels? Well, I let them get on with their sad lives as I had heard through the grapevine that they weren’t dealing with the blow to their dreams too well. Many people ask me why I didn't drag them kicking and screaming to court. The truth is, I was struggling to secure the will to live, let alone confront those particular demons. My strength had well and truly evaporated, and I simply didn't care about my future anymore.

Read on to "Why blame it on God"