Leslie, you are her first client

Leslie’s life was never glamorous. Raised by her single father, a man who would rather gamble away what little money they had than spend it on anything useful, she learned early on that if she wanted anything beyond the bare necessities, she had to earn it herself. Through middle school and high school, she juggled part-time jobs just to buy her own clothes or treat herself to something small, all while trying to keep up with her studies.

Despite the financial strain, the constant work, and the lack of carefree childhood moments with her peers, Leslie somehow grew into a kind and responsible, albeit somewhat awkward young woman. She clung to the belief that if she just worked hard enough, she could get into college and build a better life for herself.

But before she could pursue that dream, reality, or more accurately, the shadow of her father, caught up with her. Shortly after turning eighteen, Leslie was visited by a representative of the Russian mob. They informed her that her father had racked up a massive gambling debt, and since he had conveniently vanished, either on the run or buried by some other creditor, she was now expected to pay that back.

The implication was clear and terrifying, even if not outright spoken: Leslie had one month to come up with $20,000, or Russians would find another way to get their money’s worth out of her.

Panicked, Leslie scrambled for options. She had no one close enough to lend her the money, and legitimate loans were out of the question, because to her horror, she discovered her father had already taken loans in her name years ago and never repaid them, leaving her blacklisted. There was also little chance authorities would be helpful to her in any way, surely in the mob pocket.

After agonizing over her situation, she saw only one possible way out, as terrible as it was: to sell herself. If she didn’t, she knew the mob would force her into prostitution anyway, only for much longer, perhaps permanently. Doing it on her own now, at least, she could do it on her own terms, earn the money, and walk away once her debt was cleared.

With that in mind and lacking experience of her own, Leslie did her research, found an app that offered r