A month had gone by, and Nia had not heard from Dan. For the next several days, she e-mailed him but never got a reply. She called his company but kept getting his voice mail. She thought it was time to go to Texas and was able to take some personal days.
She made flight reservations to leave Friday morning, arrived in Texas that afternoon and took a cab to Dan's company, which turned out to be a mail drop service.
When she inquired about Dan's Real Estate Investment Company, the clerk informed her that the company had closed its box, and no forwarding address was on file.
It did not take a rocket scientist to guess what had occurred. She was taken in again and started to wonder, What was it about me that attracted these underhanded men into my life, and what signals did I release that would cause me to be deceived not once but twice?
After Toto's betrayal, she thought for sure she was more levelheaded and astute to reading people. Filing a complaint against Dan or trying to get her money back was useless. For all she knew, Dan was not his real name.
He was probably in another state or country, under an assumed name, and back on the Internet attempting to defraud another poor soul out of her money.
She was able to get a flight out that evening. On her way back home, she made a mental note to herself: There will be no more searching for romance on the World Wide Web, and I can be miserable by myself.