We allowed my husband’s younger sister (20) to live with us rent-free after she started working and needed a place closer to her job. In return, we asked her to babysit our 2-year-old twins on Saturday nights so we could go out. At first, she pushed back, saying, “I have a life! You should pay me for my time.” We said no, and she reluctantly agreed. For a while, everything seemed fine.
One Sunday night, we came home to find her in tears and the house in complete disarray. She claimed she had put the twins to bed, gone to sleep herself, and later come downstairs for water—only to discover the place had been vandalized. We were suspicious, especially since nothing of real value was missing, except the $400 we had tucked away in our room.
Before calling the police, we checked our entrance cameras—and what we saw left us horrified.
There was no break-in. Shortly after we left, her boyfriend showed up. He stayed for hours, and she looked perfectly happy, even kissing him by the front door before he left—just minutes before we returned. It was clear: she had lied, and together they staged the “robbery” to steal from us, all because we wouldn’t pay her to babysit.
Now my husband refuses to involve the police because it’s his sister, but I don’t want her anywhere near my children or in our home again. We gave her a safe place to stay, and she repaid us with betrayal.
I can’t stop wondering—did we mishandle this somehow, or was this simply her choice to deceive us?