I caught my mother's friend stealing from my brand deal money

Last year I finally landed my first big brand deal. ₦2.5 million. For a content creator like me, that was everything. My mother was so proud she told her "well-connected" friend, Aunty Bose. Aunty Bose offered to help negotiate the contract since she knew the brand manager personally.

Long story short, she collected the payment on my behalf and gave me only ₦1.2 million. Said the rest went to "tax and agency fees." I believed her because she is my mother's childhood friend. When I found out the truth from the brand directly, I confronted her. She denied everything. My mother took her side, said I was being ungrateful and disrespectful.

I had to threaten legal action before she returned the balance. That money was supposed to pay my brother's school fees. Since that day, I have never trusted anyone with my finances again. Not even family.