Chapter 6 - The War of the Relatives
Word of the police report spread through the extended Hayes family like a wildfire in a pine forest.
By noon, my phone—which I had turned back on to coordinate with my lawyer—was receiving a endless stream of messages. But the tone of the family dynamic had shifted dramatically.
The morning Facebook drama had stripped away the lies. Relatives who had initially taken Brooke’s side were now horrified as details of the $150,000 fraud attempt leaked out through cousin Sarah and my aunt Susan.
Aunt Susan—my dad’s older sister, a fierce, no-nonsense woman who had always seen through Brooke’s entitlement—called me at 1:00 PM.
"Jenna," Susan said without preamble. "I just came from your parents' house."
I leaned back in my office chair at work. "How bad is it?"
"It’s a madhouse," Susan said, snorting with disgust. "Your father is panicking because the bank’s legal team sent a formal notice of investigation. Brooke is in the living room screaming at your mother, blaming her for 'not managing you better.' And do you know what your mother said to me when I told her she was wrong?"
"What?"
"She said, 'Jenna has plenty of money, she could have just let us have the loan!'" Susan let out a harsh laugh. "The delusion in that house is terminal, Jenna. They truly believed that because you are successful, your hard-earned assets belong to the family collective."
"They don't," I said coldly.
"I know they don't, sweetheart," Susan’s voice softened significantly. "I am so sorry. I am so sorry for how they treated Lily yesterday. I heard about what Brooke did with the food. It’s despicable. I want you to know that the rest of the family—the ones with actual sanity—are standing behind you."
"Thank you, Aunt Susan," I felt a knot in my throat loosen slightly. "I thought everyone would hate me for going to the police."
"Hate you?" Susan scoffed. "Robert brought this on himself. He’s been playing the big shot for twenty years while leeching off anyone who would let him. You’re the only one who had the courage to stop the hemorrhage. Keep your head up, Jenna. Don't back down."
After hanging up with Susan, I received an email from my corporate HR department.
Subject: Urgent - Inquiry regarding external contact
My stomach dropped. I opened the email.
Attached was a formal complaint sent to my company's executive board that morning from an anonymous address—though the phrasing was unmistakably Brooke’s:
"To Human Resources: I am writing to report serious ethical violations regarding your Senior Risk Manager, Jenna Hayes. Ms. Hayes has recently engaged in financial extortion and public slander against elderly relatives, using corporate resources and bank links associated with her position..."
Brooke had actually tried to get me fired from my job.
She had attempted to destroy my career—the very career that provided for my daughter—out of pure vindictive malice.
I immediately forwarded the email to my employment attorney, along with the police report number and a copy of the cease-and-desist letter we were preparing.
My attorney, David Vance (no relation to the bank auditor or police detective—it was a common name in Ohio, though the irony wasn't lost on me), picked up on the first ring.
"Jenna," David said, his voice sharp and focused. "I saw the forward. Your sister just made a massive legal mistake."
"How so?"
"By sending a false, malicious complaint to your employer alleging professional misconduct, she has officially crossed from family drama into actionable tortious interference and defamation per se," David explained. "We aren't just filing a cease-and-desist anymore. We are filing an emergency ex-parte restraining order, and I am drafting a civil lawsuit for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress against Brooke Hayes-Miller."
"Do it," I said, my voice as hard as diamond. "Hit her with everything the law allows."
"With pleasure," David replied. "And regarding your father's pending criminal charges—the District Attorney’s office called me twenty minutes ago. They are officially filing two felony counts of identity fraud and attempted grand larceny against Robert Hayes. The arrest warrant will be signed by 4:00 PM today."
May you like
I leaned back in my seat, looking out the window of my office at the Columbus skyline.
The storm had officially arrived. And I was no longer running from it—I was steering it.