When my older brother boasted that his wife was expecting their fifth child, my parents rejoiced as if we had just won the lottery. My father beamed and said, “Well done, my boy,” but my mother’s gaze locked immediately onto me. “You’ll take care of the children,” she instructed, as though my life was theirs to spend.

The next three days were a whirlwind of trauma counseling, buying emergency groceries, and trying to establish a routine for four deeply confused children. Tommy was hyper-vigilant, constantly trying to parent his younger siblings. It broke my heart to see how parentified he was. Chloe’s "practice" comment echoed in my mind, but not in the way she intended. I was practicing how to show these kids what real love looked like.

On Tuesday afternoon, my phone rang. It was an international number. I let it go to voicemail. Five minutes later, my mother called, hysterical.

“They arrested them!” she sobbed into the receiver. “Maya, how could you do this?! They arrested your brother at the airport!”

Liam and Chloe had been enjoying margaritas on a beach in Cabo when their passports were flagged. Upon landing back at the international airport in our state, US Customs and Border Protection had detained them. The Oakridge Police had issued felony warrants for four counts of child abandonment and reckless endangerment.

I felt a dark, vindictive satisfaction.

“I didn't arrest them, Mom. The consequences of their own actions did,” I replied coolly.

“They are in a holding cell, Maya! Chloe is pregnant! You have to drop the charges!”

“I didn't press the charges; the State did. And I am fully cooperating with the prosecution.” I hung up and blocked her number.

Later that evening, I got a collect call from the county jail. It was Liam. Against my better judgment, I answered, putting him on speakerphone while I stood in my kitchen, watching the kids play in the backyard.

“Maya, thank god,” Liam’s voice sounded ragged, completely devoid of his usual arrogance. “Listen to me, you have to talk to the judge. Tell them you mixed up the dates. Tell them you were supposed to be there!”

“You left your children to starve, Liam.”

“I’m your brother!” he screamed, banging on the glass of his booth. “Chloe is having a panic attack in the medical wing! You are destroying my family!”