My Parents Expected Me To Cancel My Honeymoon To Babysit My Younger Siblings For Free.

Dr. Griffiths, in an emergency session that evening from our hotel in Inverness, was more direct. “Your mother is bluffing,” she said flatly. “She’s trying to scare you into coming home, but she’s actually creating a paper trail that could backfire spectacularly because she’s essentially documenting that she can’t parent her own children without her adult son’s unpaid labor. That’s not going to look good if any agency actually investigates”.

She was right about the bluff. No one from Adult Protective Services ever called, but the threat had been made and it sat in my stomach like poison.

2 days later, September 3rd, I got a call from an unknown Oregon number. I answered wearily, expecting maybe a telemarketer or wrong number.

Instead, a professional male voice said: “Is this Alex Brennan?”

I confirmed. “This is Troy Vandermir from Child Protective Services. I’m calling because we’ve received a concerning report about minors in your household”.

My brain stuttered over the words “minors” and “household”. “I’m sorry,” I managed. “I don’t have any minors in my household. I’m on my honeymoon in Scotland. Are you sure you have the right person?”

Troy Vandermir sounded puzzled. “The report lists you as the primary caregiver for three minor siblings: Jordan, Riley, and Aninsley Brennan. It states that you’ve suddenly abandoned care without making alternative arrangements, leaving the children in an unsafe situation”.

The pieces clicked into place with sickening clarity. “My mother filed that report,” I said. “And she lied. Jordan and Riley are 19 years old. They’re adults. Aninsley is 17, but she’s with our parents who are her actual legal guardians. I’m their 27-year-old brother. I have no custody, no guardianship, no legal responsibility for any of them. I’m on my honeymoon with my wife”.

There was a long pause. “Can you explain your relationship with your siblings and your role in the household?” Troy asked carefully.

So I told him everything. The parentification starting at age 9, the 18 years of unpaid child care, the boundaries I’d set before getting married, the honeymoon we’d planned for months, my mother’s demand that I cancel everything to babysit teenagers who didn’t need intensive care, the escalating harassment and threats.

Troy listened without interrupting, and I could hear him typing notes. When I finished, he said something that changed everything.

“Mr. Brennan, I need to be very clear about something. The report we received was filed by your mother. In attempting to make you look neglectful, she’s actually made several concerning admissions about her own parenting”.

He explained that CPS would be conducting a home evaluation within 48 hours. They’d interview the kids, assess living conditions, evaluate whether appropriate care was being provided.

For the record, Troy added: “You’re not in any legal trouble. You’re an adult sibling with no custody arrangement. Your mother’s claim that you abandoned minor children is factually inaccurate. Two are adults and one is in her legal custody, but her admission that she can’t adequately care for her children without your constant presence is deeply concerning”.

We hung up. I immediately called Dr. Griffiths again.

“CPS is investigating my parents,” I said, still trying to process it. “Because my mother tried to report me for not babysitting”.

Dr. Griffiths was quiet, then said something I’ll never forget: “Alex, if CPS finds problems, it’s because there are problems. Not because you failed to hide them, but because your parents have been neglecting their children and using you as cover. You’ve been so competent for so long that the system never saw what was really happening beneath the surface”.

She was right. I’d been the band-aid over a wound that never healed.

And now that I’d finally pulled away, the infection was visible. CPS conducted their home visit on September 5th.

I wasn’t there; I was in a small hotel in the Highlands near Loch Ness, trying to enjoy a distillery tour while my stomach churned with anxiety. Troy Vandermir called me afterward with his findings.

“Mr. Brennan, I wanted to update you personally. We conducted an unannounced home visit this morning at 10:15 a.m. We found several areas of concern”.

He listed them in that careful, clinical way social workers use. The house was disorganized and dirty: dishes stacked in the sink, overflowing laundry, minimal fresh food in the refrigerator.

Riley answered the door because both parents were still asleep at 10:15 a.m. on a Thursday. Aninsley had missed three days of school that week with no documented excuse or parent contact.

“We interviewed each minor child individually,” Troy continued. “They all stated that you had historically been responsible for most household management, child care, and emotional support. They described feeling confused and overwhelmed by your absence because they didn’t know how to handle basic tasks your parents never taught them”.

“The 19-year-olds reported being expected to fill your role but having no guidance or support. Your 17-year-old sister reported feeling abandoned by both you and your parents”.

His voice softened slightly. “To be clear, she clarified that she understands you’re on your honeymoon and thinks your mother is being ridiculous, but she feels abandoned by your parents who seem unable or unwilling to engage with parenting now that you’re not there to manage everything”.

Troy explained that CPS was opening a case. My parents would be required to complete a parenting capacity assessment, attend mandatory family counseling, and demonstrate they could meet their children’s basic needs without relying on their adult son.

“If they don’t comply or if Aninsley’s situation deteriorates once the twins move out—which they’ve indicated they’re planning to do—we’ll need to consider alternative placement for her”.

The weight of it settled over me. My absence had revealed such profound parental inadequacy that the state was intervening, and my mother had caused it herself by trying to weaponize CPS against me.

Legal Lines in the Sand and the Path to Freedom

The calls from my parents stopped after the CPS visit. The silence was eerie, unsettling, but the “flying monkeys” intensified.

Family members I barely knew were calling Lily’s workplace, trying to get her fired for “corrupting me and destroying our family”. Someone posted on my firm’s Facebook page, calling me an “abusive brother who’d abandoned his disabled sister”.

My mother had apparently launched a full-scale PR campaign, telling everyone who’d listen that I’d refused to help during a medical emergency, that I’d sicked CPS on them out of spite, that I was a “monster” who valued money and vacations over family.

The lies were so pervasive, so confidently told, that some people believed them. Dr. Griffiths had predicted this.

She’d said: “When you stop enabling dysfunction, the dysfunctional people will rewrite history and paint you as the villain. Because accepting that they’re the problem would require self-reflection and change, which they’re incapable of. It’s easier to blame you”.

I knew she was right intellectually. But reading messages from cousins and aunts calling me evil, seeing my name dragged through social media mud, feeling my reputation shredded by people who didn’t know the truth—it hurt in ways I wasn’t prepared for.

On September 8th, 6 days before we were scheduled to fly home, I received an email from an attorney named Michael Reeves with Reeves Family Law Group. The subject line said: “Legal consultation of Brennan family harassment case”.

He explained that he specialized in family law, particularly cases involving parental alienation, exploitation, and harassment. He’d been referred to me by Dr. Griffiths, who thought I might need legal representation given my parents’ escalating behavior.

“I’ve reviewed the documentation Dr. Griffiths forwarded with your permission,” he wrote. “You have an extremely strong case for harassment, defamation, and potentially parental exploitation. I’d like to discuss your options in a complimentary consultation”.

We had that consultation from a pub in a small Highland village. Lily and I huddled around my phone at a corner table while Michael Reeves laid out our legal options in clear, precise language.

“Bottom line,” he said, “your parents have no legal claim on your time, money, or labor. You are not responsible for their children. You never were. Any suggestion that you have legal obligations to provide childcare is completely baseless”.

He explained that the defamation—telling people I was abusive, neglectful, cruel—could potentially be actionable if it damaged my professional reputation, though those cases were hard to prove.

“The harassment campaign through third parties—getting family members to flood your phone and contact your workplace—could support a restraining order. I recommend documenting everything, which you’re already doing,” Michael said.