This wasn’t just a legal attack anymore.
This was a war of annihilation.
Janet Kim answered on the first ring.
“Claire, I just saw the article. We’re filing a defamation suit by noon.”
“Janet, we can’t. If we sue them for defamation while I’m under investigation for elder abuse, it looks like I’m trying to suppress evidence.”
“Evidence? Claire, you paid for that woman’s care for five years. You have receipts. You have bank statements. You have the nursing home director who will testify that you were the only family member who ever visited.”
“I know. But the optics—”
“Optics don’t matter if the truth is on your side.” Her voice softened. “Claire, you’re a soldier. You know how this works. When the enemy attacks, you don’t retreat into a defensive position. You counterattack.”
I closed my eyes. The advice was sound. But I was tired. So tired.
“Okay,” I said finally. “File the suit. But Janet, I need you to understand something. Ryan and Linda have been planning this for years. They don’t just want to win. They want to destroy me. They want to take everything and leave me with nothing.”
“Then we won’t let them.”
The call ended. I sat in Aunt Margaret’s kitchen, staring at my reflection in the dark window. The bald head. The tired eyes. The woman who had survived combat deployments, lost soldiers, and faced the worst humanity had to offer.
