My brother left my two children outside in freezing weather while hosting a luxury New Year’s party with my money.
Meanwhile, my twelve-year-old son and nine-year-old daughter were left waiting outside in 29-degree weather for nearly three hours. Their coats were thin. Their grandfather never arrived. And my brother knew they were there. What made it worse? The entire party had been financed with money from a family account I controlled. I didn’t storm into his house or start a public argument. Instead, at exactly 7:30 the next morning, I sent our mother a short text message. By breakfast, my brother was pounding on my front door, demanding that I return what he called his money. But he had no idea what I’d already discovered in the bank records. And when he eventually dragged me into court, one question from the judge would leave him completely speechless. My name is Dana Haskins. I’m forty years old, married to an emergency room nurse named Marcus, and the mother of two wonderful children, Calvin and Molly. I work as an overnight radio host in Wichita, Kansas. After twenty years behind a microphone, I’ve learned that remaining calm often accomplishes more than shouting. Unfortunately, I had to put that lesson into practice against my own brother. On New Year’s Eve, I was broadcasting live from the station while my husband worked his hospital shift. Our children were supposed to spend the evening at my older brother Ross’s house. Ross, forty-three, had spent weeks…




















