Pseudonyms are used to protect the client's identity.

Alexis was legally adopted by her parents, Mark and Julia, in 1961.  She is one of three children in their family, with two brothers named Damon and Oscar.

Throughout her childhood, Alexis had a strained relationship with her parents and describes her experience as "severely traumatic."

In 1964, Mark began to sexually assault Alexis.  He threatened to beat her if she told anyone, including her mum and brothers.

This abuse continued until Alexis was 6 years old.

Alexis always carried the shame and guilt associated with her past abuse.

She lived with her parents until she was 16 when she began a relationship with her first partner.  They married two years later, when Alexis was 18, and had two children.

Despite her complicated past, Alexis rekindled her relationship with her parents and continued kept in regular contact.

In 1991, Alexis’ brother, Damon, had his daughter come forward to Alexis about her grandfather (Mark) sexually assaulting her.  She was 7 years old.

Alexis came forward to Damon and his wife that Mark had also sexually abused her.

Julia, Mark’s wife, did not believe them.

Shortly after, criminal charges were laid against Mark.

After the day in court, Julia was admitted to the hospital due to distress in the case.

Oscar was outraged at Alexis for coming forward with the abuse, blaming her for Julia being in the hospital.

Oscar also did not believe Alexis was abused by her father and stopped speaking to her.

Alexis did not speak to Julia again until Mark died.  Alexis sent Julia flowers shortly after Mark's funeral to rekindle their relationship.

Julia and Alexis have maintained a close relationship since this time.

In 1992, Alexis divorced her husband after years of physical assault throughout their marriage.  As a part of the divorce settlement, he received most of Alexis' assets.  She left the marriage with less than she started with. She was forced to rely on savings for her and her children.

In 2006, Julia re-married, and Alexis attended her wedding.

In 2007, Alexis faced a traumatic event.  She lost her youngest son when he was just 18 years old. He fell 24 storeys from a balcony.

Alexis heavily relied on support from her mum during this time as she was a single parent and was later diagnosed with depression and anxiety.

Alexis says she would not have gotten through this without her mum.

In 2017, Julia developed dementia and was admitted to a nursing home.

In 2018, Alexis offered to help Julia with her will, but Julia replied that she did not need help as Oscar had already taken care of it.  The matter was not discussed further.

Alexis and Julia remained close during this time, and Alexis visited Julia 12 days before she passed away in 2019.

After Julia’s passing, Alexis discovered she was left out of the will.  This was likely due to her lack of communication with Oscar, despite having a close relationship with her mother after Mark's death.