Chapter 12 - Fractured Loyalties
By Saturday morning, Mark Carter was held without bail at the county jail.
The physical attack had changed everything. The district attorney's office immediately upgraded the charges to attempted murder and felony assault with a deadly weapon.
At ten o'clock, while Naomi was sitting at her kitchen table with Julian—who had stayed on her couch all night to ensure her safety—the doorbell rang.
Naomi looked out the window.
Standing on the porch was her mother, Elaine. She wasn't wearing makeup. Her clothes were wrinkled, and she was clutching a crumpled tissue in her hand.
Julian stood up. "Do you want me to tell her to leave?"
Naomi paused, looking at the woman who had birthed her. "No. Let her in."
When Elaine walked inside, she looked around the freshly painted living room as if she were stepping into a museum. She looked frail, broken, and terrified.
"Naomi..." Elaine sobbed, taking a step toward her. "Oh, my God, Naomi... I saw the news. Are you hurt?"
"I have glass embedded in my arm, Mom," Naomi said coldly, remaining seated. "And your son tried to cave my head in with an iron bar."
Elaine collapsed into a chair, crying hysterically into her hands. "He's sick, Naomi! Mark is sick! He was drinking, he wasn't in his right mind!"
"He brought a weapon to my house, Mom," Naomi said, her voice completely level. "He unscrewed my porch light so I couldn't see him. That isn't being sick. That is premeditated violence."
"The lawyer said he's looking at ten to fifteen years in state prison!" Elaine wailed, stretching her hands across the table. "Naomi, please! You have to go to the prosecutor! Tell them it was a family misunderstanding! Tell them you won't testify!"
Naomi stared at her mother in utter disbelief.
Even now. Even after Mark had attempted to end Naomi's life in her own driveway. Her mother was still asking her to protect her abuser.
"Did you come here to ask if I was okay, Mom?" Naomi asked quietly. "Or did you come here to save Mark again?"
Elaine froze, her tears stopping mid-fall.
"You didn't call me once when he slapped me," Naomi continued, her voice trembling with decades of suppressed pain. "You didn't call me when I slept in my car. You only came here because Mark is facing the consequences of his own actions."
"He is your brother!" Elaine yelled, her tone shifting instantly into defensive anger. "You are destroying his future!"
"He destroyed his own future when he forged my signature and raised a weapon against me!" Naomi stood up, pointing at the front door. "Get out."
"Naomi, please—"
"I said GET OUT!" Naomi roared, her voice echoing off the newly painted walls with incredible power.
Elaine backed away, frightened by the sheer authority in Naomi's voice. She turned, stumbled out the door, and disappeared down the driveway.
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Julian walked up behind Naomi, resting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You did the right thing, Naomi."
"I know," Naomi whispered, wiping a single tear from her eye. "And for the first time, I don't feel guilty at all.
