Chapter 5 - Shadows in the Empty Halls
The silence inside 412 Elmwood Drive was deafening.
For three days after the eviction, Naomi walked through the empty rooms of her house like a ghost. The furniture her parents had bought with her money was gone, leaving behind pale squares on the hardwood floors where rugs had sat for years.
Tessa came over on Tuesday evening carrying two large cans of white paint, rollers, and a stereo speaker.
"We are purging this place," Tessa declared, setting the paint cans on the bare kitchen counter. "Starting with the dining room."
Naomi looked at the dining room wall, where a faint smudge of dark red wine still marked the spot near where she had been sitting on that fateful Sunday.
"I don't know if paint can fix this, Tess," Naomi said softly.
"Paint is just step one," Tessa said, cranking up an upbeat rock playlist on her speaker. "Step two is reclaiming your life."
They worked until midnight, covering the dark mahogany walls with bright, clean alabaster paint. As the fresh scent of latex filled the air, Naomi felt a tiny fraction of the tension in her shoulders melt away.
However, the peace was short-lived.
At 2:00 a.m., Naomi was awakened by the shrill ring of her phone. It was an unknown number. Thinking it might be the hospital calling her in for an emergency shift, she answered.
"Hello?"
"You think you won, you selfish bitch?"
It was Mark's voice, thick with alcohol and slurred with rage.
Naomi sat up instantly, her heart slamming against her ribs. "Mark? How did you get this number?"
"I get whatever I want!" Mark slammed his hand against something hard in the background. "You put Mom and Dad in a cheap extended-stay motel! Dad's blood pressure is through the roof! If anything happens to him, it's on your hands!"
"Mark, do not call me again," Naomi said, trying to keep her voice steady. "I have a restraining order."
"Fuck your restraining order!" Mark screamed into the receiver. "You ruined my life! My investors pulled out because of the rumors you're spreading! You destroyed my business before it even launched!"
"Your business was a scam, Mark!" Naomi snapped, her anger surging back. "You were living off my paycheck!"
"I'm gonna make you pay, Naomi," Mark whispered, his tone dropping into a terrifyingly quiet register. "You took everything from me. I'm gonna take everything from you."
The line went dead.
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Naomi sat in the dark, her hands shaking as she immediately recorded the call timestamp and sent an email to Daniel Mercer and Deputy Vance.
She thought Mark was just making empty threats driven by alcohol. She had no idea that her brother was already executing a plan that would nearly destroy her professional life.
