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“You can’t enter my house.”
“It’s not your house,” I said.
He turned against me.
“My name is in the scriptures.”
That surprised me.
Not because I believed him, but because he said it with confidence.
Mercer lowered the order.
– Step aside, sir.
Julian didn’t move.
An officer placed a hand near his belt.
Slowly, Julian backed away.
The officers entered.
Renee followed me upstairs. The nurse examined Mom while explaining what she had found. When Mom saw the uniforms, she began to cry so hard she could barely speak.
Renee sat down next to him.
“She’s safe now, ma’am. Vance.”
Mother looked towards the hallway.
“Have they left?”
“They’re downstairs.”
“They will return.”
– Not tonight.
The nurse’s expression grew increasingly grim as she examined the bruises.
“These marks are at different stages of healing,” he said. “Some are at least two weeks old. The wrist injuries are consistent with restraint.”
Mom covered her face.
Renee gently lowered her hands.
“You have nothing to be ashamed of.”
From below, Chloe’s voice rose.
“You are making a terrible mistake!”
A member of parliament responded forcefully, ordering him to remain calm.
I stayed by Mom’s side until her breathing slowed down.
Then Renee opened the closet to find her warmer clothes.
She paused.
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