Mother's Arm

Elias POV

Stumbling out of Fred’s room, the hallway blurred through the tears I could no longer hold back. My chest felt like it was being ripped apart with every breath.

The fever burned hotter than ever, but it was nothing compared to the agony of betrayal now tearing through me.

Before I could reach the stairs, voices rose from below. Father emerged, walking alongside Aunt Jane and my stepmother.

Fred — already dressed — stepped out of his room right behind me, his face pale but quickly twisting into fury.

“Elias!” Father’s voice boomed through the hallway. “What in God’s name is going on here? I heard shouting all the way from my office!”

I turned slowly to face them all. My entire body trembled as I looked straight at my father, the man I had spent my whole life trying to please.

“Father…” My voice cracked badly. “Is it true? Did you know about this? About Fred paying someone to rape me? About him wanting me to get pregnant? Was that why you always hated me? Was that what you wanted all along?”

The silence that followed was suffocating.

Father’s face went completely blank, his mouth opening but no words coming out.

For the first time in my life, he looked genuinely lost for words.

Stepmother’s eyes widened in shock. Aunt Jane covered her mouth with both hands, trembling visibly.

I couldn’t hold back anymore. Rage and heartbreak surged forward as I grabbed my father’s shirt with both hands, gripping the fabric tightly.

“Answer me!” I shouted, voice breaking with raw pain. “Is this what you wanted?! For me to be destroyed like that?! To be raped and humiliated so you could finally throw me away like garbage? Tell me the truth, Father!”

“Elias, let go of me right now—” Father started, trying to pry my hands away. But I wasn't about to let go.

A heavy push hit me away from him, Fred had shoved me hard from the side, pushing me away from our father.

“Get your filthy hands off him, you disgusting creature!” Fred snarled, face twisted with hatred. “You were created by your mother — that cursed witch! Everything wrong in this family started because of her and you! You’re the reason everything is ruined! You should never have been born!”

“Fred, enough!” Father snapped sharply, turning to him.

But I had heard enough. The pain was too deep, too overwhelming. I stepped back, looking at all of them — the so-called family that had never truly been mine.

“From today,” I said, my voice trembling but clear and final, “I will no longer be called a Carter. I am no longer a member of this family. I disown all of you.”

The silence that followed was deafening.

Father’s face turned deep red with fury. “You stupid, ungrateful boy! You think you can just walk away from everything I’ve given you? I will block every single account you have! Every means of support! You will have nothing! You will starve on the streets where you belong!”

I didn’t flinch. I simply looked at Aunt Jane.

The woman who had once been like a mother to me now stepped back in visible terror, fear written all over her face as she moved further away from me, as if I were some kind of monster.

That hurt more than anything else.

I turned away from all of them without another word and walked down the stairs, each step heavier than the last.

"You had better appear on Tuesday for your meeting or else.... This is your last warning Elias!" My father's voice thundered behind me but I refused to respond to him.

Currently, the pain in my chest felt like it would kill me. I pushed open the front door and stepped out of the mansion, the cool evening air hitting my feverish skin like ice.

My phone felt impossibly heavy in my pocket. With badly shaking fingers, I dialed Emily’s number.

"Hi Emily...."

She answered on the second ring, her voice full of worry. “Elias? What’s wrong? You sound—”

“Emily…” My voice broke completely, tears streaming down my face. “I… I won’t see you again. Heaven is calling me. I can’t do this anymore. I’m sorry for everything. Goodbye.”

“Elias, wait—! Elias!” she shouted frantically, but I ended the call before she could say anything more.

I walked away from the only place I had ever tried to call home, shattered in ways I never thought possible.

My blood has betrayed me, even the earth has forbidden my existence. It's best to go back home and rest in my mother's arms.