Chapter 610

Chapter 609:

The response was not the scandal some had anticipated. It was a tidal wave — outrage directed at Conrad Sterling, and profound, sweeping sympathy for the family he had tried to destroy.

They had chosen their battlefield carefully. In the court of public opinion, the verdict had come back unanimous.

But as they stood together in the quiet of the library, the silence of the house felt different from before. It was the silence before the aftershocks arrived.

The aftershocks came swiftly.

𝘛𝗵е 𝖻𝘦ѕ𝘁 𝘳e𝘢𝖽𝗂𝗇𝗴 𝘦x𝗽𝘦𝗋ieո𝖼𝖾 𝘰𝘯

The morning after the interview, their townhouse was besieged by a swarm of media vans and reporters. Justin’s office was flooded with calls — mostly supportive, but a vocal minority of his political opponents immediately seized the opportunity, calling for an ethics investigation and framing the entire situation as a scandal he had helped conceal.

The real test, however, came at Aaden’s private school.

Justin and Carmen drove him together — a quiet, deliberate show of unity. As Aaden climbed out of the car, a few of the other children pointed and whispered. He gripped his backpack straps, his small shoulders tensing.

Carmen knelt in front of him on the sidewalk. “Remember what we told you,” she said softly, tucking a stray piece of hair behind his ear. “You are a Collins. You are a Golden. You hold your head high. Their words can’t hurt you, because we have the truth p>

Justin placed a hand on his son’s shoulder. “If anyone is unkind, you tell a teacher. And then you tell us. We’ve got your back. Always p>

Aaden nodded, his expression grave and considered. He drew a deep breath, straightened his back, and walked through the school doors without looking back.

Waiting for him to come home that afternoon was the longest six hours of their lives.

When he finally burst through the front door, he wasn’t sad or frightened. He was indignant.

“A boy in my class said my dad was a liar!” Aaden announced, dropping his backpack on the floor with a thud. “So I told him that his dad was boring and had a weird haircut p>

Carmen pressed her hand over her mouth to hide a smile. Justin knelt and looked his son in the eye. “And what happened then p>

“The teacher made us both apologize,” Aaden said with a shrug. “But then at recess, Lily said she thought our story was like a real-life fairytale. And a bunch of other kids agreed. They wanted to know if you were a real spy, Mom p>

Relief washed over Carmen and Justin in a long, powerful wave. Children were resilient. Aaden would be all right. He was stronger than either of them had fully understood.

That evening, an unexpected visitor arrived.

Elbert Collins, unannounced, walked into the townhouse. He said nothing to Justin or Carmen. He crossed the room directly to where Aaden sat playing on the rug.

The old patriarch lowered himself to one knee, his stiff movements betraying his age. He looked his grandson in the eye.

“I saw your mother and father on the television,” he said, his voice a low, unhurried rumble. “They were very brave. Your mother is a very strong woman p>