Chapter 609
Chapter 608:
Justin wrapped his arms around both of them. His own eyes burned. The three of them stayed like that for a long time — a tight, unbroken circle on the sun-warmed floor.
Later that evening, after Aaden was asleep, Justin’s phone rang. It was his father, Elbert Collins.
“I’ve been briefed on your media plan,” Elbert said, his voice carrying its usual gruff baritone. “It’s a high-risk, high-reward strategy p>
“It’s the only way, Father,” Justin replied, his gaze drifting to a framed photograph of Aaden on the mantelpiece.
A long pause followed.
“When you’re a Collins,” Elbert said at last, “you don’t run from a fight. You choose the battlefield. You’ve chosen yours. Don’t lose p>
The line went dead.
𝗧𝗋𝗲𝗻𝖽𝗂𝘯𝗀 𝗻𝘰𝘃еlѕ о𝗻.со𝘮
It was the closest thing to a blessing Justin was ever going to receive from him. The battle was set. The interview was scheduled for the following week.
The day of the interview felt like the calm at the center of a hurricane. The television crew was small and professional, moving with quiet efficiency as they transformed a section of the townhouse library into a softly lit, intimate set. Diane Sawyer arrived with a composed authority that immediately put both Justin and Carmen at ease.
They sat side by side on a cream-colored sofa. Aaden was safely away at a friend’s house for a playdate. The cameras began to roll.
Diane opened gently, giving them room to settle. Then she asked the question the world had been waiting for.
“Senator Collins, Ms. Golden,” she said, her gaze both compassionate and direct. “For seven years, the world has believed a certain story. Tonight, you’re here to tell us that story was a lie. Tell us what really happened p>
Justin took Carmen’s hand. “It wasn’t a lie,” he began, his voice steady. “It was a nightmare. And Carmen was trapped in it alone p>
They told their story. They spoke of their love, the accident, and the dissociative amnesia that had erased Carmen’s memory entirely. Carmen, her voice clear and unhurried, described the terrifying emptiness of not knowing her own life — of not recognizing the face of her own child.
Then Justin laid out Conrad Sterling’s calculated cruelty in full — the blackmail, the threats against Carmen’s parents, the way he had weaponized her vulnerability to control them both. He presented the evidence not as a politician scoring points, but as a man describing the systematic destruction of the woman he loved.
The interview ran for an hour. It was raw, emotional, and devastatingly honest. They held nothing back. They closed by speaking directly to their son.
“Aaden,” Carmen said, looking straight into the camera, her eyes bright with unshed tears. “We love you more than words can say. Our story is complicated, but our love for you is the simplest, truest thing in the world. You are our everything p>
As the crew packed up their equipment, Justin’s phone began vibrating without pause. The first wave of reaction was already breaking across social media — and the interview hadn’t even finished airing on the West Coast.
JusticeForCarmen was the number one trending topic worldwide.