“I’m his mother! The mother of a decorated hero!” Beatrice yelled back.
“Hero? Do you even know if your son actually went to Westbrook?” the officer asked.
The crowd fell silent.
The officer pointed at Nathan and said, “Your son never went to Westbrook The so–called confidential mission was a lie! And now, you want to smear the name of a government researcher?
“Does your family have nothing better to do? Do you even know what government researchers do or how much they sacrifice for this country? Who taught you to lie so blatantly?”
The crowd erupted again.
“What?! Is he really not a government researcher? Then, what’s all this nonsense about being away for three years?”
“Gosh! I’m a fool. So, what that woman said was true. He was taking care of his mistress, who got pregnant!”
“This mother and son pair are shameless!”
“Oh, my God! Look! Ellis Global Solutions has already released the entire recording of what happened. It’s insane!”
“That old hag needs to die first. She’s disgusting”
“I feel bad for that woman now!”
The insults hit Beatrice hard. She shook her head frantically. “No! No! That’s not true! You must have made a mistake!”
The officer snapped, “Do you think we investigate cases without evidence?”
Beatrice turned to Nathan in panic. “Nathan… say something! Tell them you were in Westbrook for research!”
Nathan remained silent.
Beatrice collapsed to the ground and broke down. The police took Nathan away. As they were leaving, he shouted, “Mom, save me! Mom, please tell Harriet to save me!”
Beatrice turned to look at me again. But before she could say anything, the crowd, who had been furious with her, began hitting her. She crashed into a hospital bed.
I grabbed Cameron’s hand and said, “That must have been hard for you.”
Cameron shook her head. “Ms. Harriet, I’ll go and check on your daughter.”
The mention of my daughter made my chest tighten once more.
