Chapter 9 - The Street BelowBy mid-morning, the drizzle had cleared, leaving the city pavements glistening under a pale grey sky. The crisp autumn air bit at the back of Evelyn’s neck as she walked with Leo toward the private academy six blocks away.
Navigating the public eye together. Nguồn: MilosStankovic / Getty Images
Holding Leo’s hand tightly in her own, she kept a steady pace along the stone facades of the upper neighborhood. She kept her chin high, ignoring the subtle turns of heads from passersby and the sudden flash of a long-lens camera from a parked sedan across the street.
"Walk straight, Leo. Eyes forward," she instructed softly, reinforcing her grip.
"Is that a photographer?" Leo asked, shrinking slightly closer to her side.
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"Doesn't matter who it is," Evelyn replied, her tone firm yet reassuring. "We have somewhere to be, and they are just noise."
Every block felt like a gauntlet. In the legal world, courtrooms were structured environments with rules of evidence and procedure; on the street, the court of public opinion operated on speculation and scandal. She knew that protecting her son meant building an invisible shield of normalcy, even as the ground beneath their feet continued to shift.
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