Chapter 12 - The President's Tears
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President Sterling stopped dead in his tracks. The stern, commanding expression he wore for the cameras melted away in an instant, replaced by a look of profound, unexplainable shock. His breath caught in his throat.
He stared at the young woman trembling on the floor. He looked at the shape of her face, the specific curve of her jaw, the deep, soulful brown of her tear-filled eyes. It was a face he had seen in his dreams every single night for eighteen agonizing years. It was the face of his late wife, perfectly mirrored in the features of this broken girl.
Without a word to his security detail, without a glance at the terrified Arthur or the pale Eleanor, the most powerful man in the nation dropped to his knees on the cold marble floor.
“Mr. President!” his chief of staff gasped, taking a step forward.
The President held up a trembling hand, signaling everyone to stay back.
He crawled closer to Nora. The entrance to the mansion was completely silent, save for the soft, whimpering cries of baby Liam. The President looked at Nora’s tear-streaked face, then down at the three-month-old baby clutched desperately in her arms.
Slowly, carefully, he reached out and wrapped his strong arms around both the mother and the child, pulling them tightly against his chest in a fierce, protective embrace.
“My God,” the President whispered, his voice cracking, entirely unrecognizable to anyone who knew him.
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Nora froze, completely bewildered. She was in agonizing pain, her life falling apart, and now a strange man—the President of the country—was holding her as if she were the most precious thing in the world.
“My daughter,” the President choked out, heavy tears spilling from his eyes and landing on Nora’s hair. “My sweet girl… please, please forgive me. Forgive me for taking so long to find you.”
