Keen spoke in a low voice. "It''s no use telling Mom. When those men tripped me, no one stood up for her either. All they did wasugh at her—and not a single person defended her."


    He hesitated, bitterness tightening his small features. "A mom like that... she just isn''t strong enough to help me with any of this."


    He went on quietly, "And earlier, when Sheldon''s mom found out mine was Marvin''s guardian, she made that mean boy get on his knees and apologize. She wasn''t afraid of my mom at all."


    His voice wavered. "If I''d been the one who broke the rules today, would I have had to kneel and apologize too?"


    A heavy silence settled over the room. Haynes and Neville both turned to look at Mrs. Ayers.


    Caught in their gaze, Mrs. Ayers went pale as a sheet. Her knees threatened to give out beneath her.


    Keen''s voice carried on, clear and unwavering. "And Grandma said I''m the future heir to the O''Brien Group, so I should handle these things myself—instead of always running to the grown-ups for help."


    Neville''s dark eyes glittered with aplex, unreadable light.


    Children raised in love are different from those who grow up without it. That much was obvious. The O''Brien family had invested a great deal in Keen''s education, and it showed no matter where he was, his grades were always at the top of the ss.


    But for all his intelligence, he was still just five years old. Faced with something like this, even he couldn''t help but feel scared and lost.


    It was clear, too, that Keen''s stubbornness-his boldness with Ste-came from the deep well of love he''d received from her. Love was rare for him, and that made it precious.


    Things in abundance are often taken for granted. But not for Marvin. He''d learned early that anything he wanted had to be clung to, never let go.


    Keen''s words cast a hush over the room, a silence so deep it felt like the world itself was holding its breath.


    Finally, Neville broke the quiet, his voicezy but cutting through the stillness. "If a mother is mocked and looked down on, the real reason-at the rootes down to the weakness of her family. And her husband."


    He let his gaze linger on Mrs. Ayers, whose face was now ghostly with fear, before turning to Haynes.


    Neville''s words were blunt, with no trace of courtesy. "Mr. O''Brien, have you ever heard this saying? Only a weak man lets his wife be humiliated in public."


    "And if I''m not mistaken, you still have no idea why Star divorced you. You probably thought she was making a big deal out of nothing, right? Never even considered that you might have done something wrong."


    There was a pleasant, almost gentle smile on Neville''s lips, but every word was sharp as a knife.


    "The wife of the great O''Brien Group''s CEO is so powerless that any nobody feels free to bully her. Even the kids think it''s fine tough at her. And your own son gets bullied as well. Haynes, don''t you think you''ve been a pretty sorry excuse for a husband?"


    Haynes''s pupils contracted sharply. Instinctively, he shot a nce at Ste, but her expression was unreadable-calm, detached, impossible to decipher.


    Neville''s voice rang out again, cool and resolute. "But I''m not like you. I''m fiercely protective of my family. No one gets to bully my son, and no one—absolutely no one gets to hurt Star."


    His cold eyesnded on Mrs. Ayers.


    "Mrs. Ayers, aren''t you the one who''s always demanding kneeling apologies? Your son''s still a child, so I won''t hold it against him. But you''re an adult—and a mother at that. So why don''t you get down on your knees and apologize for him?"


    He let the words hang, his tone almost mocking. "Since you seem to like kneeling so much, I''m sure you''ll do it with perfect grace."