?Chapter 687:


    Her knees buckled as she gripped her head, dangerously close to copsing.


    “Linda!” Ernest quickly moved forward to support her.


    “Stay away!”


    She violently shoved Ernest aside, backing away from him as though he were a threat she’d never seen clearly until now.


    “You—you’re telling me—you have a child?”


    Ernest could only frown and nod silently, guilt clear in his expression.


    Linda’s eyes filled rapidly with tears, anger overwhelming her features. Without warning, she lunged, gripping Ernest’s shirt tightly, her voice trembling with rage.


    “Your child? Did you really just say your child?”


    “Yes,” Ernest admitted quietly, dropping his gaze to avoid hers.


    An ufortable silence settled between them.


    Color drained from Linda’s face as she bit fiercely into her lower lip, unaware of how deeply she’d drawn blood.


    “Linda!” Ernest immediately reached out, concern etched into his brow. “Stop it! You’re hurting yourself!”


    “Oh, now you’re concerned about me?” she snapped.


    Pulling herself away from him, Lindaughed bitterly before lifting her hand and delivering a stinging p to Ernest’s cheek.


    The harsh sound lingered sharply in the air, leaving Ernest momentarily stunned by the blow.


    “Ernest!” Linda’s gaze burned into his, her control nearly shattered.


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    “You always insisted you’d never betrayed me—always iming innocence. And now there’s a child involved? How do you exin that to me? Tell me! What exactly am I to…”


    “What’s going on?” Disturbed by the noise, N stepped out, rubbing sleep from her eyes.


    “You two arguing again?”


    “N!” Linda immediately rushed to N, burying herself in herforting embrace.


    “You have to stand by me this time!”


    “Mr. Flynn!”


    Quentin came rushing urgently from below, interrupting the scene.


    “We’ve got an update about the boy!”


    “Did you find him?”


    Ernest’s gaze hardened, his throat bobbing as he swallowed.


    His eyes flickered toward Linda, hesitation gripping him like a vice. He parted his lips slightly, as if on the verge of speaking, but in the end, he turned away in silence.


    Linda’s breath hitched. Her heart pounded in disbelief.


    “Ernest! Don’t you dare walk away from me!”


    At the sharpness of her tone, Ernest faltered. His shoulders stiffened before he slowly turned back, his expression a tangled mess of conflict and regret.


    “Ernest!”


    Linda lunged forward, fingers digging into his arm, her grip tight, desperate. Her swollen, tear-rimmed eyes bore into his as she shook her head, her voice low but seething.


    “You’re not leaving. Not like this.”


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