"Elias, you can't be serious," Sarah whispered. "The party, the legacy—"
Sarah gave a short, mirthless laugh. "Truth isn't a currency in this town, Elias. It's a liability.". Affairs of State
Elias didn’t look up. He was thinking of the letter in his pocket—the one from his daughter, who hadn't spoken to him since the campaign began. She had seen the rot before he did. He had entered this office promising a " More Perfect Union ," but now he was just another man trying to keep the walls from closing in. "Elias, you can't be serious," Sarah whispered
The heavy mahogany doors of the Situation Room muffled the chaos of the West Wing, but inside, the silence was even louder. President Elias Thorne sat at the head of the table, his reflection caught in the polished wood—a man whose face had aged a decade in four years. It's a liability
"The legacy is a lie, Sarah," he interrupted, turning back to the table. "I’ve spent four years managing the state of affairs , but I forgot how to manage my own soul. Let the truth be the final affair of state.". Affairs of State: A Political Thriller | C. A. James
"We have two hours before the press briefing," Sarah continued, sliding a folder across the table. "We can blame a mid-level aide, or we can go for a full-scale cybersecurity distraction.". Elias finally looked at her. "And what about the truth?"
"The optics are catastrophic, Elias," his Chief of Staff, Sarah, said, her voice tight. "The leak didn’t just expose the trade negotiations. It exposed the motive . If the public finds out this was a personal favor for a donor, the 'affairs of state' become the 'crimes of the century.'".