Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Jami stood on the porch with a mug of coffee in one hand, watching the dust rise on the gravel road. One by one, the band’s cars came into view. Tony’s truck pulled in first, followed by Sean’s. The last to arrive were Axel and Mads, who climbed out looking as if they hadn’t slept either.
They all had the same look, a mix of tension and determination. Word had gotten around fast.
Jami turned as the screen door opened behind him. Carlene stepped out, her hair still damp from her shower, her face calm but serious. She carried her laptop under one arm and her phone in the other hand.
Axel and Mads stopped a moment, watching them. Mads grinned broadly, then continued on into the barn.
“They’re ready,” she said quietly. "And maybe they know."
He chuckled. "So?"
She shrugged but didn't say anything further.
He nodded. “We're ready too.”
They strolled to the Barn together, not touching, though he wanted to hold her hand or wrap a comforting arm around her shoulders. At this point, she was all business again, and the only one of them who would receive the comfort would be him.
Inside the barn, the air felt heavier, like everyone was bracing for what came next. They gathered around the massive wooden coffee table, each perched on the sofas. But none of them looked casual.
Tony leaned forward. “All right, fill us in. What the hell’s going on?”
Carlene opened her laptop and projected the social feed onto the TV.
“The label posted this early this morning. It’s a spliced clip that makes it look like Jami’s rebelling against them.
The caption reads, Hart’s Rebellion Begins.
It’s spreading fast. I've removed it and changed the password on the band's account and Jami's.
The first thing each of you should do, right now, is change your passwords on your socials so the label can't do anything to your accounts. "
Tony took a deep breath. "It's in our contract that they have access to the band's account."
Carlene nodded. "And I'd like you to call the attorney for the band and ask him or her to look over your contract. It likely contains one or more clauses on conduct and good faith. I'd like to see a copy of your contract myself if you're willing to share it."
Jami nodded. "I have one in the office at home."
As the members were busy changing their passwords, Jami glanced at Carlene and nodded.
Tony stood and stepped to the back of the barn near the bar. His conversation with their attorney was muffled. The other band members finished changing their passwords.
Livia’s eyes widened. “They made it look like you quit?”
“Exactly,” Jami said. “They’re painting us like we’re walking out on our contract. It’s a stunt, but if we don’t stop it now, that lie becomes the truth.”
Sean let out a low whistle. “And the label benefits from the buzz either way. Controversy sells.”
“Vivian called it narrative control,” Carlene said. “They’re betting on attention outweighing ethics. She told me so last night at dinner.”
Axel crossed his arms. “So what’s the play?”
Carlene met his gaze. “We go public. We release our own statement before the label spins another headline.”
Maddyn took a deep breath. "Are we breaching our contract in any way?"
Carlene shook her head. “Technically, no. You’re addressing misinformation. You’re allowed to defend your integrity.”
Jami looked around at his friends. “I won’t do this without everyone’s approval. This affects all of you. But I'm fighting this.”
Axel leaned back against the sofa. “You’re the face of the band, Jami. They came after you because that’s where the attention is. But if the rest of us stay quiet, we’re part of it.”
Sean nodded. “He’s right. They’re not just attacking you, they’re attacking what we've all built.”
Livia sighed. “Then we stand together.”
Carlene’s shoulders eased slightly, but her voice stayed measured. “I can draft the statement. We’ll include proof that the clip was altered, screenshots of the timestamps, and an official note from the sound engineer confirming the footage was manipulated."
Tony rejoined them and rubbed his chin. “And if they deny it? And the sound engineer is an employee of the label?”
“Then we show the metadata,” Carlene said.
“I’ve got the logs saved on an external drive.
The moment they lie, I release everything.
And the sound engineer isn't an employee of the label; he was outsourced because of the quick turnaround time.
I've already called him this morning, and I'll be meeting him in an hour to get his signature on a statement.”
Jami studied her face. “You’ve already thought this through.”
“I’ve had a few sleepless nights to plan.”
He smiled faintly, proud and protective all at once. “You’re incredible, you know that?”
A hint of color touched her cheeks. “Just stubborn.”
“Same thing.”
Axel cleared his throat. “So what do we tell the fans?”
“The truth,” Jami said. “That this band doesn’t play games with its music or its people.” He looked around the room, meeting each of their eyes. “If the label wants to make us their story, fine. We’ll write our own ending.”
Sean grinned. “Now that sounds like the Jami I know.”
Axel nodded. "Fuck yeah. But what's our ending? They can cancel the record drop. They can pull their funding of the tour."
Jami glanced first at Tony, then at the rest of them.
"I'll start Hart Records. We'll indie-produce our own records.
I've been thinking about it for a while.
Money for this tour is something we have enough of.
We don't have a large production. No big stage presence, just us and our equipment and Zeke, on payroll.
I have the money to front anything we still need. "
Tony laughed. Sean clapped his hands and joined in Tony's mirth. That spread around the group. Maddyn nodded. "That sounds like a fantastic idea. We get all the money that way." She grinned up at him. "I mean, you get all the money."
Jami laughed. "It means we'll all get more money. Before it comes to that, though, we need to see how this plays out because we're still under contract with them."
Carlene turned her laptop around. “Here’s the draft of our statement. I kept it short. You’ll all post the same message, same time, across every platform. It’ll force the algorithm to recognize our version as the primary thread.”
Tony read aloud, “‘Hart & The Hurricanes have always stood for honesty in our music and our message. Recent posts shared by our label do not reflect our words, our choices, or our values. The truth matters, and we’ll keep making music that proves it.’”
He looked into Carlene's eyes. “That’s clean. Strong.”
Carlene nodded. “It’ll buy us time until the press calls. I've emailed a copy to each of you. Get ready to post it.”
Jami reached over and placed a hand on hers. “Let’s post it together.”
They hit send together. The room fell silent as the messages went live.
For a few long seconds, nothing happened. Then the notifications started pouring in, fans flooding the comments with support, journalists asking for statements, other artists retweeting the post in solidarity.
Livia exhaled slowly. “It’s working.”
Sean’s phone buzzed. “The label just deleted the clip from their website.”
Tony grinned. “And just like that, the tide turns.”
Carlene sat back, closing her laptop. “This is just the start. Vivian won’t let it go. But for now, we control the story.”
Jami looked around at his band, at the woman beside him who’d risked everything to stand with them. He felt something he hadn’t felt in a long time, hope.
He reached for Carlene’s hand beneath the table, giving it a small squeeze. She didn’t look at him, but her fingers tightened around his.
Whatever came next, they’d face it together.