Chapter 40
Chloe
Satanist—boygenius
“This is all that girl’s fault. I can’t believe you’ve been so stupid. I knew this was a bad idea from the start,” he snapped, his voice cutting through
the oppressive silence. His gaze zeroed in on me, pinning me to the chair like I was a child being scolded. Calvin sat beside
me, his body tense as if he were bracing for impact. “Do you know what they are saying about you? Sleeping around? Cheating?”
I couldn’t say anything, struck dumb by his words.
“I know she’s been getting close to you to use you. To make you weak by toying with your emotions, putting out all these rumors
in the press.” He spat the word like it tasted foul.
“You couldn’t know that?” I cried, hating the insinuation.
“I’ve spoken to the paper, Chloe. Threatened to sue for slander, and they weren’t scared. They’ve got a reliable source,”
Dad said.
A source? I racked my brain, trying to think of anyone who could’ve and would’ve spoken to the press, every face of my team, Inés running
through my head. Then I remembered she’d fired Maya just a few days ago.
Had she found out? Fired her for leaking stories but not told me?
“There’s absolutely nothing true about this. We’ve always been transparent with the ITIA,” Calvin said, offering a little comfort. “It’s only online. They’ve been taking any excuse to twist any news that gets out.”
“Meanwhile,” Dad said, “there’s nothing bad about Inés out there. How interesting.”
I thought of the way she’d looked at me, after the crowd incident, how worried she had been afterwards. She wouldn’t have
done anything to cause that, let alone anything to make it worse. And besides, she’d known about my medication since we started
working together. That story could’ve broken a long time ago.
Firmly, I shook my head. “She wouldn’t do that.”
“Don’t be so naive,” Dad spat. “Every week it’s something new and they’ve all served to undermine you. I’ve had to calm down
sponsors to keep them on board. And now, with these new rumors of doping, I’m not sure how I’ll manage.”
“It’s not her.” She couldn’t. She wouldn’t.
“They all want to see you fall. Where is your drive to beat them? To destroy them? Where’s the competitor I raised?”
“I’m still her.” I clung to my composure, trying to remain calm. But his words were meant to get a rise out of me. I felt
like that young girl again, made to feel as if nothing I did was good enough. That I should be training harder, running faster,
that I should be defeating every single opponent no matter what.
Dad’s jaw tightened. “We wanted to protect you. All the bullying your mom went through. These girls will walk all over you
if you allow them.”
I exhaled, remembering the conversation I’d had with Noemi at the ELITE event, the precious outside view I’d never had before.
That maybe things weren’t as I was told they were, that maybe Mom wasn’t so innocent. Maybe Dad had just used it as an excuse
to keep me under their control. To manipulate me into becoming the player they wanted. A focused tennis player, but an isolated
individual with no friends, no life, and completely trapped under her parents’ thumb.
“It’s different now.” I thought of Scottie, Dylan, Inés. And knew the truth in my words. “The women on the tour aren’t out to sabotage me. We can be friends and still be competitive. It isn’t them or me, it’s all of us.”
He groaned in frustration, running a hand over his face, before looking towards Calvin. “What have you let her drag you into?”
“Don’t blame him,” I said, my voice breaking. “For the first time in my life, I have friends. People who understand my life.”
“They are not your friends, Chloe. They are the enemy. They will all turn on you, just like everyone betrayed your mom.” He
leaned closer, his words sharp and deliberate. “I can’t believe you are being so silly, letting these people take everything
we’ve worked for from you. I don’t know what to expect next. Are you just going to sit back and allow this girl to take your
trophy from you?”
Anger flared hot in my chest, not only for myself, but for the insult to Inés.
“She doesn’t need me to let her win.”
Dad’s eyebrows shot up. Calvin tried to step in, his tone placating. “Dad, come on. Take a moment—”
“I knew from the start this arrangement was a terrible idea.” Dad ignored him, his focus razor-sharp on me. “All we’ve done
is let Chloe get distracted from our goal and help our competition grow stronger.”
“That’s not true,” Calvin retorted. “They’ve worked hard and Inés is the reason Chloe has a much better handle on her anger.
Training with Inés has given Chloe the upper hand in this tournament.”
“Stop talking like I’m not here,” I said, my frustration getting the better of me. “If Inés beats me, it’s because she earned
it. Just like if I win, it’s my victory because I worked for it.”
“I’m not saying that she hasn’t,” Dad said.
“You keep forgetting she was here before me.”
He paused, his shoulders pulling back further, as if he was readying himself to be the voice of reason, then break me down. But before he could, I heard his voice in my head, words I’d heard a thousand times growing up.
Do not fail. Do not lose. Do not be weak and distracted.
But instead of their usual effect, the crippling emotional wave that made me comply, I realized that my happiness would never
be enough for them, not if it meant not winning.
I knew I worked hard, and that even then, I could fail. Sometimes losing was all you could do. And right now, being with Inés
wasn’t about being distracted.
It was about living. And I was learning how to do that properly for the first time in my life.
“Chloe,” Dad began, his tone almost sincere, but I could see it in his eyes. The same thing that had made him an effective
and aggressive sports agent, a shark in his field, but at the same time had turned his son off playing professionally and
had broken his daughter mentally before she had even turned seventeen. “It’s not about that. It’s—”
I cut him off. “You know what . . . it doesn’t matter.” I didn’t need to hear excuses. Not anymore. My mind was made up. I
turned to my left. “Calvin?”
“Yup.” He practically jumped up at the chance to change the subject.
“Let’s go.” I nodded my head towards the door. I turned to my father again, pulling in a deep breath. “Dad, it’s been great.
I’ll catch you later.”
“What?” he yelled from behind me, Calvin following me out without a single word. He’d always have my back. “Where are you going?”
I turned over my shoulder, looking back one last time. “I’m going to go win. And if I lose, then it’s not the end.”
And then I walked out, Calvin right by my side. My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might burst through my chest.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his hand brushing my arm as though ready to pull me back if I crumbled.
I nodded quickly, afraid that if I looked at him, I’d break down entirely. Instead, I focused on walking, needing to get somewhere, anywhere, I could fall apart in private. “I’m fine. Thanks for having my back in there.”
“Of course,” he said, matching my quick pace effortlessly. “You did good, standing up for yourself like that. I’m proud of
you.”
Without thinking, I pulled him into a tight hug, clinging to him like he was the only thing holding me together. My eyes burned
with unshed tears, but I forced the wave of emotion back. I couldn’t afford to fall apart. Not now.
“I love you,” I murmured into his chest, my voice thick.
“I love you too,” Calvin replied softly. Then he eased me back, his hands firm on my shoulders. “But now’s not the time to
fall apart. You need to talk to Inés. If what Dad was saying could be true—”
“She isn’t leaking stories, Calvin,” I said sharply, cutting him off. I didn’t want to hear any counterarguments. Couldn’t
let the seed be planted in my head. “That’s not her,” I added, reminding both my brother and myself.
He held my gaze and nodded. “I know. I believe you.” Then, after a pause, he added, “But if it’s not her . . .”
“There could be someone in her team,” I said, finishing the thought for him. That would’ve made more sense.
It had to be anyone but her.
Calvin let out a long sigh, his expression tightening. “It’s a short list of possibilities, I imagine.” I bit my lip, feeling
the knot of uncertainty twist tighter. “He claimed it’s all from a reliable source. And let’s be honest, doping is a big accusation
to throw around. Dad wouldn’t say it without something to go on.”
I frowned, the weight of his words settling heavily. “He’s manipulative, Calvin. You know that. He could’ve made it all up
to drive a wedge between us.”
Calvin’s jaw tightened, his gaze dropping momentarily before meeting mine again. He exhaled and shook his head. “But if he’s
wrong, and he probably is, then there’s someone else in this industry as snaky as he is. And they’ve got their sights on you
two.”