Chapter Eight #3
“I tried to turn a public situation into something that could protect your career.”
“Without asking her.”
Graham’s mouth tightened.
“You did not ask her either.”
The accusation landed.
Emmett did not defend himself.
“No,” he said. “I did not.”
Graham looked almost surprised.
Emmett picked up the crate again.
“If the offer depends on Piper performing a relationship for strangers, reject it.”
“You may regret that.”
“Probably.”
“You have spent your entire life working toward this.”
“Yes.”
“And you are prepared to walk away.”
Emmett looked across the event area.
Piper laughed at something Ava said. The sound was distant, but he recognized it immediately.
“I am prepared to stop making her pay for opportunities offered to me.”
Graham followed his gaze.
“This is not fake for you.”
“No.”
“Does she know?”
“More than yesterday.”
“That is not an answer.”
“It is the available one.”
Graham replaced his sunglasses.
“There is something else.”
Emmett waited.
“Owen contacted the university athletic department.”
Every muscle in Emmett’s body tightened.
“When?”
“An hour ago.”
“Why?”
“He requested a formal meeting tomorrow morning.”
“About the gala?”
“Yes.”
“Did he file a complaint?”
“Not yet.”
Emmett looked toward Piper again.
Graham lowered his voice.
“He says he has evidence the punch was not the first incident.”
Emmett’s attention snapped back.
“There was no other incident.”
“I know.”
“What evidence?”
“He would not say.”
Emmett set down the crate again.
Graham took out his phone and opened an email forwarded from the athletic department.
Owen’s complaint was brief.
Emmett Novak’s behavior toward me began months before the Founders Gala and escalated after he developed an inappropriate fixation on my girlfriend. I am prepared to provide video evidence and witness statements.
Emmett read it twice.
“This is false.”
“I believe you.”
“Who are the witnesses?”
“He did not name them.”
Piper approached before Emmett could respond.
She looked between them.
“What happened?”
Graham hesitated.
Emmett did not.
“Owen contacted the athletic department. He claims the gala punch was part of a longer pattern.”
Piper fell silent.
“Was it?”
“No.”
She believed him immediately.
He saw it before she spoke.
“What does he have?”
“We do not know.”
Piper held up her phone.
“I might.”
A new email filled the screen.
The venue had approved her request for the complete security footage.
There were two attachments.
One contained the recording from outside the Founders Gala.
The second was labeled:
ADDITIONAL INCIDENT, COOPER VALE AND PIPER QUINN, JUNE 18
Emmett stared at the date.
Piper looked at him.
“What happened on June eighteenth?”
“Nothing.”
“You are certain?”
“Yes.”
She opened the attachment.
Grainy footage appeared from the parking area behind Briar Bean.
Piper stood beside her SUV.
Emmett remembered the night. Her tire had been low. He had followed her outside and offered to change it.
On the video, Emmett crouched beside the wheel.
Piper stood behind him.
Then the footage jumped.
The timestamp skipped forward eleven minutes.
When the image returned, Piper was pressed against the side of the SUV.
Emmett stood directly in front of her.
His hand was beside her head.
Their faces were inches apart.
Piper stared at the screen.
Emmett stared too.
The scene looked intimate.
Possessive.
Impossible to misunderstand.
It had never happened.
Piper slowly looked up at him.
“You do not remember this?”
“No.”
The video continued.
The false version of Emmett leaned closer.
The false version of Piper placed both hands against his chest.
Then someone stepped into frame.
Owen.
The clip ended.
Graham swore quietly.
Piper replayed it.
Emmett watched the missing timestamp.
Eleven minutes removed.
Two people arranged to resemble them.
A scene built from fragments.
Just like the cropped messages.
Just like the contract leak.
Piper’s face hardened.
“This is not about proving I cheated.”
Emmett looked at her.
“No.”
She held up the phone.
“Owen is building proof that you have been stalking me all summer.”
Another email arrived while they watched.
This one came directly from the interview producer.
Owen has provided exclusive footage and requested that Emmett answer the allegations live. If Emmett withdraws, the footage will still air.
Piper read it aloud.
Emmett’s phone vibrated.
A message from the Ridgeview athletic director appeared.
Mandatory meeting tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. Do not contact Owen Keller.
A second message followed.
Effective immediately, you are suspended from all team and public hockey activities pending review.
Emmett looked toward the youth clinic court.
Children still wore Ridgeview jerseys.
Mason was trying to lift the temporary goal with two friends.
Piper read the message over his shoulder.
Her hand found his.
This time, she did not ask for cameras.
She simply held on.
Emmett looked at their joined hands.
Then at the fabricated video on her screen.
The interview was no longer about which relationship had been real.
By tomorrow night, Owen intended to convince the world that Emmett had never been her boyfriend.
He had been her stalker.