Chapter Twelve #2
“I will give one. I need protection first.”
“We can connect you with an attorney.”
“I need Owen to stop.”
Piper’s expression became colder.
“So do I.”
Sasha sat at the small table and opened one laptop.
Her hands shook.
“I started working for Keller Media last year. Mostly editing, event photography, and social content. Owen said he wanted to build a relationship brand.”
Piper laughed softly.
“He could not maintain a relationship.”
“He did not want to. He wanted to document one.”
The room became quiet.
Sasha continued.
“He said breakups performed better than couples. People watched longer, argued more, and shared private details because they wanted to choose a side.”
Piper’s face lost color.
“When did he decide to use ours?”
“Before the golf club dinner.”
Emmett watched Piper.
She wrapped both arms around herself.
Sasha opened a folder.
Inside were campaign presentations, timelines, screenshots, and engagement projections.
The title on the first document read:
THE PERFECT brEAKUP
A subtitle appeared beneath it.
One controlling girlfriend. One patient boyfriend. One public truth.
Emmett’s hands curled at his sides.
Piper stepped closer to the screen.
“He wrote this while we were together.”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Six months.”
Piper stared at the date.
January.
She and Owen had remained together until July.
For half a year, he had collected footage and private messages while deciding how their relationship would end publicly.
“He planned the breakup video,” she said.
“Every section. He tested different titles. He recorded three versions.”
“I knew that part.”
“No. I mean he tested them with focus groups.”
Piper slowly looked at Sasha.
“Focus groups.”
“Private audience panels. He removed your name and asked which boyfriend appeared more sympathetic.”
Emmett stepped toward the laptop.
“Give us copies.”
“I will.”
Sasha opened another file.
“This was the original ending.”
A slide appeared.
PHASE FOUR: THE REBOUND
Beneath it was a photograph of Emmett taken at a Ridgeview game.
Piper stopped breathing.
“He chose me before the breakup,” Emmett said.
Sasha nodded.
“Owen saw the messages where Piper mentioned you. He watched event footage and noticed you were always looking for her.”
Emmett did not deny it.
“He said you were perfect,” Sasha continued. “Quiet, attractive, difficult with media, and easy to frame as obsessed.”
Piper looked at him.
Emmett kept his attention on the screen.
“What was the plan?” he asked.
“Owen would end the relationship publicly. Piper would eventually be seen with you. He would release the messages and claim she had emotionally cheated. Then he would forgive her.”
Piper’s head snapped toward Sasha.
“Forgive me?”
“Publicly. He wanted to look mature. He said the audience would love a man who refused to attack the woman who betrayed him.”
“He has attacked me every day.”
“That was meant to make the forgiveness look generous.”
The cruelty was almost too organized to understand.
Piper lowered herself onto the edge of the bed.
Emmett moved toward her.
Stopped.
“May I?”
She nodded.
He sat beside her, close enough that their shoulders touched.
Sasha scrolled again.
“The fake relationship bet was not in the original plan. Owen created it after Graham confirmed Emmett’s image problem.”
“The anonymous donor,” Piper said.
Sasha turned away.
“It was Owen.”
Piper closed her eyes.
Emmett felt the impact move through her body.
Every additional match.
Every new condition.
Every time the scholarship total encouraged her to stay inside the arrangement.
“He used the kids,” she whispered.
“He used a company called North Shore Community Partners. It is registered through Keller Media’s attorney.”
“Did Paulson know?”
“No. The money was real. Owen wanted the donations because it made the bet impossible to criticize.”
Piper looked toward Emmett.
“He knew I would not walk away from the scholarship.”
“Yes,” Sasha said. “He had files on everyone. What they cared about. What would make them react.”
Emmett’s voice lowered.
“What was mine?”
Sasha’s expression became uncomfortable.
“Piper.”
The answer settled heavily.
Piper looked at him.
Emmett did not look away.
“What did he think I would do?” he asked.
“Agree.”
“Then?”
“Become protective. Fight with him. Lose control publicly.”
“The gala punch happened before the bet.”
“Owen did not expect that. Once it happened, he knew he could build the stalking story.”
Piper’s hand found Emmett’s on the bed.
Not for the cameras.
Not because anyone asked.
Her fingers slipped between his.
Sasha looked at their hands.
“That part was not supposed to be real.”
Piper’s grip tightened.
“What part?”
“You.”
Sasha gestured between them.
“Owen believed Emmett wanted you. He did not believe you would want him back.”
Emmett looked at Piper.
Her face had become unreadable.
Sasha continued quickly.
“He said you liked attention from men who were useful, but you would never choose someone who could not improve your public image.”
Piper’s eyes hardened.
“He did not know me.”
“No.”
Sasha opened another folder.
“I started realizing that after the breakup video. He wanted me to edit clips where you were crying, but most of the footage showed you working, helping volunteers, or taking care of him.”
“You filmed me crying?”
Sasha looked ashamed.
“Once. At his apartment. The camera was inside a bookshelf.”
Emmett stood.
Piper’s hand tightened around his.
He looked down.
She shook her head.
Do not.
He sat again.
Sasha flinched anyway.
“I deleted the file,” she said.
“Did he have copies?” Piper asked.
“Probably.”
Piper’s voice remained steady through visible effort.
“What else?”
Sasha inserted a small drive into the laptop.
“Everything I saved. Payment records. Messages. Original footage. The fake campaign proposal. The donor information. The audio edits.”
“And the live interview?” Emmett asked.
Sasha’s face changed.
“That is the final phase.”
Piper looked toward the campaign file.
“What happens tomorrow?”