Chapter Fourteen
Emmett
Emmett Novak had trusted Graham Pierce with every professional decision since he was nineteen.
By seven that evening, he was preparing to watch the man accuse Piper of buying him.
The television studio occupied the top floor of a glass building in Ridgeview, bright enough to make every private mistake look professionally lit.
Black cars lined the curb. Reporters crowded the front entrance behind portable barriers. Several held signs displaying the audience vote results before the interview had even begun.
OWEN AND PIPER: 61% REAL
COOPER AND PIPER: 39% REAL
The numbers updated every few seconds.
Piper stared through the SUV window.
“They are voting already.”
Maren sat beside her in the back seat. “The platform opened predictions.”
“That is not the same as the final vote.”
“It is still disgusting,” Ava said from the third row.
Emmett sat in the passenger seat, watching the crowd instead of the results.
Daniel had arranged a private entrance beneath the building. Security waited near the loading ramp. Sasha would appear by video from a protected location with her attorney present.
Everything had been planned.
That did not make any of it safe.
Piper adjusted the sleeve of her dark green dress.
She had chosen it because Owen once told her the color made her look severe.
She wore it like a threat.
Emmett looked at her through the mirror.
She noticed.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You have an expression.”
“You look good.”
Piper blinked.
Maren looked out the window to hide a smile.
Piper recovered. “That is not the expression.”
“It contributed.”
Her eyes stayed on his in the mirror for one second too long.
The kiss in Ava’s kitchen returned immediately.
Emmett had spent most of the afternoon replaying it with the focus he usually reserved for game film.
Piper choosing him.
Piper touching his shirt.
Piper saying mine before pressing her mouth to his.
One kiss had changed nothing officially.
It had changed everything else.
The driver turned into the underground entrance.
Security closed the gate behind them.
Piper exhaled.
Emmett looked back.
“What do you need?”
Her gaze moved toward him.
“For the next ten minutes?”
“For all of it.”
She glanced toward Maren and Ava.
“Can we have a minute?”
The driver stopped near the private elevator.
Maren touched Piper’s shoulder before climbing out.
Ava followed.
Daniel and Griffin waited beside the elevator doors with two security officers.
The SUV became quiet.
Emmett turned in his seat.
Piper looked down at her hands.
“I need you not to react when Graham lies.”
“I know.”
“No visible anger.”
“I know.”
“No staring at him like you are choosing where to bury him.”
“That is very specific.”
“You have a recognizable process.”
Emmett looked toward the elevator.
“I will control it.”
“You also cannot answer questions meant for me.”
“I know.”
“And if Owen proposes, you cannot move.”
Every muscle in Emmett’s body tightened.
Piper saw it.
“That includes your face.”
“I cannot promise that.”
“Try.”
“He is going to use a ring to trap you.”
“I know.”
“He expects the entire room to pressure you into accepting.”
“I know.”
“He will act calm and forgiving while presenting you with a future he manufactured.”
Piper’s expression changed.
“You sound angrier about the proposal than the stalking accusation.”
“I am.”
“Why?”
“Because the accusation is false.”
“So is the proposal.”
“No.”
Emmett held her gaze.
“The proposal is real enough that he expects you to make a choice.”
Piper’s gaze dropped.
“That is why I need you still.”
Emmett understood.
If he stood, interrupted, or confronted Owen, he would complete the role Owen created for him.
Obsessed.
Aggressive.
Unable to let Piper choose.
“What happens after you say no?” Emmett asked.
“I reveal the campaign.”
“Then?”
“Sasha confirms it.”
“Then?”
“We show the complete Briar Bean footage and donor records.”
“Then?”
“Daniel stops the interview if they introduce client material.”
Emmett continued watching her.
Piper’s brow furrowed.
“What?”
“You left out Graham.”
Her shoulders tightened.
“I do not know what he will say.”
“He will say you paid him.”
“Yes.”
“Do you have a response?”
“The payment came from Owen’s company.”
“He will claim it passed through the company because you wanted distance.”
“Yes.”
“He may have documents.”
“Fake ones.”
“They will still look real.”
Piper closed her eyes for one second.
“I know.”
Emmett moved into the back seat beside her.
The space between them disappeared.
“What do you need from me when that happens?”
Her eyes opened.
“Believe me.”
“I already do.”
“Even if he has contracts. Messages. Recordings.”
“Yes.”
“You cannot know what he will show.”
“I know enough.”
“How?”
“Because you would never pay someone to arrange a relationship you did not want.”
Her breathing changed.
Emmett continued.
“You tried to choose Beckett.”
“That is not romantic.”
“It is excellent evidence.”
Piper laughed.
The sound loosened something in his chest.
“He had capes,” she said.
“Four.”
“Exactly. Safe.”
“Deeply flawed analysis.”
“I know that now.”
Emmett touched the back of her hand.
She turned it over and linked their fingers.
No cameras.
No crowd.
Her choice.
“The interview does not decide what is real,” he said.
Piper looked at him.
“The vote does not decide. Owen does not decide. Graham does not decide.”
“Who does?”
“You.”
Her expression softened.
“And you?”
“I already decided.”
Piper’s fingers tightened around his.
“That is an alarming amount of pressure.”
“It is not a request.”
“What is it?”
“The truth.”
A security officer knocked lightly against the window.
Two minutes.
Piper looked toward the elevator.
Then back at Emmett.
“One more thing.”
“What?”
“If Owen says something I did not tell you, do not assume I lied.”
Emmett stopped.
“What did you not tell me?”
“I do not know what he has.”
“That is different.”
“I need you to understand that I was with him for two years. I said things when I was angry. Afraid. Confused. I defended him. I blamed myself. There may be messages that make me look weak.”
Emmett lifted their joined hands.
“Nothing you said while surviving him makes you weak.”
Piper stared at him.
He did not know whether the sentence was perfect.
He knew it was true.
She leaned forward and kissed his cheek.
Brief.
Soft.
Gone before he could react.
“For luck,” she said.
“I do not believe in luck.”
“You are a goalie. You absolutely believe in luck.”
“I believe in positioning.”
Her mouth curved.
“Then position yourself near me.”
“Always.”
The word came out before he considered whether it was too much.
Piper did not pull away.
They entered the studio together.
The backstage corridor smelled like coffee, electrical equipment, and expensive anxiety. Staff members wore headsets and moved quickly between dressing rooms. Screens along the walls displayed the interview countdown.
LIVE IN 23:14
The audience vote continued beneath it.
Owen and Piper had climbed to sixty-four percent.
Piper saw the number.
Emmett stepped between her and the screen.
“You are very large,” she said.
“Useful.”
“Occasionally.”
Daniel met them outside the green room.
“The producer signed the amended evidence agreement. No surprise media unless both attorneys approve.”
“Who represents Owen?” Piper asked.
“A Keller Media attorney.”
“Of course.”
“Graham has separate counsel.”
Emmett’s mouth went hard.
Daniel continued. “The platform insists Graham is a relevant witness because of the payment.”
“He is not a witness,” Emmett said. “He is a participant.”
“That distinction will matter.”
“When?”
“After tonight.”
Emmett disliked answers that placed justice after damage.
Daniel handed Piper a tablet.
“The campaign slides are loaded. Sasha’s video connection is secured. We have the full Briar Bean footage and the donor records ready.”
“What about Graham’s call with Owen?” she asked.
“His attorney gave written consent to use it.”
Emmett frowned.
“Why would Graham consent if he plans to accuse Piper?”
Daniel looked toward the studio doors.
“That concerns me.”
Piper stared at him.
“You think it is a trap.”
“I think Graham knows the recording makes him look better than the invoice does. He may claim the call proves he initially resisted, then say Piper approached him afterward.”
Emmett felt the anger return.
Piper’s hand touched his forearm.
Positioning.
He remained still.
The green room door opened.
Graham stood inside.
Alone.
Piper stopped.
Daniel moved in front of her.
Graham lifted both hands.
“I requested five minutes.”
“No,” Emmett said.
Piper looked at him.
He let out a breath.
“I do not want five minutes.”
“That is better.”
Graham’s face looked older than it had that morning. His shirt collar was open. No sunglasses. No polished smile.
He looked at Piper.
“I need to speak with both of you before we go live.”
Daniel stepped into the room first.
“Anything you say is on the record.”
“I know.”
Emmett entered beside Piper.
Maren and Griffin remained outside with security.
The door closed.
Graham placed a folder on the table.
“I did not agree to accuse Piper.”
Daniel’s expression remained neutral.
“The producer says otherwise.”
“Owen told them I would.”
“Did you correct him?” Piper asked.
“No.”
“Then you agreed through silence.”
Graham accepted the accusation.
“I needed Owen to believe I was cooperating.”
Emmett stared at him.
“You accepted fifty thousand dollars.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To preserve access.”
“You were my agent, not an undercover investigator.”
“No. I was an agent trying to understand how far Owen’s plan extended.”
Piper folded her arms.
“You had several opportunities to tell us.”
“I know.”
“You lied.”
“Yes.”
“You discussed me as a solution.”
“Yes.”
“You allowed Owen to believe you would help.”
“Yes.”
Emmett moved closer to the table.
“What is inside the folder?”
Graham looked at him.
“Proof the invoice was not payment for the campaign.”
Daniel opened the folder.
Bank records.
Emails.
A signed service agreement.
The fifty-thousand-dollar payment had been placed inside a temporary holding account.
No money had been withdrawn.