Chapter 144

EMILIA

I squint at the screen. “How bad is it?”

“Really fucking bad,” Toby says flatly, his face grim on the laptop balanced across Liam’s knees. “They’re already planning to put him in the next game. That’s in two days.”

“Two days?” I turn to Tessa, who’s half-buried under a blanket, an eye mask shoved up onto her forehead, remote in hand as she flips through channels. “Isn’t that too fast?”

“Not really,” her voice is scratchy. “The public’s on their side. No one’s officially come forward with why the victim dropped the case, so everyone’s running with the same tired narrative—she’s a liar trying to ruin a promising man’s bright future. Blah, blah, blah. You know how it goes. Chicago needs to take a stand, but no matter what, people will be pissed. At least this way, they make money. Tickets sell, the team gets attention, problem solved.”

“Except for the girl who had to back down,” Liam mutters next to me.

“I haven’t been able to reach her,” I sa