Chapter 20

“I’m sorry to interrupt your morning, Ms. Mitchell, but you need to see this immediately.”

Lisa Chen’s voice through the phone carried rare urgency. Emma had just arrived at her office, coffee still untouched, Monday morning quiet settling over the arena after their weekend away.

“What’s happened?”

“The Boston Herald. Front page of the sports section.”

Emma opened her laptop, quickly navigating to the newspaper’s website. The headline made her stomach drop: “BLADES OWNERS’ SECRET RELATIONSHIP PREDATED REYNOLDS DIVORCE.”

Below was a grainy photo of her and Alek entering his apartment building, timestamp clearly visible: three weeks before her divorce was finalized. During their “professional distance” period.

“Call Alek,” Emma told Lisa. “Emergency meeting in fifteen minutes. My office.”

She scanned the article quickly, professionalism temporarily overcome by personal shock. The piece cited “sources close to team management” claiming Emma and