Chapter 71

Emma stared at the newspaper headline on her phone: “NHL Commissioner’s Wife Demands Special Treatment.”

“They leaked our proposal,” she said, showing Alek the article over breakfast.

“Of course they did.” Alek’s jaw was tight as he read. “And somehow our request for transparency became me giving you ‘special treatment.’”

“Listen to this,” Emma read aloud. “‘Sources suggest Emma Mitchell-Volkov is leveraging her marriage to gain unfair advantages in hockey broadcasting, raising questions about nepotism at the highest levels of the sport.’”

Charlotte looked up from her cereal. “Mama angry?”

“A little bit, sweetheart. But not at you.”

Emma’s phone immediately started buzzing with calls from reporters, sponsors, and her own team members asking for comment.

“We need to get ahead of this,” Alek said, standing to pace the kitchen. “Hold a press conference, explain our actual position.”

“Or we could just ignore it,” Emma suggested. “Sometimes