CHAPTER TWO: THE BETRAYAL
1211 Words
"I can't do this anymore, Lucia."
David's words hit me like a slap across the face. We were standing in the middle of the rink, three weeks before Olympic trials, and my partner of three years was looking at me like I was a stranger.
"Can't do what?" I asked, even though my heart was already sinking. I knew that look. I'd seen it before when people found out about my last name.
"This partnership. Us. The Olympics." David ran his hand through his hair, not meeting my eyes. "I'm withdrawing from trials."
The world stopped spinning. "What are you talking about? We've been training for this for three years. Three years, David!"
"I know, but—"
"But what?" My voice cracked. "We're ranked second in the country. We have a real shot at the podium. You can't just quit three weeks before trials!"
David finally looked at me, and what I saw in his eyes made my stomach drop. Guilt. Fear. And something else I couldn't name.
"I already have a new partner," he said quietly.
I felt like someone had punched me in the chest. "A new partner? Who?"
"Sarah Martinez."
Sarah Martinez. The girl who'd been trying to steal other people's partners for years. The girl who smiled at you while planning to stab you in the back.
"When?" The word came out as a whisper.
"We've been training together for two weeks."
Two weeks. While I thought we were preparing for the biggest competition of our lives, David had been secretly training with someone else.
"Why?" I asked, hating how broken my voice sounded.
David looked away again. "Your family, Lucia. I can't be associated with the Romano name anymore. It's too dangerous."
There it was. The truth I'd been dreading since Papa's warning three weeks ago.
"My family has nothing to do with our skating—"
"Doesn't it?" David's voice turned cold. "The FBI came to see me, Lucia. They asked a lot of questions about you. About your father's businesses. About conversations they think I might have overheard."
My blood turned to ice. "What did you tell them?"
"The truth. That I don't know anything about your family's business because you never talk about it." David paused. "But they didn't believe me."
"So you're abandoning me because the FBI asked you some questions?"
"I'm protecting myself!" David snapped. "Do you know what it's like being questioned by federal agents? They threatened to destroy my skating career if I didn't cooperate."
The words hit me like physical blows. "Cooperate how?"
David's silence was answer enough.
"Oh my God." I stepped back from him. "You're working with them. You're the informant Papa was worried about."
"Lucia—"
"How long?" My voice was deadly quiet now. "How long have you been spying on my family?"
"It's not spying. I just... I pay attention. I listen. And when they ask me questions, I answer honestly."
"What kind of questions?"
David looked uncomfortable. "About your father's construction projects. About the men who come to your house for dinner. About phone calls you take during practice."
I felt sick. Every family dinner David had attended. Every casual conversation he'd overheard. Every moment I'd trusted him with pieces of my life.
"Get out." The words came out barely above a whisper.
"Lucia, try to understand—"
"GET OUT!" I screamed, my voice echoing off the empty rink walls. "Get out before I call my brother and tell him exactly what you just told me."
David's face went pale. He knew what Marco was capable of.
"You don't have to make threats—"
"It's not a threat. It's a promise." I pulled out my phone. "You have thirty seconds to get out of my sight before I make that call."
David grabbed his skate bag and practically ran from the rink. I watched him go, my hands shaking so hard I could barely hold my phone.
When he was gone, I sank down onto the ice, my legs giving out. Three weeks before Olympic trials. Three weeks before the biggest moment of my life, and my partner had not only abandoned me but betrayed my family in the process.
I sat there for I don't know how long, staring at the empty rink. All those hours of practice. All those dreams we'd shared. All those late nights planning our routines and talking about what it would feel like to stand on the Olympic podium.
All of it was gone.
My phone buzzed. A text from David.
*I'm sorry. I never meant for it to happen this way. I'll make sure the FBI knows you had nothing to do with your family's business.*
I stared at the message, anger boiling in my chest. He thought an apology text would fix this? He thought telling the FBI I was innocent would make up for destroying my Olympic dreams?
I typed back: *Stay away from me. Stay away from my family. And if I find out you've told them anything that puts my family in danger, your skating career will be the least of your problems.*
I hit send and then blocked his number.
The rink was completely silent now. Just me and my shattered dreams on the ice.
I thought about calling Isabella or Marco, but what would I say? That my skating partner had been feeding information to the FBI? That my Olympic dreams were over because I was a Romano?
Instead, I called the one person who might understand.
"Coach Martinez? It's Lucia Romano." My voice was surprisingly steady. "I need to ask you something, and I need you to be completely honest with me. Is there any skater in the world good enough to partner with me for trials in three weeks?"
There was a long pause on the other end of the line.
"Lucia, honey, what's wrong? Where's David?"
"David's gone. He's skating with Sarah now." I took a shaky breath. "Coach, I need a miracle. Is there anyone?"
Another pause. "Technically, yes. But Lucia, what you're asking for is impossible. Three weeks isn't enough time to build the trust and chemistry needed for pairs skating at that level."
"Who?" I pressed. "Who's technically good enough?"
"Well, there are a few male singles skaters with the technical skills, but they'd have to learn pairs elements from scratch. And honey, most of them already have their own competitive goals—"
"Give me a name, Coach. Just one name."
She sighed. "Alexei Volkov. He's got the strength, the technical ability, and the competitive drive. But Lucia..."
My heart stopped. "But what?"
"He's the captain of the Chicago Wolves hockey team. And his last name is Volkov."
I closed my eyes. Of course it was. Of course the only person who could save my Olympic dreams was a member of the family that had been at war with mine for over a decade.
"Thanks, Coach," I whispered, and hung up.
I sat on the ice for another hour, weighing my options. I could give up on the Olympics and let David's betrayal win. Or I could do something completely insane.
I pulled out my phone and looked up the Chicago Wolves practice schedule.
Time to do something insane.
- Writer
