PLAYING FOR KEEPS

CHAPTER 5

CHARLIE

"No!" I screamed.

But I could only watch as Victoria tilted the box.

My mother's ashes began to pour onto the filthy concrete floor.

Julian grabbed his phone, already dialing. "I'm calling the police."

"It'll be too late," Marcus said, his voice tight. "That's a live feed. By the time they get there, it'll be done."

Daniel was already moving. "What's the address?"

I gave it to him, my voice barely working.

"I'm ten minutes away. I can stop her." He looked at Julian. "Keep Charlie here. Don't let her see this."

But I was already grabbing my jacket. "Like hell. Those are my mother's ashes."

Julian caught my arm. "Charlie, that's what they want. They want you emotional. Want you to do something stupid they can film."

"I don't care! That's all I have left of her!"

"Then let me handle it," Daniel said. "Please. Trust me."

I looked at his face. At the determination there. At something deeper I didn't want to name.

"Go," I whispered. "Hurry."

He left at a run.

Marcus was typing frantically. "I'm trying to trace the feed. Figure out who else is watching."

Melissa laughed from her corner. "Thousands of people by now. Victoria made sure of that. She's streaming it everywhere."

I lunged for her.

Julian caught me, holding me back. "She's not worth it."

"She desecrated my mother's grave!"

"I know. I know, baby." He turned me to face him, his hands on my face. "But if you touch her now, they'll twist it. Make you look violent. Crazy. Don't give them that."

Tears streamed down my face. "That's all I had left of her, Julian. All I had."

"We'll get it back. I promise."

On Marcus's screen, the live feed continued. Victoria had poured out half the ashes. She was laughing. Talking to the camera.

Marcus unmuted it.

Victoria's voice filled the room. "This is what happens when gold diggers try to play in our world. Charlie Wade thought she could use her dead mother's sacrifice to guilt her way into the Valentino family. But we see through her. And now everyone else will too."

She poured more ashes.

I felt something break inside me.

Julian's phone rang. His father.

He answered on speaker. "Now's not a good time."

"Make time. I'm watching the same feed everyone else is. What the hell is going on?"

"Victoria and Melissa are trying to destroy Charlie."

"And doing a damn good job of it. Son, this is out of control. The fake paternity test is already on gossip sites. The video has been viewed a million times. Your basketball contract is in jeopardy."

"I don't care about the contract."

"You should. This is your future."

"Charlie is my future," Julian said, looking at me.

Silence on the other end. Then, "You really mean that."

"Yes."

Another pause. "Then I suppose I should help. Give me five minutes."

He hung up.

I stared at Julian. "What just happened?"

"I think my father just chose our side."

Marcus's laptop beeped again. "Daniel's there. Look."

The feed showed Daniel running into frame. He tackled Victoria, grabbing the box from her hands.

But it was too late. Most of the ashes were already scattered.

Victoria was screaming. "Assault! He assaulted me! Someone call the police!"

Daniel ignored her, carefully trying to gather what remained.

My heart shattered watching him.

Then police sirens filled the audio. Real ones.

Marcus looked confused. "They got there fast."

"Too fast," Julian said slowly. "Unless someone called them before this started."

His phone rang again. His father.

"The police will take Victoria into custody for destruction of property and harassment. I had someone monitoring her social media. When the feed went live, I made the call."

Julian's mouth fell open. "You helped us?"

"I helped my son. There's a difference. Now, about this mess. I'm calling a press conference for both of you. Tonight. You're going to tell your story before anyone else can twist it further."

"Dad, I don't think Charlie's ready for that."

"She told a TMZ reporter she turned down my money. She's ready." A pause. "She's tougher than I thought. Don't screw this up, Julian."

He hung up.

I looked at Julian, still crying. "A press conference?"

"You don't have to. We can find another way."

But I thought about Victoria's smile. About Melissa's betrayal. About every person who'd tried to make me small.

"No. I'll do it. I'm done hiding."

Marcus pulled up a new window. "Uh, you might want to see this first."

A gossip site. New photos. Clearly photoshopped. Making it look like I was kissing Daniel. Like I was in bed with both brothers.

The headline: "Charlie Wade: Playing Two Brothers Against Each Other?"

My stomach turned.

Melissa was on her phone in the corner, typing and smiling.

Julian saw it too. His expression went dark. "Melissa. Put the phone down."

"Or what? You'll hit me? Great optics, Julian."

"No. But I'll sue you for defamation. Harassment. Revenge porn distribution. My father has lawyers who'll bury you."

Melissa's smile faltered. "You're bluffing."

"Try me."

The apartment door burst open.

Daniel stumbled in, covered in dust and dirt. He was holding the wooden box, what remained of my mother's ashes carefully inside.

He crossed straight to me and held it out.

"I got what I could," he said quietly. "I'm so sorry it wasn't all of it."

I took the box with shaking hands. Opened it.

Maybe a third remained.

But it was something.

I looked up at Daniel. At the pain in his eyes. At the way he was looking at me like I was the only person in the room.

"Thank you," I whispered.

He nodded. Then he turned to Melissa.

"We're done. Completely. I never want to see you again."

Melissa's face crumpled. "Daniel, please. I did this for us."

"You did this for yourself. There's a difference." He looked at Julian. "And I'm sorry. For everything. For the feelings I shouldn't have. For complicating this."

Julian's jaw was tight. "Just stay away from her."

"I can't." Daniel's voice was raw. "I wish I could. But I can't."

The tension in the room became suffocating.

Then Marcus cleared his throat. "Uh, guys? The press conference is trending. People are already gathering outside the building. Like, hundreds of them."

I looked out the window.

Camera crews. Reporters. Crowds of people with phones.

All waiting for me.

Julian took my hand. "We don't have to do this."

But I looked at my mother's ashes. At everything I'd lost.

And everything I refused to lose.

"Yes," I said. "We do. But I need to say something first."

I turned to Daniel. To the quiet brother who'd tried to help. Who'd saved what he could of my mother.

"Thank you for today. For trying. But this thing you think you feel? It's guilt. It's obligation. It's not real."

"Charlie, I know what I feel."

"No. You know what you think you should feel. There's a difference." I squeezed Julian's hand. "I choose Julian. Completely. No doubts."

Something broke in Daniel's expression.

But he nodded. "I understand."

Melissa laughed bitterly from her corner. "How touching. The slut picks the richer brother."

Julian's father's voice came through the phone speaker, still connected. "Security is removing Miss Melissa Hayes from the building. Permanently. She's also being served with a restraining order."

Two security guards appeared at the door.

Melissa's face went white. "You can't do this!"

"I can and I am. You have ten minutes to leave the building."

As they escorted her out, she looked back at me. "This isn't over, Charlie. You'll pay for this."

"No," Julian's father said through the phone. "You will. I'm also pressing charges on behalf of Charlie for the video distribution. Expect to hear from our lawyers."

The door closed behind her.

Silence filled the apartment.

Then Julian pulled me into his arms, and I finally let myself break. Let myself cry for my mother. For the violation. For everything.

He held me through it all.

When I finally pulled back, Marcus was watching his screen with wide eyes.

"What now?" Julian asked tiredly.

"The press conference hashtag is number one trending worldwide. And someone leaked that Charlie turned down a million dollars. Public opinion is starting to shift."

He showed us the comments.

*If she wanted money, she would have taken it.*

*Maybe we judged her too fast.*

*That video was released without consent. That's revenge porn.*

*Victoria and Melissa need to be in jail.*

Hope flickered in my chest.

Julian's father spoke again. "The car is waiting downstairs. Press conference is in one hour. I'll meet you there."

"Dad," Julian said. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet. This is going to be brutal. But if you two can weather this, you can weather anything."

We headed for the elevator.

As the doors closed, I caught Daniel watching us. The longing on his face was unmistakable.

Julian saw it too. His arm tightened around me.

"He's going to be a problem," he murmured.

"I chose you."

"I know. But he hasn't accepted it yet."

The elevator descended. Toward the crowds. Toward the cameras. Toward whatever came next.

Julian kissed my temple. "Ready?"

"No. But let's do it anyway."

The doors opened to a wall of flashing cameras and shouted questions.

Julian's hand found mine.

We stepped forward together.

A reporter shoved a microphone in my face. "Charlie! Is it true you're pregnant with both brothers' babies?"

Before I could answer, someone else shouted. "The paternity test was faked! We just got confirmation from the lab!"

The crowd erupted.

Julian's father appeared, cutting through the chaos. "The press conference will address all questions. This way."

We followed him through the mob.

Inside the venue, my hands wouldn't stop shaking.

Julian pulled me aside. "Last chance to back out."

I looked at him. Really looked at him. At the boy who'd seen me in a red dress and decided I was worth fighting for.

"I'm not backing out. I'm all in."

His smile was brilliant. "Good. Because I love you."

The words hung in the air.

I stared at him. "What?"

"I love you, Charlie Wade. I know it's fast. I know it's crazy. But I do."

My heart felt too big for my chest.

"I love you too," I whispered.

He kissed me, deep and claiming, and I forgot about the cameras waiting. The questions. Everything.

When we broke apart, Marcus was standing there with a tablet.

"You two are adorable. But we have a problem."

"Another one?" Julian groaned.

Marcus turned the tablet around.

A new live feed. This time from inside the press conference room.

Someone had set up a camera.

And in the front row sat Victoria's mother.

With a lawyer.

And a stack of documents that looked official and damning.

Marcus swallowed. "They're not going down without a fight."