“That I was valuable.That the label wants loyalty.Which really means silence.”She gave a small laugh.“They still think they can buy people like they buy ads.”
His eyes softened.“They can’t buy you.”
“No,” she whispered.“But they can make me disappear from this business if they want to.”
“Not if I’m standing next to you.”
Her gaze met his.The sincerity there caught her off guard.“You really mean that.”
“Yeah,” he said simply.“I do.”
She smiled faintly.“You’re going to ruin my reputation for being heartless.”
“I’ll take that risk.”
For a moment, silence filled the space between them, easy and comfortable.Then her computer pinged, and the screen flashed with a new notification.She leaned forward and froze.
“What is it?”Jami asked.
“An anonymous message.Same encrypted format as before.”She clicked to open it.
The text was brief:
Check the social feeds before noon.You’ll see who’s really in control.
Her stomach dropped.She grabbed her phone, opened the band’s main page, and felt her heart stutter.
The top post wasn’t from her scheduled queue.It was a slick, high-production teaser featuring clips from the livestream, but spliced with new footage she hadn’t approved.It made it look like Jami had walked out on his label in protest, and the tagline below read,Hart’s Rebellion Begins.
Jami leaned over her shoulder.“What the hell is that?”
“They’re spinning a story,” she said, her voice tight.“They’re turning you into the villain.Or the martyr.Maybe both.”
He swore quietly.“This is their play.They’re using the chaos again.”
Carlene closed her laptop and straightened, her heartbeat pounding in her ears.“We need to get ahead of this before the label owns the narrative completely.If they release a statement first, they’ll make it sound like you’re unstable, or that I manipulated you.”
Jami’s jaw hardened.“Then we release one first.”
She looked at him, measuring his resolve.“That means putting everything on record, including what Vivian told me.”
“Then we tell the truth.”
Her breath caught.“Jami, if we do that, they’ll come after both of us.”
He stepped closer.“They already have.”
She searched his eyes for hesitation and found none.“You’d risk your career for this?”
He reached out, cupping her face gently.“It’s not just my career anymore.”
The words hung between them, warm and dangerous.
"What about the band?"
"I'll call them and have them here in an hour.We can ask them what they think."
She swallowed hard, her throat tight.“All right,” she whispered.“Let's talk to the others, then we fight back.Together.”
