He looked into Carlene's eyes.“That’s clean.Strong.”
Carlene nodded.“It’ll buy us time until the press calls.I've emailed a copy to each of you.Get ready to post it.”
Jami reached over and placed a hand on hers.“Let’s post it together.”
They hit send together.The room fell silent as the messages went live.
For a few long seconds, nothing happened.Then the notifications started pouring in, fans flooding the comments with support, journalists asking for statements, other artists retweeting the post in solidarity.
Livia exhaled slowly.“It’s working.”
Sean’s phone buzzed.“The label just deleted the clip from their website.”
Tony grinned.“And just like that, the tide turns.”
Carlene sat back, closing her laptop.“This is just the start.Vivian won’t let it go.But for now, we control the story.”
Jami looked around at his band, at the woman beside him who’d risked everything to stand with them.He felt something he hadn’t felt in a long time, hope.
He reached for Carlene’s hand beneath the table, giving it a small squeeze.She didn’t look at him, but her fingers tightened around his.
Whatever came next, they’d face it together.
ChapterTwenty-Six
Carlene sat on the edge of Jami’s porch swing, her laptop balanced on her knees.Streaks of light from the sun were thrown across the yard where the others were still gathered, talking in low voices.The morning felt less like victory and more like the calm before another storm.
She hit refresh on the analytics dashboard.
“Engagement up forty percent,” she murmured to herself.“Positive sentiment, eighty-six.”
Not bad, for now.But she knew how fast an algorithm could shift, how quickly public favor could turn when a new headline hit.
Jami stepped out, two fresh mugs of coffee in hand.He handed her one, then leaned against the porch post.
“You’ve been glued to that screen since we posted.”
She smiled faintly.“Old habits.I just want to make sure the narrative holds.”
He took a slow sip, watching her over the rim.“You saved us today.”
She looked down, tracing her thumb along the mug’s rim.“I didn’t save you.I just made sure the truth got a chance to breathe.”
“Same thing.”He sank onto the swing beside her, the wood creaking softly under his weight.For a while, they sat in silence, listening to the cicadas hum in the distance.The world felt still, suspended.
Finally, he said, “I talked to Tony.The attorney is reviewing the contracts now.If the label pushes this any further, we’ll have grounds to walk.”
Her chest tightened.“That’s what worries me.They won’t just let go.Vivian’s too smart for that.She’ll pivot, paint us as ungrateful or unstable.Maybe even leak something personal.”
Jami turned toward her.“Then we make sure there’s nothing left to leak.”
She raised an eyebrow.“That sounds ominous.”
He grinned a little.“I mean, we stay honest.Transparent.Together.”
The word together landed differently than he probably intended.She felt its weight settle somewhere deep in her chest.The night they’d shared still lingered between them, unspoken, but alive.
Carlene shut her laptop.“There’s one more thing I need to do.I have the metadata and timestamps backed up, but I want to send copies to your attorney before Vivian’s team tries to scrub anything.Just in case.”
