Emily’s face went pale. “Liam, someone is blackmailing you.”
“We don’t know that—” Noah chimed in.
“That’s literally what blackmail is!” Her voice rose. “Someone has evidence of something you don’t want public and they sent it to you to let you know they have it. That’s a threat.”
“It might not be—” I said.
“What else would it be?” She looked genuinely scared now. “This is serious. Have you told Coach? Campus security? Anyone?”
“No. And I’m not going to.”
“Why not?”
“Because if I tell them, I’m admitting to it. Which means I’m off the team. Which means I lose my scholarship. Which means—” I cut myself off. “I can’t tell anyone.”
Emily was quiet for a moment, her hand still in mine but her grip tighter now. Then, carefully: “Why were you racing Alex in the morning?”
Noah walked a little further ahead of us.
My chest tightened. “I told you. We ran into each other.”
“Liam.” Her voice was soft but firm. “Why were you with him?”
The way she said it—with him—made something twist in my gut.
“I wasn’t with him. We just happened to be on the water at the same time. It wasn’t planned,” I said.
“But you raced him.”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“Because—“ I struggled for words that wouldn’t be lies. “Because that’s what we do. It’s rivalry shit. That’s all.”
Emily studied my face.
“Okay,” she said finally. But there was something in her voice—doubt.
Noah turned and cleared his throat. “For what it’s worth, I think whoever sent it is just trying to mess with Liam’s head before competition. Like psychological warfare.”
“Maybe,” Emily said, but she didn’t sound convinced.
“It’s going to be okay,” I said, squeezing her hand. “I’ll deal with it.”
Emily bit her lip, clearly unhappy with this answer. “This doesn’t feel right, Liam.”
“I know. But I’ll handle it.”
Noah, sensing the tension, jumped in. “Anyway, my debate tournament is this Saturday. Against Kingswell. You guys are coming, right?”
“Obviously, wouldn’t miss it,” I said, grateful for the subject change.
“What’s the topic again?” Emily asked, but her voice was distracted.
“Should elite private institutions be forced to share resources with underfunded public schools?” Noah said.
“Fitting,” Emily said. She was still looking at me.
