@chartthecourt: Did you hear? There’s a rumor she’s been doping too! I always suspected that she had to be, especially to rise in the ranking as quickly as she did!
40
Chloe
Satanist—boygenius
“This is all thatgirl’sfault. I can’t believe you’ve been so stupid. I knew this was a bad idea from the start,” he snapped, his voice cutting through the oppressive silence. His gaze zeroed in on me, pinning me to the chair like I was a child being scolded. Calvin sat beside me, his body tense as if he were bracing for impact. “Do you know what they are saying about you? Sleeping around? Cheating?”
I couldn’t say anything, struck dumb by his words.
“I know she’s been getting close to you to use you. To make you weak by toying with your emotions, putting out all these rumors in the press.” He spat the word like it tasted foul.
“You couldn’t know that?” I cried, hating the insinuation.
“I’ve spoken to the paper, Chloe. Threatened to sue for slander, and they weren’t scared. They’ve got a reliable source,” Dad said.
A source?I racked my brain, trying to think of anyone who could’ve and would’ve spoken to the press, every face of my team, Inés running through my head. Then I remembered she’d fired Maya just a few days ago.
Had she found out? Fired her for leaking stories but not told me?
“There’s absolutely nothing true about this. We’ve always been transparent with the ITIA,” Calvin said, offering a little comfort. “It’sonly online. They’ve been taking any excuse to twist any news that gets out.”
“Meanwhile,” Dad said, “there’s nothing bad about Inés out there. How interesting.”
I thought of the way she’d looked at me, after the crowd incident, how worried she had been afterwards. She wouldn’t have done anything to cause that, let alone anything to make it worse. And besides, she’d known about my medication since we started working together. That story could’ve broken a long time ago.
Firmly, I shook my head. “She wouldn’t do that.”
“Don’t be so naive,” Dad spat. “Every week it’s something new and they’ve all served to undermine you. I’ve had to calm down sponsors to keep them on board. And now, with these new rumors of doping, I’m not sure how I’ll manage.”
“It’s not her.” She couldn’t.She wouldn’t.
“They all want to see you fall. Where is your drive to beat them? To destroy them? Where’s the competitor I raised?”
“I’m still her.” I clung to my composure, trying to remain calm. But his words were meant to get a rise out of me. I felt like that young girl again, made to feel as if nothing I did was good enough. That I should be training harder, running faster, that I should be defeating every single opponent no matter what.
Dad’s jaw tightened. “We wanted to protect you. All the bullying your mom went through. These girls will walk all over you if you allow them.”
I exhaled, remembering the conversation I’d had with Noemi at the ELITE event, the precious outside view I’d never had before. That maybe things weren’t as I was told they were, that maybe Mom wasn’t so innocent. Maybe Dad had just used it as an excuse to keep me under their control. To manipulate me into becoming the player they wanted. A focused tennis player, but an isolated individual with no friends, no life, and completely trapped under her parents’ thumb.
“It’s different now.” I thought of Scottie, Dylan, Inés. And knew the truth in my words. “The women on the tour aren’t out to sabotage me. We can be friends and still be competitive. It isn’t them or me, it’s all of us.”
He groaned in frustration, running a hand over his face, before looking towards Calvin. “What have you let her drag you into?”
“Don’t blame him,” I said, my voice breaking. “For the first time in my life, I have friends. People who understand my life.”
“They are not your friends, Chloe. They are the enemy. They will all turn on you, just like everyone betrayed your mom.” He leaned closer, his words sharp and deliberate. “I can’t believe you are being so silly, letting these people take everything we’ve worked for from you. I don’t know what to expect next. Are you just going to sit back and allow this girl to take your trophy from you?”
Anger flared hot in my chest, not only for myself, but for the insult to Inés.
“She doesn’t need me to let her win.”
Dad’s eyebrows shot up. Calvin tried to step in, his tone placating. “Dad, come on. Take a moment—”
“I knew from the start this arrangement was a terrible idea.” Dad ignored him, his focus razor-sharp on me. “All we’ve done is let Chloe get distracted from our goal and help our competition grow stronger.”
“That’s not true,” Calvin retorted. “They’ve worked hard and Inés is the reason Chloe has a much better handle on her anger. Training with Inés has given Chloe the upper hand in this tournament.”
