Tessa’s face didn’t change. “Emotional or physical?”
“Both.”
Jace shifted in his chair. “Not at first. It got complicated before it got physical. That probably doesn’t help.”
“It helps me understand timeline,” she said. “Is it serious?”
“Yes,” I said.
At the same time, Jace said, “Yes.”
The word sat there.
Tessa took it in without commentary. “Are your previous relationships over?”
“My marriage is ending,” I said. “Olivia knows there is someone else. She does not have a name.”
“My relationship with Vanessa is over,” Jace said. “She knows I wasn’t honest about why. She doesn’t know Declan.”
Tessa made a note. “Who else knows?”
“Roman,” Jace said, then winced. “Or, not because I sat him down and gave him a slideshow. He figured out enough.”
“Roman Vega has eyes and a functioning brain,” Tessa said. “I assumed that was inevitable.”
Jace looked briefly relieved despite himself.
She turned back to me. “Any staff?”
“No.”
“Any players besides Roman?”
“Not that we know,” I said.
“That is not the same as no.”
“I know.”
“Any messages, photos, doorbell cameras, rideshares, hotel footage, anything that ties you together outside normal team contact?”
Jace went pale around the mouth.
I answered because he looked like his mind had just split into too many directions. “Messages, yes. Nothing explicit that I’m aware of. No photos. We’ve been careful with cars. Hotels were team environments, nothing public. My house has exterior cameras, but I control that footage.”
Tessa looked at Jace. “Anything on your end?”
“No photos,” he said quickly. “Texts. Calls. I don’t think anything obvious. I delete sometimes, but not always because if I make a habit of deleting everything, that feels suspicious, which ismaybe insane but also maybe true. Vanessa might have seen my mood. Not proof. Just, me being terrible at acting normal.”
“That matters,” Tessa said, not unkindly. “People rarely find a secret from one perfect piece of evidence. They build it from patterns.”
Jace nodded, jaw working.
She set the tablet down. “Now the actual problem. You are the head coach. He is a player you directly supervise.”
“I know,” I said.
“No, I need you to sit with the full shape of that. You influence his ice time, discipline, media access, leadership opportunities, lineup decisions, contract perception, and his day to day workplace environment. Even if this is fully consensual, and I believe you when you say it is, the organization will see a power imbalance.”
