Chapter 116 Checkmate 1
Melissa’s POV
I needed air.The arena felt suffocating after the loss. The celebration happened around Sterling’s section. I slipped out of the owner’s box while Gavin was talking to the coaching staff and headed down the corridor toward the exit.
The hallway was quieter here. Away from the crowds. I could only hear the muffled sound of celebration bleeding through the walls.
I leaned against the cool concrete and closed my eyes.
“Well, well, well.”
My eyes snapped open.Tasha stood at the end of the hallway. Still in her Sterling media credentials. With a camera hanging around her neck. Her face still had that annoying smile.
She started walking toward me slowly. Like she was attempting to catwalk but it just looked funny.
“It’s been a while, Melissa.”
I straightened and forced my expression to be calm even though my heart was racing. “Tasha.”
“Did you enjoy the game?” She stopped a few feet away. Close enough that I could see the gleam in her eyes. “I know I did.”
I said nothing. And the bitch laughed.
“What’s so funny?” I asked coldly.
“Don’t you think it’s funny?” She stepped closer. “First I took your man. Then I took your job. And now?” She gestured back toward the arena. “I took your trophy.”
My hands clenched into fists at my sides.
“It’s almost too perfect,” she continued, her voice dripping with false sympathy. “You work so hard and put in all that effort. I always let you get so close to something good. And then I just… swoop in and take it.” She snapped her fingers. “Just like that.”
“You didn’t take anything from me, Tasha.” My voice came out steady. Controlled. “Troy was garbage. You did me a favor.”
“Oh, is that why you looked so devastated when you found out?” She tilted her head.
Heat flooded my face.
“But you’ve moved on, haven’t you?” Tasha’s eyes gleamed with malice. “I’ve been doing my research. Gavin Cross. Your boss.” She said the word like it was dirty. “Handsome. Rich. Powerful. Good for you, Melissa. Really. Trading up from a college boy to a billionaire.”
My jaw clenched so hard it hurt.
“And he’s the one who stood up for you at that bar, isn’t he? How romantic. Your knight in shining armor.”
“Get to your point, Tasha.”
“My point?” She stepped even closer. “My point is that Gavin Cross has a fiancée. Diana Hayes Spenser. Your mother, unless I’m mistaken.”
Everything stopped.The hallway tilted.
“Oh.” Tasha’s smile widened. “You didn’t think I’d figure that out? Please. I did my homework the moment I heard you worked here .”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t I?” She pulled out her phone. Started scrolling. “Diana Hayes. Engaged to Gavin Cross. Mother to Melissa Hayes.” She looked up at me. “That’s you, right? So either you’re fucking your future stepfather, or you’re both putting on a really convincing act.”
She kept laughing. Completely oblivious to the darkness radiating off me in waves.
My hand was rising. Slowly, my fingers were curling.I was going to wrap them around her throat and squeeze until…
“Melissa.”
Marcus’s voice cut through the red haze.
I froze. My hand was already raised. Close enough to Tasha’s neck that she should have noticed.
But she hadn’t. Too busy celebrating her perceived victory.
Marcus walked toward us with that calm, measured stride. “Gavin is looking for you. They discovered something.”
The way he said it made my hand drop.
Tasha finally noticed Marcus. Her smile faltered slightly.
“What did they discover?” I asked, though my voice was rough.
“You need to come with me.” Marcus extended his hand. “Now.”
I looked at Tasha one more time. She’d recovered her composure, that smirk back in place.Then I turned and took Marcus’s hand.
His grip was firm as he led me down the hallway, away from her.
“Are you alright?” he asked quietly once we were out of earshot.
“No.”
“What you were about to do…”
“I know.”
“You are scary. No wonder he loves you.”
I glanced at him sharply. Marcus’s expression was perfectly neutral.
“What did they discover?” I asked again.
“Something that will make Ms. Tessa evening significantly worse than yours.”
We reached a private conference room. Marcus opened the door.
Gavin stood inside with Jake Morrison, our team doctor, the coaching staff, and several men in suits I didn’t recognize.
The moment Gavin saw me, everything else ceased to exist.He crossed the room in three strides. His hands cupped my face. His eyes searched mine with a look that made my even breathing difficult.
“What happened?” His voice was dangerously soft. “Marcus said that girl cornered you.”
“I’m fine.” I wasn’t. But I would be. “What’s going on? What did you discover?”
Gavin’s expression shifted. Something cold and lethal slid across his features.
“Sterling poisoned our players.”
The words didn’t make sense at first.
“What?”
“Sterling drugged our team,” Gavin repeated. “And we have proof.”
One of the men in suits… he was obviously in his late fifties, and was official-looking…stepped forward.
“Miss Hayes, I’m Richard, head of league officials and commissioner. We’ve been conducting an emergency investigation based on some extremely disturbing evidence that came to light during post-game medical checks.”
My heart was racing now.
Our team doctor, Dr. Patterson, spoke up. He looked furious. “After the game, several players complained of severe fatigue beyond normal exertion. Dizziness. Nausea. Muscle weakness that didn’t match their conditioning levels.”
“I ordered immediate blood work,” Richard added. “Standard procedure when players show unusual symptoms.”
Another official pulled up a laptop, turning the screen toward me.
“The results just came back,” he said. “Every single one of your players tested positive for beta-blockers and sedatives in their system. Substances that slow heart rate, decrease athletic performance, and cause the exact symptoms they were experiencing.”
I stared at the screen. The medical chart that I didn’t fully understand but could see was flagged in red.