Chapter 28 Cracking Ice
The garage was quiet. Outside, the rain hit the metal roof with a steady thud. Jaxson’s breathing was heavy.
"Leo," I said. My voice was small. "If Dad’s security is there, he knows everything. He is the one filming Jaxson’s house."
Leo didn't yell. He just stared at the phone screen. His face was pale.
"Shit Shit Shit" Leo whispered.
Leo looked up. He didn't look like a scary captain anymore. He looked like someone whose world had just broken. "Dad is always going to have under his fingertips, El."
Jaxson stepped forward. "Your father is the reason I had to rush back home to my mum because he is the one calling my dad. If he's not then he's probably paying people to tell him lies. He wants me to fail so I stay away from your sister. So I stay away from the ice."
Leo looked at Jaxson. He was still angry, but not at him. He was angry at our father.
"We have dinner is with dad on Friday," Leo said. His voice was cold. "He is going to act like he isn't behind all this"
"We have to tell him we know," I said.
"No!" Leo said. I flinched. "If he knows we are aware of Jaxson's situation, he will move faster. He has lawyers and power. He will have Jaxson’s mom arrested before the game even starts."
Leo grabbed my arm. His grip was tight. "Listen to me. We will go to that dinner. You will smile and act like the perfect daughter. And we can be the children he's always dreamed of molding."
"I can't look at him, Leo," I said.
"You have to," Leo hissed. "While you play your part, I will find out what else he is hiding. All these wouldn't have happened if you had just followed by the one rule I had, Elena."
A frown showed on my face as I realized he was right. If my dorm hadn't been flooded, if I hadn't shown interest in Jaxson. All these wouldn't be happening.
Leo turned to Jaxson. He didn't smile. "Go to the guest room in the basement. Stay away from windows. Don't turn on any lights. If Dad’s security sees you here, we are all in trouble."
Jaxson nodded. "Why help me? You hate me."
Leo looked at the door. "I do hate you now. But I’m a captain first. And a captain doesn't let anyone, even if it were my father capsizes his ship. Now go downstairs before I change my mind."
The lights in the anatomy lab were too bright.
They made my head throb. Usually, I loved this room. I loved the smell of medicine and the quiet way we studied the human body.
It was the only place where I felt like Elena, not "The Vance Girl."
But today, my hands were shaking.
"Elena? You are off by five millimeters," Dr. Aris said. He stood over my shoulder, his face stern.
I looked down. I had made a wrong cut. The scalpel had slipped. In a real surgery, I would have caused a permanent injury.
"I’m sorry, Doctor," I whispered. I pulled my blue surgical mask higher. I didn't want him to see my pale face. "I just didn't sleep well."
Dr. Aris sighed. He was a friend of my father, which made everything worse. "Your father called me yesterday, Elena. He told me he expects you to be the top of this class. He said a Vance does not make mistakes."
"I know," I said, my voice small.
"If your focus does not improve by next week, I will have to write a formal report to him," Aris warned. "He is very invested in your future. Don't let a distraction ruin your career."
I nodded, but I felt sick. My "distraction" was currently a boy hiding in my basement. My "distraction" was a father who used his power like a cage.
My lab partner, Cyn nudged my arm as she whispered to me. "If this were a real patient, you just nicked the femoral artery. Are you okay? You look like you haven't slept since the preseason started."
"I’m fine," I lied, pulling my surgical mask higher to hide my trembling lip. "Just a long night of studying."
"Is it the hockey drama?" Cyn asked, her voice dropping. "Everyone is talking about the video. And your brother... Leo looked like he wanted to kill someone at the gym this morning."
I didn't answer. I couldn't.
I spent the rest of the lab trying to focus, but all I could see was the video from my laptop. The man in the hoodie. The man watching Jaxson’s house.
I was a medical student. I was supposed to save lives, but I felt like I was destroying my own.
The lab doors stayed closed, but the buzzing in my pocket didn't stop. It was a group chat for the hockey house. Usually, I ignored it, but the messages were flying in too fast to be normal.
\[COOPER\]: Everyone to the rink. NOW. Emergency meeting.
\[MARCUS\]: What the hell is going on? It’s 4:00 PM.
\[COOPER\]: Just get here. Coach is fuming. Someone leaked the playbook.
My heart skipped a beat. If the playbook was leaked, the Vipers were finished. And if my father was behind the security at Jaxson’s house, he was definitely behind the chaos at the rink.
"I have to go," I whispered to Cyn. I didn't wait for her to answer. I grabbed my bag and ran out of the anatomy lab, my lab coat flapping behind me.
When I reached the campus ice rink, the air was freezing. I could hear shouting from the locker rooms. I slipped inside, hiding in the shadows of the equipment hallway.
"I don't care who did it!" Coach Reed’s voice boomed. "This playbook was on a private server. Only the Captain and the seniors have the password!"
I saw Leo standing in the middle of the room. He looked like he wanted to punch the wall.
"I didn't leak it, Coach," Leo said, his voice dangerously low.
"Then who did, Vance? Because the only other person with that password is the person you’ve been mentoring lately." Coach stepped into Leo’s space. "Where is Jaxson Miller? He hasn't been at practice in two days. And suddenly, our rivals have our entire power-play strategy."
The room went dead silent. Every head turned toward Leo.
"He's not here," Leo said.
"Then find him," Coach snapped. "Because if he doesn't show up to explain why his IP address was the last one to log into the server, he’s not just off the team. I’m calling the police for corporate theft. This is a scholarship violation, Leo. This is a crime."
I leaned against the cold brick wall, my breath hitching. Jaxson didn't even have his laptop. He had left it at his house when he ran away.