Playing Along

Playing Along
Scarlett's POV

The sun rose over the mansion like a warning. In three hours, Kai's manager would arrive and everything would either fall apart or come together.
I hadn't slept. None of us had. Kai, Madison, and I spent the night planning our rebellion in whispered voices.
"Last chance to back out," I told them as dawn broke. "Once we expose the contract, there's no going back."
"I'm not backing out," Madison said firmly. "Jake needs to be stopped."
Kai squeezed my hand. "We do this together."
Ryan appeared in the kitchen doorway, making us all jump. "You three are planning something."
"We're not—" I started.
"Save it." Ryan grabbed coffee. "I don't care what you're planning. But whatever it is, make it big. Jake deserves to be taken down."
After he left, we reviewed the plan one more time. Let the manager start his scripted confrontation. Then go rogue. Show America the contract. Expose the manipulation.
"They'll sue us for everything," Kai reminded us.
"Worth it," I said, though my hands shook.
Two hours later, I sat in the makeup chair getting painted for cameras. Made beautiful for my scripted heartbreak.
The living room filled with contestants and crew. Cameras positioned perfectly. Everyone playing their assigned roles.
Then the front door opened.
Kai's manager walked in wearing an expensive suit and a cold smile. The same man who'd destroyed us five years ago.
"Hello, everyone," he said smoothly. "I'm here to discuss Kai's future."
Jake stepped forward. "Please, sit. We have a lot to discuss."
The manager sat across from Kai. "We need to talk about your relationship choices. This situation with Scarlett Rose is affecting your career."
"What situation?" Kai's voice was calm but dangerous. "You mean the woman you told to leave me five years ago?"
Off script. Completely off script.
The manager's face went pale. "I don't know what she's told you—"
"She told me everything." Kai stood up. "About how you gave her an ultimatum. How you said I had to choose between music and love."
"This isn't how we discussed this going," the manager sputtered, looking at Jake for support.
"No breaks." Kai pulled out his phone. "Because America needs to see something. Madison, now."
Madison stood and held up her phone showing the photographed contract. "This is a contract between Jake Morrison and Kai's manager. It scripts today's entire confrontation. Every word. Every choice. It's all fake."
The room exploded.
"Turn off the cameras!" Jake shouted.
But the crew didn't move. They were all staring at the contract.
"We're not turning anything off," a camera operator said. "For once, something real is happening."
The manager stood up. "This is slander. I'll sue—"
"Go ahead," Kai said. "But first, let me tell America what you did. How you destroyed us for your commission."
"You were a distraction!" the manager shouted. "You were pulling him from his potential!"
"You were controlling his life!" I shot back. "You didn't want him to have anything that didn't make you money!"
"I made him a star!"
"You made him miserable!" The words exploded out of me. "He wrote an entire album about heartbreak because of you!"
"And those songs made millions," the manager said coldly. "Heartbreak sells. I knew what I was doing."
The admission hung in the air like a confession.
"You knew," Kai said slowly. "You planned our breakup to make me write sad songs."
"I did what was necessary for your career."
"You manipulated us for profit!" I shouted.
Before anyone could respond, a scream cut through the chaos. High-pitched and terrified, coming from outside.
Everyone ran to the windows. Someone was thrashing in the pool. Going under. Coming up. Going under again.
"Someone's drowning!" Ryan shouted.
We rushed outside. The person in the pool went completely under. The water went still.
"Who is it?" Madison asked, panicked.
Kai was already diving in, swimming hard. He dove under, came up with nothing, dove again.
When he surfaced the third time, he was dragging someone.
My heart stopped.
Luna. My assistant. My best friend.
And she wasn't moving.
Kai pulled her to the edge. Marcus and Ryan helped lift her out. She was pale, lips blue, water streaming from her mouth.
"Luna!" I dropped to my knees beside her. "Luna, wake up!"
No response.
"Someone call an ambulance!" Madison screamed.
Ryan was already on his phone. Marcus started CPR, pressing on Luna's chest while counting.
"Come on," I begged, grabbing Luna's cold hand. "Please. Please don't leave me."
Marcus kept pumping. Kept breathing into her mouth. Thirty compressions. Two breaths. Thirty more.
Nothing.
"She's not responding!" Marcus's voice cracked.
"Keep going!" Kai took over compressions, pushing harder. "Don't stop!"
The cameras were still rolling. Jake stood frozen, for once not directing anything. The manager had disappeared.
None of it mattered. All I could see was Luna's still face. All I could hear was the terrible silence between Marcus's compressions.
"Why was she even in the pool?" Madison asked. "She wasn't supposed to be here today."
That's when I noticed Luna's clothes. She wasn't wearing a swimsuit. She was fully dressed in jeans and a sweater. Like she'd fallen in. Or been pushed.
"This wasn't an accident," I whispered.
Kai looked up from compressions, understanding flooding his face. "Someone did this."
"But who—"
Luna suddenly coughed. Water spewed from her mouth as she gasped for air. Marcus rolled her on her side as she choked and sputtered.
"Luna!" I grabbed her hand. "You're okay. You're going to be okay."
Her eyes opened, unfocused and terrified. She looked at me, tried to speak, but only managed a whisper I could barely hear.
"What?" I leaned closer. "What are you trying to say?"
Luna's hand gripped mine tight. Her lips moved, forming words that made my blood run cold.
"It was him," she whispered. "He pushed me."
"Who?" I demanded. "Who pushed you?"
But Luna's eyes had closed again. The ambulance sirens wailed in the distance, getting closer.
I looked around at the gathered crowd. Everyone from the show was there. Jake. The contestants. The crew.
And somewhere among them was someone who'd just tried to kill my best friend.
Someone who wanted Luna silenced.
The question was why. What did Luna know that was worth killing for?
I looked at Kai, saw the same realization dawning on his face.
Our rebellion had just become something much more dangerous.
This wasn't just about exposing a fake reality show anymore.
Someone was willing to commit murder to keep their secrets buried.