Page 64 of The Puck Secret

A Shaved Thorne in Business Tycoon’s Side as Football Star Son Is Exposed for CHEATING!

The headline doesn’t make sense to me, so I drop my eyes to take in the rest of the article, scanning the words quickly and once again ignoring the pounding in my head. It’s an article about point shaving, specifically about the star of the Fairfield U football team, and Maddie’s intended, Bradley Thorne, and how he has been exposed for cheating. The NCAA have already been notified and ramifications for those involved and the school are still pending.

Fuck.

I knew the guy Maddie was with was a piece of shit, just from the couple of interactions I have had with him, or more specifically the ones she had with him in front of me, but this is another level entirely. He’s going to be tossed off the team for sure, probably even from the school entirely, and who knows what fines or legal trouble he could be in. The NCAA doesn't mess around when it comes to this kind of stuff. The rest of the team will be lucky if they are even allowed to the playoffs next year after this.

Yet I don’t give a fuck about him, or the team, no, my only focus is on whatever he is doing to Maddie. I’m not even finished taking the information in when Reign chimes in with, “That’s not all.”

I snap my eyes to his, the haze from my hangover still out in full force, but I push it aside. “What else?” I demand, trying to piece together how this and Maddie’s phone call could be connected, what it all means.

“We saw Levi Jones in the gym,” Reign sighs, referring to Josh Peters’ best friend and our teammate, and confusion as to where he is going with this takes over, as he glances at Archer, the two having a silent conversation with just their eyes.

“Just tell me what it is,” I snap, knowing there is nothing they could tell me right now that is worse than what I am imagining in my head.

“Jones was with Josh all weekend, they’re the ones who exposed Thorne,” Archer says slowly, and I am waiting for the other shoe to drop when he pauses trying to gauge my reaction. Okay, so her brother put him on the chopping block, I guess he saw what a massive dick he was, just like I did. I don’t see what that has to do with me.

When I don’t say anything in response, Harper steps in. “Levi said Josh’s dad was behind this engagement bullshit with baby Peters, that he threatened her place at FU to get her on board with his plan. Some bullshit business deal he had going on,” he shrugs, like his words aren’t imploding my whole world.

Her dad did this?

“That’s why Josh went after Thorne, so he could get him out of the picture,” Reign cuts in. “So he could ruin his prospects and prevent Maddie from being forced into marrying him.”

Engagement. Threatened. Business. Forced.

Word after word that only fuels the anger rising up inside of me. She didn’t betray me, she didn’t lie to me, not truly anyway. When I asked her about Thorne, she said there was something, I didn’t question it further. Hell, in her goddamn messages before I even knew who she was, she made me promise not to fall in love with her, because she knew. She knew anengagementwas coming for her, that she had beenthreatenedandforcedinto it, and for what?Business?

Hugo Peters, esteemed Mayor of Fairfield, not only a piece of shit husband, but apparently a piece of shit father too. I should have known. Should have looked harder for the truth, listened more to the words she didn’t say, and relied on her actions towards me instead. Yes, she was pushing me away, but at the same time she was holding on for dear life, pouring her entire being into me before she lost herself forever. And what did I do? I walked away.

I have to see her. I need to go to her now and tell her I’m sorry. That I don’t care what her dad says, that she isn’t marrying Thorne or any other fucking prick he picks out for her because she belongs to me. She has belonged to me since the night she knocked on my door and pushed her way into my room. I didn’t know it then, but she pushed her way into my heart too.

“I need to see her,” I exclaim as I stand, pushing past them and looking for my shoes and jacket.

“Shouldn’t you shower first,” Jake says hesitantly, looking at me with a frown. Shower? Is he fucking serious? Does he not realize how badly I fucked up?

Before I can say anything, my phone starts ringing from the sofa and I pause. It’s her, it has to be her, she must have heard from her brother about what he did to Thorne, and now she is coming back to me. She wants to make this right. I dive for my phone, not even looking at the caller ID before I swipe up.

“Maddie?” I rush out her name in panicked hope, praying she will forgive me.

A short silence greets me, my hope only growing before a firm voice asks, “Am I speaking with Nova Darkmore?”

I frown, pulling the phone away from my ear to check the number, but it just says, ‘unknown caller’. I bring it back to my ear as I respond, “This is he.”

“Mr Darkmore, this is Jennifer, I’m calling from Fairfield Medical Center. It’s about your mother, Diana Darkmore.” More words follow, and as I listen to what she has to say, every other thought in my mind just melts away.

There are so many articles in front of me that I’m not really sure where to keep my focus. Hallie has spread out the newspapers across the coffee table, set up her laptop to show the college forum, and is scrolling through social media posts on her phone and reading the comments aloud. She is in full Thorne take down mode, while I sit quietly on the sofa not really sure what to do with myself. I haven’t heard anything from my father yet, and Josh’s phone is off, and until I talk to either of them, I can’t be sure this is over.

I mean I know my father, I remember how things were when his affair with Diana was exposed. I remember the reporters, the articles, the scathing comments, he barely remained in office. Vultures he called them, yet he hasn’t hesitated in using them to his advantage since then, spinning tales of affairs forgotten, and happy families united together. It’s bullshit, and if I know him like I think I do, I know that waking up to all of this will change everything. Or at least I hope it will.

My intended is no longer the upcoming star of the football team set to take over his father’s business. In fact, I’d be certain his father is about ready to blow a gasket for all the bad press his son is about to bring to his company. It’s been no secret that Brad’s dad has been prepping him to take over one day, he bragged himself about the deals he was going to land in the new year. I bet he isn’t bragging now, not that I care about him. I hope the NCAA throws the book at him, and if FU has any sense they will toss him out on his ass.

No, my only focus is on what this means for me, for the deal my father made with his, and for the third time this morning, I reluctantly dial my father’s number. It rings and rings, and I know he will be within hearing shot of it, yet for the third time this morning, he rejects my call.

Fuck.

“Still no answer?” Hallie asks, not looking up from her phone, still a little smirk permanently etched at the corner of her mouth since the second she saw the news. I think she hates Brad more than I do.

“No,” I sigh in response. “And I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad sign.” There has to be a reason he’s ignoring my calls, but is it because he is doing damage control for his deal, or because he is already searching for Brad’s replacement? I’m not sure I like the idea of either.

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