Page 26 of Unleashed

God, what had I done? I’d just handed Jack’s legacy to a man who’d tear it apart for clicks. Who’d turn his pain into entertainment, his dedication into selfishness, his loyalty into ego. Everything Jack had built over seventeen years, wrapped up in a neat package for Malone to destroy.

My chest squeezed until the simple act of breathing hurt. I pressed my fingers against my breastbone, fighting for control.Breathe, Sutton. Just breathe.

Adele’s voice echoed in my head—all optimism and faith I didn’t deserve.“You can still shape the narrative,”she’d say.“Find the balance.”

But what balance existed between Malone’s TMZ hit piece and the truth? He’d made his expectations crystal clear. He wanted scandal. Controversy. Character assassination dressed up as journalism.

My stomach twisted, but the producer in me didn’t flinch. Angles snapped into place. The show had momentum, ratings climbing week by week. If I landed a solid episode—messy or not—built around the Aces’ golden-boy captain, I might crack open doors that slammed shut the day Sydney stabbed me in the back.

The irony burned worse than bile. Three years ago, Sydney had betrayed me, twisted my work into something unrecognizable for her own gain. Now here I sat, about to do the same thing to Jack.

Malone’s words haunted me:Make it hurt. That’s what sells.

He wasn’t wrong. Pain sold. Betrayal got clicks. Trust destroyed for entertainment value—that’s what kept people watching.

I’d sworn I’d never become Sydney. Now I was worse. At least she’d only stolen my work. I was about to destroy someone I respected, someone I—

I squeezed my eyes shut, heart hammering. I couldn’t go there.

Make him bleed. Make it hurt.

Or kiss my comeback goodbye.

* * *

The late afternoon sun sparkled off the dormant string lights in Viggy’s empty bar. Not reallyhisbar—but these days I couldn’t separate the man from the places he touched. Places like this patio where he’d let me see behind his walls. Where I’d started falling for Jack, the man behind the hockey player.

Finding my way here that first time had been chance. Today? Pure masochism. I’d come hoping to see him, even knowing each glimpse of him now felt like a knife to my conscience.

Bright’s backpack occupied the chair beside me, my cat poking his head out with his trademark look of disdain.

The blank laptop screen mocked my attempts at work.

Make him bleed. Make it hurt.

Malone’s words poisoned my every thought, every potential angle. How could I craft something that would satisfy his bloodlust without destroying everything Jack had built?

The door’s bell jangled and my head whipped up, pulse skittering beneath my skin before reality crashed in. Just another customer. Not Jack.

Stop it, woman.I jabbed at the keyboard, forcing the screen to life. I had footage to review. Stories to twist. A reputation to assassinate, all in the name of salvaging my own career.

God, I was pathetic. Sitting here like some lovesick teenager, hoping to see him while simultaneously plotting how to betray him.

The bell chimed again. A quick glance. Still not him.

Focus, Lily.I had to conjure some middle path between Malone’s demands and my conscience. The footage had to satisfy my boss’s hunger for drama while preserving a fragment of Jack’s dignity. Preserve a fragment of hope that he might forgive me someday.

My fingers pressed against my wrist, seeking the calm counting my heartbeats should give and failing. One rain-soaked kiss haunted me. The electric moments when Jack’s careful control cracked, revealing glimpses of the man behind the resolute captain’s facade. The memory carved a wound in my chest.

Now I planned to betray those precious glimpses of vulnerability, package them for public consumption like some vulture picking at carrion.

That or see my career end. Permanently, this time.

My stomach heaved. The weight of his lips on mine, the perfect fit of his body against mine—the memories twisted deeper. I craved more of his trust, yearned to truly know the man beneath the C on his jersey.

And I didn’t deserve even a moment of his consideration.

A bitter laugh scraped my throat raw. After this aired, Jack would never let anyone past his walls again. Especially not the woman who’d turned his private struggles into entertainment.

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