Chapter 46

Julian and Adrian waited beside their cars at the school’s side entrance.

They had both driven over. With Ethan’s car, three luxury vehicles sat neatly along the curb while the two brothers waited beside them. Julian and Adrian drew enough attention on their own; together with the cars, they had several passersby slowing to look.

Adrian felt the stares and tugged his cap lower, muttering, “What’s taking that kid so long?”

Julian glanced at him. Adrian had taken the hint from last time and covered himself up even more, though all the extra layers only made him look stranger.

Julian turned his attention back to the school gate. “Go home first. I can take Ellie back.”

“No.” Adrian looked at him over his sunglasses.

Julian raised an eyebrow.

“You think I’m going to fall for that?” Adrian said. “If I leave and Ellie sees you waiting here alone, she’ll be touched out of her mind. Nice try.”

Julian watched him for a second. “You just made a mess with your record company. There are probably reporters waiting to ask what happened. If you stay here, they’ll find you.”

Adrian tilted his head. “Are you worried the reporters will corner me?”

Julian’s expression didn’t change. “No. Ellie has to come out here too. She hurt her foot. Don’t drag her into it.”

Adrian gave a quiet snort. He’d known Julian wasn’t worried about him.

They had barely finished speaking when several men with cameras appeared at the end of the street. Adrian ducked his head and swore under his breath, but the reporters had already picked out the most oddly dressed man and were running toward them.

They had heard Adrian was at Northbridge High and come straight over. His contract with his label had years left, yet he had suddenly tried to end it. Something had to have happened, and plenty of outlets wanted the first word on it. Adrian’s attempt to hide under his cap and layers only made him easier to spot.

“I’m out!” he called. “Tell Ellie I’ll be home for dinner!”

Julian watched him scramble into the car and fumble with the accelerator. The sedan pulled away just before the reporters reached them. The camera crew had a van waiting; they piled in and chased after him.

The curb quieted once Adrian was gone.

Julian stood watching the van disappear down the road. After a moment, he walked over to Ethan’s car and tapped on the window.

Ethan lowered it. “Mr. Whitmore?”

Julian tipped his chin toward the reporters’ van. “Go.”

He had worked for Julian for years and understood without needing more explanation. Ethan had seen Adrian speed off and the van stay close behind him. A chase like that could end in an accident. Julian wanted him to make sure the reporters lost Adrian’s car.

Ethan was an excellent driver as well as a capable bodyguard. He had passed the driving assessment when he first joined the company. Losing a tail would be easy for him.

“Yes, sir.” Ethan pulled out after them.

Julian waited until Ethan’s car was out of sight. Then Miles came slowly through the school gate, carrying Elise on his back. Daniel stepped out of the Rolls-Royce and hurried over to take the plastic bag looped around Miles’s fingers. It held the topical medicine for Elise’s foot.

Julian bent to look at the injury. The medicine covered the bruise, and there was barely any swelling. It didn’t look serious. The tension in his face eased as Miles let Elise down.

She wobbled on one foot and held on to Miles’s arm. “Where’s Adrian?”

“He had something to take care of. He left first.” Julian paused, then added, “He said to wait for him so you could have dinner together.”

Elise’s face brightened. “Okay.”

Daniel opened the Rolls-Royce door and gestured for her to get in. Elise looked around. “Where’s Ethan?”

He usually drove her home, even when one of her brothers came to pick her up. Ethan was often near the school in case she needed a ride. Why wasn’t he here now?

“He had something to do,” Julian said.

Julian had sent Ethan on an errand? Elise still wondered what it was when he asked, “When did the nurse say your foot would heal?”

“If it goes well, a few days,” Miles said. “If it takes longer, maybe ten days or two weeks.”

Julian’s brow furrowed. An injury needed rest, but Elise still had classes.

“I’ll talk to Ms. Parker and ask her to excuse you for a few more days. You can go back once you’re better.”

Elise was startled. Monthly exams were coming up, and everyone was studying harder. Why should she be the one missing school? “You don’t have to. It’s not that bad. A few days of medicine and I’ll be able to walk. It doesn’t even hurt now.”

It was only a mild sprain. She hadn’t hit it too hard, it hadn’t swollen, and the nurse had said she’d be fine in a few days. Julian was acting as if she had a serious illness.

“Really?” He still looked worried.

“Really. It doesn’t hurt. People say sprains take a hundred days, but mine isn’t bad. I’ll be fine in a few.”

“You should still stay home, Ellie. Be good.” Julian’s voice was gentle, but he wasn’t leaving room for an argument.

Miles nodded. “Yeah. Rest at home and you’ll get better faster.”

Neither brother would give in. Their faces had gone stern, so Elise sighed and nodded.

She would ask Nora to lend her notes for the days she missed.

At the venue, Theo had curled up on a sofa in the corner of the crowded lounge, his team jersey pulled over his face and earplugs in place. The noise around him couldn’t reach him.

He was drifting in and out of sleep. After they landed, the team had gone straight to the hotel, but jet lag had kept him awake all night. He still hadn’t adjusted.

The competition ran for three days. For the first two, five teams played for points, and the top two advanced to the final. It was the last day. The final wouldn’t start until evening, but the organizers wanted interviews with every team, so they had all arrived by noon and now had to stay in the lounge.

Theo had found a corner and tried to rest.

His phone buzzed. Half-asleep, he took it from his pocket, pulled out one earplug, checked the caller, and answered. “Hello?”

Coach Mercer’s end of the call was noisy. He paused when he heard Theo’s voice. “Were you sleeping?”

Theo rubbed his eyes. “Just resting. Don’t worry. It won’t affect how I play later.”

“That’s good.” Mercer sounded relieved.

He knew Theo would ask what had happened, so he went on before Theo could. “I’ve been waiting outside Northbridge High for days. I don’t get it. Do I look like a criminal? The security guard won’t let me in. I went again today and finally caught one of your sister’s classmates. Guess what she told me? Your sister had been excused from school.”

Theo had asked him to bring Elise over, so Mercer had gone to the school the day after returning to the States. The guard didn’t recognize him and refused to let him in, no matter how long he argued. He had to wait outside at dismissal and ask students one by one. The first two days had been useless. Today, he had finally found someone who seemed to be in Elise’s class.

Theo’s eyes snapped open. Sleep vanished. He sat up so quickly that the person next to him jumped.

“She’s out?” he asked, keeping his voice low.

“Sounds like she hurt her foot.”

Theo went quiet.

The lazy look had left his face. He rubbed at his hair, irritation gathering as one question followed another. When did Elise hurt herself? How?

Mercer sounded helpless. “I don’t know. I was about to ask, but the girl ran off.”

Theo realized he had spoken those questions aloud.

“She probably thought I was some creep,” Mercer continued. “Do I look like a creep? I only got a crew cut. It’s a good look, isn’t it?”

Theo ignored the rambling. He sat still, his expression hard, while the noise in the lounge gradually dropped. Several people had noticed his mood and were now moving carefully, afraid to make enough noise to set him off.

He barely noticed them. He was thinking about Elise.

He had sent Mercer to look for her, and the coach had come back empty-handed with news that she was hurt. Elise had already been living in a difficult situation with the Whitmores. Now she had an injury too.

That only made him more certain he had to get her out of there.

After a long pause, he asked, “Did her classmate say when she’d be back?”

“No. Probably when her foot gets better.”

Theo made up his mind. “I’m going to find her.”

“Find who?” Mercer blurted. “You mean your sister? You’re at the venue now. The final’s tonight! Don’t do anything stupid. You’re the captain. If the manager finds out, he’ll report you to headquarters. You’ll be in serious trouble.”

Theo stood and pulled the remaining earplug from his ear, slipping it into his pocket.

He gave a short laugh. “Am I supposed to be scared of him?”

Was the final more important than his sister?

He had played hundreds of matches in his career. In his previous life, he wouldn’t have hesitated to choose the competition. He had done exactly that. But he had been given a second chance, and he had made a different choice.

There could be countless matches. He had only one sister.

“You have such a huge house!” Nora exclaimed as a maid led her and Jade inside. Realizing how that sounded, she pressed her lips together and stopped talking.

At Julian’s request, Elise had been moved into a different bedroom. It wasn’t Vivian’s old room, but it was even larger. The room had been redecorated, with a thick, soft rug beside the bed, blue curtains and a bright chandelier. Everything looked understated and polished.

When her friends came in, Elise hurried off the bed. She could put weight on her foot now. She had asked to go back to school early, but her brothers had insisted she rest at home for two more days.

As soon as school let out, Nora and Jade had arranged to visit. They had brought the notes Elise had missed and the assignments her teachers had given her.

Jade caught Elise by the arm as if she might fall. “Is your foot all better?”

“Pretty much. I can walk.”

Elise had been stuck at home for days, working through practice problems. Having her friends over gave her plenty to talk about, and soon the three girls were chattering away.

Nora remembered something and looked uneasy. “There was this really weird-looking guy outside the school today. He kept asking about you. Be careful when you go out, Ellie. Maybe some creep is watching you.”

“Who’s watching Elise?” Jade said. “Does he have a death wish?”

She had a reputation at the nearby schools. Anyone who went after Elise would have to deal with her.

Elise was surprised, but then she remembered the reporters who had chased Adrian’s car. After he got home, he had warned Ethan again and again to protect her. Maybe the reporters were still waiting outside school and had started asking about her too.

Could they really be that shameless?

With Ethan around, she wasn’t too worried.

Jade glanced around the room. The soft, girlish decor didn’t suit Elise at all.

“You can’t even skateboard right now,” she said. “You’ve been cooped up for days. Going stir-crazy?”

“Are you free tonight? I can take you to a match.”

Elise and Nora both looked at her. “What match?”

“PUBG. It’s the final tonight. I managed to get tickets, but the others are busy. You two can come with me.”

Nora hesitated. “I don’t really know the game.”

Jade grinned. “You sure you don’t want to go? Fin’s playing.”

“Fin!” Nora’s eyes lit up.

After their last game, Dylan had proudly filled her in on Fin’s career. She didn’t play much PUBG, but she knew the basics. Dylan had shown her videos of Fin’s recoil control. After watching, she’d had nothing to say but that he was incredible.

Fin was so good. His aim was steady, and his sniper shots almost never missed.

Nora’s hands shook whenever she tried to shoot. Nine times out of ten, she couldn’t hit the center of a target, and she was always the first one eliminated.

Seeing Fin play in person would be a dream.

Nora sprang up. “I’m in!”

Only Elise remained. Jade and Nora turned to her expectantly.

“An esports match?” Elise asked softly.

It made her think of Theo. She still didn’t know where her third brother was.

Nora tugged at her arm. “Come on, Ellie. Go with us.”

Elise thought about it, then nodded. She had never been to an esports event in her previous life. Now she had the chance to see the place where Theo played.

It was dark by the time they reached the venue. They stepped out near the entrance and stopped at the sight of the crowd.

People filled the plaza, many holding light boards. Nora stared. “If you didn’t know better, you’d think this was a concert. There are so many people.”

“They’re here for Fin,” Jade said.

Elise looked closer. The boards carried names she didn’t recognize, but Fin’s appeared far more often than anyone else’s.

A long line stretched from the ticket scanners. Stalls nearby were packed with fans buying light boards and support stickers.

Jade raised her voice over the noise. “Should we get one too?”

Elise was about to say no, but Nora had already squeezed into the crowd. A few minutes later, she returned with three light boards and handed one to each of them. Each displayed a single letter; together they spelled FIN.

Jade patted Nora’s shoulder. “This is kind of ridiculous, but you’re quick. How’d you even get through that crowd?”

Nora was a brand-new esports fan and buzzing with excitement.

Theo watched the packed entrance through the glass. He turned to Mercer, who was bundled up in his clothes, and lifted an eyebrow. “Taking it off or not?”

Mercer wanted the floor to swallow him. He had rushed back as soon as he learned Theo planned to leave the venue, only for Theo to tell him to take off his clothes. Theo’s outfit was too conspicuous, especially the SK jersey. Walking outside in it would tell everyone that Fin was leaving the venue instead of playing in the final.

A huge part of the crowd outside had come to see Fin.

Mercer didn’t agree, but he was a little afraid of Theo. “Is this really necessary?”