Chapter 4

He lost the crown but won the girl.

The article was about Kenneth Odom.

He and Olivia had raised their glasses together, arms linked, drinking to their engagement.

I turned my phone off without a word. Whatever came next for Olivia had nothing to do with me anymore.

I'd just checked the balance on my bank card. Sixty-two events over six years, big and small. Every one of them a win.

Winning the Shepherd name its glory had brought me my own money too.

The medical team Olivia had lined up needed connections I simply didn't have.

But the money in my account was enough to cover my father's ongoing treatment, enough to give him a better quality of life and buy him more time.

My dad fought me hard on continuing the treatment. He told me to keep the money and build a good life for myself.

"Dad, you'd really close your eyes for good without seeing me married with a kid of my own?"

"You little brat."

He stopped arguing after that. I took him to the hospital.

But when I went to check him in, they told me my bank card was frozen.

I called the bank in a hurry. The Shepherd Group had filed to freeze my assets.

On what grounds?

I called Olivia. She didn't pick up.

I got the Shepherd Group's legal department instead.

"During the race you ignored Miss Shepherd's instructions and tampered with the onboard monitoring system. These actions are already in breach of your contract."

"In light of that, the company is legally seeking damages. The matter is under investigation. Once the investigation concludes and the damages are settled, your assets will of course be unfrozen."

I'd already taken the fall for Olivia. I never thought she'd try to finish me off entirely.

I opened my phone again and found the article about Kenneth Odom. From the photos, I worked out which club they were at.

I went straight there to find Olivia.

I wanted to talk to her alone. But I couldn't even get through the door.

"Miss Shepherd wants me to pass along a message. Know your place."

"When you screw up, you own it. Without the Shepherds behind you, you're lower than a dog."

"Just like this threshold right here. You've got no right to cross it."

For one thing, I hadn't screwed up. I'd been willing to carry the blame to repay what I owed Olivia.

Now that she was doing this, I wasn't going to keep swallowing it. I went straight to find the officials in charge.

I was going to report that Olivia had tampered with things during the race.

I was still on the road when an unknown number called.

"Is this Walter Perry? Your father jumped into the river. He's already been rushed in for emergency care. You'd better get over here fast."

My mind went blank. I don't even know how I got to the hospital.

By the time I arrived, my father was already in the emergency room, and the hospital was pressing me to pay the deposit.

Ten thousand. My take from a single event was a hundred grand at the low end, over a million at the high end.

And now this ten-thousand deposit was the last straw breaking the camel's back.

I called my friends. Not one of them would help. They were afraid of crossing the Shepherds by doing it.

Just when I was out of options, Olivia showed up.

She came with Kenneth Odom.

"Had too much to drink today, feeling good, and now my stomach's acting up. Olivia was worried, insisted on coming with me."

Kenneth looked at me, his eyes full of smugness.

Olivia didn't even glance my way.

"Olivia, I was wrong. Can you have the bank unfreeze my assets?" I stepped in front of her and knelt down, looking into those cold eyes.

"My dad's in emergency care. I'm begging you."

"If you really cared about your father, you wouldn't put me in this position." She looked down at me. "This, right now, is the punishment you deserve."

I watched her turn and walk away without hesitation, and I slapped myself hard across the face, twice.

In that moment, every tie between us was severed.

She could make me take the fall. She could pull the medical team.

But that money was mine. I earned it. Taking it away, she'd crossed the line.

As long as I'm alive, I'll make sure every last person knows the truth.