Chapter 4

At nine the next morning, the country watched me apologize for something I had never done.

The company posted the statement with my digital signature. Within minutes, the league and every sponsor page had shared it.

A carefully edited rehearsal video showed Delphine falling, Damon protecting her, and my face—cold and still—without a second of what had happened before.

The comments called me a jealous, aging diva destroying her mother’s legacy.

Damon removed my access to the company media dashboard, leaving me unable to correct the post through any official channel.

At 2:00 p.m., he sent one message: “Wear black and come to the gala. Stand with the team, smile for the cameras, and stop making Delphine pay for your grief.”

I didn’t go for the gala. The league office at the venue held the registration file.

At the ballroom entrance, a new promotional banner covered the wall.

My face was gone. Damon and Delphine stood at its center, locked in a fluid, romantic frame.

Reporters crowded them. “Is this roster swap permanent for the National Legacy Cup?”

Damon kept one hand at Delphine’s waist. “We’re using the partnership that gives this dance its best chance to win.”

He did not deny that she had replaced me.

A reporter spotted me near a pillar. “Corinne, are you stepping back because of psychological instability?”

Before I could answer, Damon blocked the camera.

“Corinne is under a great deal of emotional strain,” he said. “She isn’t in a condition to answer questions tonight.”

Delphine took my hand for the lenses, then leaned close.

“Smile, Corinne,” she said softly. “If you look upset now, people will think the statement was kind to you.”

The gala host announced Damon and Delphine’s public preview of The Last Turn.

Damon passed me on his way backstage. “It’s ninety seconds. Keep quiet and don’t hurt the team in front of the country.”

I watched Delphine take the transition my mother had written for my solo.

When the music stopped, the screen displayed the credits.

Adapted by: Damon Thorne & Delphine Roan. Based on the Original Work by: Helena Ashby.

My name was gone.

I went straight to the league office backstage.

“Show me who changed the performer and credits for The Last Turn,” I said. “Show me the approval.”

The official opened the file and turned the monitor toward me.

“It was submitted yesterday at 11:42 PM—using your 2021 medical power of attorney,” the official said softly.

The changes had been submitted through my verified account the day before.

Beneath Damon’s approval was my electronic signature.

Mine.

On a document I had never seen.