Lahat ng Kabanata ng SCORED HER HEART, NOT THE PUCK.: Kabanata 61 - Kabanata 70

THANE’S POV:Harper threw herself at me and Madison walked in at the worst possible moment.“Let her go,” Harper’s voice slithered out behind me, but I barely heard it over the sound of my own pulse hammering in my ears. The look on her face would haunt me forever. She'd bolted without letting me explain.Harper leaned in again, her mouth grazing my collar, a smear of lipstick branding me like evidence. My hand flew up, scrubbing at it with frantic, useless swipes. The harder I rubbed, the deeper it seemed to press in, as if mocking me. Madison wouldn’t see me, she’d only see the stain.I shoved Harper away hard enough that she stumbled, and I ran. My lungs burned as I tore through the mansion, past shocked guests and hushed whispers, desperate to reach Madison before she vanished.But I was too late.She was already in Maverick's arms.Every word that filled my head to say dissolved on my tongue.When I finally found my voice, everything came out wrong. Defensive. Accusatory. Hurting

THANE’S POV:Owen's words looped through my mind like a broken record as I gripped the steering wheel, my knuckles bone-white against the leather. The city lights blurred past, smearing across my vision like watercolors in rain."She's using you. She's been trying to seduce Maverick for months."Lies. Had to be lies.The words Owen and Dr. Hall had hurled wouldn't leave my mind. A criminal record. Theft. Vandalism. Hurting her adopted family. Seducing Maverick.Bullshit.They told me so much. So many things.My jaw clenched until it ached. Madison would never keep something like that from me. She wasn’t built to deceive. She was—God, she was the purest thing I’d ever touched."Criminal record?" I snorted aloud. My Madison? A criminal? The same girl who blushed when I kissed her forehead? Who whispered prayers when she thought I was asleep? Who kept herself all these years? No. Absolutely not.And a seductress? I laughed darkly, shaking my head. She wasn’t that woman. She wasn’t some s

MADISON'S POV:The hum of the car engine filled the silence like an unwelcome third passenger. The leather seat cold against my bare shoulders despite the car's heating.Now that the rush of the adrenaline that had propelled me out of that house had worn off, sitting next to Maverick, watching streetlights paint shadows across his profile, awkwardness hung between us like thick fog. What replaced it was worse—crushing awareness of what I'd just done. What I was about to do. I sat stiffly in the passenger seat, clutching my purse as if it were the only thing anchoring me. I had taken it from Joe before leaving with Maverick. My thoughts spun faster than the wheels beneath.“You okay?” Maverick’s voice was low, careful, as though he were afraid I’d shatter if he pressed too hard. His eyes flicked to me before he turned back to the road.“Yes,” I said, cold enough to end the conversation. But he knew me too well. That wasn’t the voice of someone okay. I didn’t want his questions, or the

MADISON'S POV:The words exploded from Dr. Hall's mouth like shrapnel."If trying to seduce my son wasn't enough for you—" She advanced, her perfectly manicured finger poking toward my face. "Now you've extended your slutty self to try fucking my husband?""Helen!" Dr. Carter's voice cracked like a whip.But she was already lunging. Her hands found my shoulders, nails digging through fabric into skin as she shoved me backward. I stumbled, my heel catching on the runner."You think I don't see what you're doing?" Spit flew from her lips, her face contorted with rage. "Coming into my home, batting your innocent eyes at my family—"Strong hands grabbed her waist, pulling her off me. Dr. Carter's face had gone from warm to granite. "Helen, stop this right now!"Maverick appeared, his hands joining his father's to restrain his mother. "Mom, what the hell—""Don't you dare defend her!" Helen thrashed against their hold like a feral animal. "She's poisoning you, both of you! Can't you see it

MADISON'S POV:I did it.For once, something went right and maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t too late for Thane and me.Three days of hell and sleeplessness. Ana's trembling testimony, my investigator's folders spread across Sawyer's conference table, hours of prep that left my throat raw and my hands shaking, but, I did it."With this case," Sawyer had said that morning, his hand warm on my shoulder, "you're staying."Sawyer had promised me, no, sworn that with this case I wasn’t going anywhere. No more living in shadows, no more pretending. My life was finally my own.Now, sitting in the back of Sawyer's Mercedes, Ana pressed against my side, tears slipping through her fingers, I watched the Wallaces being led out in handcuffs, squad cars lining the estate.Mrs. Wallace's face twisted with rage, her designer dress rumpled, hair falling from its usual perfect arrangement. Mr. Wallace kept his eyes down, shoulders hunched like a man trying to disappear. Owen looked at me with pure murder