All Chapters of My Swimmer Stepbrother's Forbidden Claim: Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

Riley didn't sleep that night.She lay in Samuel's bed at his apartment, staring at the ceiling, listening to him breathe beside her. They hadn't talked much after leaving the hospital. Hadn't done anything except shower and collapse into bed, both too exhausted for words.But Riley's mind wouldn't shut off.Nova's threat hung over her like a storm cloud. He would release that footage. She knew he would. Men like him didn't make empty promises. And when he did, Samuel's career would be over. Everything he'd worked for, every sacrifice he'd made to get back to competitive swimming, would be destroyed.Because of her.Her phone buzzed on the nightstand. She grabbed it before the sound could wake Samuel.Unknown number. Of course."Springfield General Hospital regrets to inform you that patient Tiara Moore has awakened from her coma. Family and close friends may visit during designated hours."Riley's stomach dropped.Tiara was awake.After seven years, Samuel's ex-girlfriend had finally

The fallout from Max's press conference was immediate and brutal.By noon, every major news outlet was running the story. Olympic swimmer falsely accused. Doctored footage. Prince of the Hades Pack implicated in conspiracy. The internet was on fire with speculation, opinions, and hot takes.Samuel's phone hadn't stopped ringing. His coach wanted him back at the pool immediately to show the world he had nothing to hide. His agent was fielding calls from sponsors who were either pulling out or doubling down on their support. The Olympic committee released a statement saying they would conduct their own investigation but wouldn't be making any decisions based on unverified footage.Riley sat in Samuel's apartment, watching it all unfold on the news, feeling like she was in the eye of a hurricane. Calm here, but destruction everywhere else."You should eat something," Sarah said, pushing a plate of sandwiches across the coffee table. She'd shown up an hour ago with Lysander, both refusing

Lysander's forensics guy worked fast.Three hours later, they were all crowded around Samuel's laptop, watching him remotely access the files on Fatima's flash drive. Marcus was a wolf from the Springfield Pack, mid-forties, with a specialty in digital forensics and a reputation for being thorough."Okay," Marcus said through the video call, his face pixelated on the screen. "I've run preliminary checks on the files. No signs of tampering. Metadata matches the dates claimed. Audio quality is consistent with covert recordings.""So it's real?" Riley asked, hardly daring to hope."The files are real. Whether the content is truthful, that's another question. But technically speaking, these recordings haven't been altered or fabricated." Marcus clicked something on his end. "I'm sending you a detailed report, but the short version is this. You've got seven years of recorded conversations between Fatima Cepheus and Prince Nova. And some of them are damning.""How damning?" Samuel leaned cl

Riley spent the next week avoiding Crestwood University. She told herself she was busy. Told her editor she was doing background research, checking statistics, building context for the story. All of which was true. What was also true was that she was terrified. Terrified of seeing Samuel again. Terrified of what her wolf would do. Terrified of the pull she'd felt in that conference room, the recognition that shouldn't have been possible. But her editor was getting impatient. The feature was due in eight weeks, and she had one interview and a handful of photos. Not nearly enough for a comprehensive piece. So on a rainy Tuesday morning, Riley found herself back at Crestwood University, standing outside the aquatic center with her camera and a sense of impending doom. Practice was already underway. She could hear splashing and the echo of a coach's whistle as she pushed through the doors. The team was doing drills. Riley recognized most of them from last week. Marcus, the on

Riley woke up to her phone exploding.Thirty-seven missed calls. Sixty-two text messages. Her email inbox overflowing with notifications.She grabbed her phone, still half asleep, and opened the first message. It was from Sarah."CALL ME NOW. There's a photo. It's everywhere."Riley's stomach dropped.She opened Twitter. The photo was the top trending topic in Springfield.There she was, wrapped around Samuel in the aquatic center, kissing him like her life depended on it. The caption read: "Springfield Herald reporter Riley Chen caught in compromising position with college swimmer she was assigned to cover. Age gap relationship or abuse of power?"The comments were brutal."This is disgusting. She's almost 30 and he's barely legal.""Classic predator behavior. Using her position as a journalist to get close to a young athlete.""Someone needs to investigate this. This is grooming.""Age gap relationships are valid! Stop being judgmental!""Seven years isn't even that much. My parents