All Chapters of THE STAR PLAYER IS HER EX : Chapter 31 - Chapter 39

CHAPTER 31Olivia shoved the photograph under a stack of bills before Charles's door creaked open down the hall."Morning," she called out, too bright.He shuffled into the kitchen, backpack already on, and didn't say a word. Just sat down and stared at his cereal."You're quiet today.""I'm fine.""Charles."He pushed a spoonful around the bowl without eating it. "Tyler said I don't count as much because I only have one parent."Her chest tightened. "That's not true.""I know." He didn't sound like he knew. "It's fine, Mom. I don't care."She crouched beside his chair, took his chin gently in her hand. "Being loved by one parent doesn't make you less than anyone else. You hear me?"He nodded, not quite looking at her."Did my dad ever love me?"The question landed harder than she expected, even after everything."More than you could ever know."He studied her face like he was trying to decide if that was a real answer or just something mothers said. Then he picked up his spoon and st

CHAPTER 33Killian didn't call David. Not yet. He drove straight to the agency instead, some instinct telling him the answer he needed was closer than a name on a screen.He found Olivia in the conference room, alone, surrounded by open boxes of her mother's old files, papers spread across the table in careful stacks. She didn't hear him at first. He watched her for a second, the way her shoulders curved forward, tired in a way that had nothing to do with the hour.He closed the door behind him.She looked up fast. "What are you doing here?""I could ask you the same thing.""These are my mother's files. I'm trying to understand what Mara's actually done to this company." She set down the folder in her hands. "Why are you here, Killian?"He pulled out his phone, held it up. The message still sat there, glowing.*If you want the truth about Olivia, find David Carter.*Olivia's face went carefully blank. "Where did you get that?""Someone sent it to me during the media event this mornin

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVEThe phone rang three times before Mara answered, her thumb trembling against the screen."What do you want?""That's an interesting question," the voice said, calm, unhurried, the same maddening evenness it always carried. "What do I want. What do you want, Mara? Those seem like better questions.""I want you to stop sending me photographs like I'm supposed to do something with them.""You are supposed to do something with them.""If this comes out, it doesn't just ruin Olivia." Mara's voice rose, sharp with something close to panic. "You know exactly what I did seven years ago. If Charles's existence goes public, people are going to start asking who else knew. Who else helped keep it buried."Silence on the line, long enough that she thought the call had dropped."Then I suppose," the voice said finally, "you should think very carefully about how badly you actually want Killian for yourself. Because right now, you're the only one holding the leash on this. And lea

CHAPTER 37Killian's hand tightened around the photograph. "Olivia. Answer me."Her phone rang before she could.She almost let it go. Then she saw the number, local, unfamiliar, and something in her gut told her to pick up."Mrs. Hart." A man's voice, brisk, official. "This is Detective Ruiz. We've located the building. We need you here now."The room spun sideways. She was already moving toward the door when Killian's hand caught hers."We go together."She didn't fight him this time.The drive took nine minutes that felt like an hour. Police cars already lined the curb outside a squat, gray warehouse when they pulled up, red and blue light bouncing off broken windows. Olivia was out of the car before it fully stopped.An officer led them up a narrow stairwell to a small room on the second floor. Empty, except for a folding chair, a half-eaten sandwich on a paper plate, and a football sitting alone in the corner.Charles's football.Olivia's knees gave out. Killian caught her, both

chapter 39"Olivia, answer me."The question wasn't loud. That was what made it terrifying.Olivia stood frozen, Charles's hand still wrapped around hers, small and warm and completely unaware of the ground shifting beneath the room."Charles is my son." Her voice came out careful, measured, buying time she didn't have. "That's all you need to know right now.""That's not what I asked."Mara stepped closer, unable to resist. "Maybe you should ask why she never told you the child's name."Olivia rounded on her. "Get out.""You've lied for seven years." Mara's smile was slow, poisonous. "You don't get to decide when the truth comes out anymore."Killian moved between them without thinking, jaw tight. "This isn't your conversation."Mara left, but not before her eyes cut to Olivia one last time, satisfied, cruel, already knowing what was coming.The door shut. Silence dropped over the room like a held breath.Killian's mind was already working, fast and involuntary. Charles's age. The bi