All Chapters of Divorced by the Hockey Captain: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

Bradley's POV"I don't need your pity, you know."Natalie snapped the words out like a whip, pulling her oversized black hoodie tight around her small shoulders. Her electric-blue bangs flopped over her eyes, but I could still see the defensive glare burning behind them."I literally came here to do a job, captain," she scoffed, crossing her arms and sticking her chin out. "I find information, you pay me in cash, and I leave. That's the transaction. I didn't come to your fancy penthouse to audition for a sob-story orphan special."I looked at her, still kneeling on the hardwood floor so we were eye to eye. God, she was putting up every single wall she had, trying so hard to sound tough."I'm not pitying you," I said.She narrowed her eyes, leaning down toward my face. "Bullshit. You have that exact look on your face. The 'oh, poor homeless girl with scars' look. Adults do it all the time right before they call the cops or hand me a stale sandwich.""Okay. Fine." I let out a rough sigh

Tabitha's POVI was completely done with staring at the four walls of the apartment.Dr. Chen had finally given me the green light at my checkup two days ago: my vitals were stable, the baby's heart was beating strong, and I was officially allowed to work again. The only condition was to keep physical strain to a minimum. No heavy lifting, no marathon sprints, and plenty of sitting down.So, when a maternity-leave replacement position opened up for a second-grade art and homeroom teacher at St. Jude Elementary just four blocks from my street, I jumped at the opportunity.When Principal Miller gave me a tour of the school yesterday afternoon, I fell in love with the place almost instantly. The hallways were painted in warm, sunny yellows and pale blues, decorated with uneven crayon drawings of suns, wonky houses, and glitter-covered handprints. The chatter and bright laughter echoing from the playground had felt like a warm bath for my exhausted soul.Today was my very first official d

Bradley's POV"Natalie, I am begging you on my knees. Do not make me post this."I leaned back on the hardwood, hands raised in desperate surrender. "What am I even supposed to tell my teammates? What will Coach say? I'm the team captain. I have an image. I have brand sponsorships!"Natalie uncapped a tube of neon-pink liquid lipstick with an ominous pop."Here's your caption, captain," she recited with deadpan seriousness, tilting her head. "'Felt cute. Might drop forty goals on Chicago tomorrow, might get another rhinoplasty with rainbow face gems. Don't judge my glow-up.'"A low, agonized groan tore out of my throat as I dropped my forehead into my palms. "You are an actual demon sent from the underworld to torture me.""Sit still and let art happen, Brad," she commanded, grabbing my chin with her surprisingly firm, sticky little fingers.There was zero getting past this kid. None.For the next fifteen grueli

Bradley's POV"What do you mean someone was watching her?!"I slammed both hands flat against the glass conference table in my private office, the force rattling the metal coffee mugs.Marcus didn't even flinch. He just stood on the other side, looking exhausted, holding his tablet up. "One of the private security drivers we had discreetly looping the neighborhood flagged it twenty minutes ago. A blacked-out SUV. It sat parked across the street from St. Jude Elementary for nearly forty-five minutes. Right as school let out. Tabitha walked down the front steps, noticed the car, and the driver immediately pulled off."My chest heaved. Panic and rage tore through my veins in equal measure.St. Jude Elementary. She was working at a school. She was finally trying to have a normal, quiet life, carrying our daughter, and now some creep was sitting in a tinted car tracking her every step?"Pull the street cameras," I barked, grabbing my keys off the blotter. "Get the plate numbers, run the fa

Bradley's POV "Brad, it's happened again." Marcus's voice cut through the phone speaker before I could even get out a greeting. I stopped dead in the middle of the living room, the coffee mug in my hand freezing mid-air. "What are you talking about?" "Our trailing car just flagged the dark sedan," Marcus said, breathing hard over the line. "The exact same vehicle from the school yesterday. It picked up Darlington's car three blocks after Tabitha left the front gates. It's following their route toward the river right now." Every drop of warmth drained straight out of my body. Tabitha. A cold, suffocating terror gripped my chest so hard I nearly crushed the ceramic mug in my grip. My pregnant ex-wife was sitting in that car with her friends, completely vulnerable, while some shadow crept behind them in broad daylight. "