Jaxon didn’t rush.
He slowly bent down, his broad, newly adapted shoulders shifting smoothly beneath the tight fabric of his fitted tracksuit top, and picked up the thick leather legal folder from the polished hardwood floor.
Flip.
He flipped open the heavy cover. His charcoal-grey eyes systematically scanned the lines of text inside—forged hospital medical reports, fabricated performance-enhancing drug tests, and a binding, multi-page talent contract.
Roxie got a debt. Kira got a leash.
Jaxon mentally smirked, a cold wave of absolute amusement settling deep into his chest.
He recognized every single word written on these pages. He had spent hours typing out this exact predatory plot device in his early notebook drafts of The Golden Court. Jonathan Vance had designed this specific trap to blackmail the unapproachable "Ice Queen" point guard into total submission the exact second her left knee eventually gave out under the pressure of the tournament.
How completely pathetic, Jaxon thought, his internal monologue completely detached and overflowing with a silent, heavy confidence. I wrote you to be a clever, ruthless corporate shark, Jonathan. But you’re just using my old, predictable script. And my system card has infinite funding to shred every single page of it.
"What on earth is this?" Coach Vivienne gasped, leaning heavily over Jaxon’s right shoulder, her initial awestruck look vanishing into pure shock. Her sharp amber eyes widened in horror as she read the top medical page over his arm. "This... this is a completely fabricated performance-enhancing drug report! They’re framing you, Kira! This is highly illegal!"
Kira Thorne stood frozen on the baseline, her long, statuesque legs tensing inside her athletic gear. Her high black ponytail swayed sharply as she clenched her jaw, her porcelain "Ice Queen" face tightening with a mixture of suppressed fury and deep, hidden despair.
Her massive breasts heaved heavily beneath her tight white compression top, rising and falling in rapid, shallow breaths as the pressure in the room mounted. She looked dangerous, cornered, and entirely out of options.
"Jonathan Vance sent that directly to my personal terminal less than ten minutes ago," Kira said, her voice dropping into a cold, trembling whisper that vibrated against the quiet gymnasium walls. "If my left knee fails during next week’s regional qualifier match, he triggers the drug clause automatically. The athletic board will ban me for life, and my family will owe his corporate sports group two million dollars in liquidated damages." New chapters come out on novelping(.)com first.
Jaxon closed the legal folder with a sharp, heavy snap.
Step.
He didn’t hesitate for a single second. He stepped straight forward into Kira’s immediate personal space, narrowing the gap until they were standing mere inches apart.
At six-foot-two, with his newly upgraded, muscular frame, he cast an imposing, heavy shadow over her tall, athletic figure. The subtle, clean scent of cedar and cool rain drifted off her warm skin, mixing with the suffocating, heavy tension filling the arena air.
Kira didn’t step back an inch. She defiantly tilted her chiseled chin up, glaring back at him with her dark, fierce eyes, even as the fabric of her compression top lightly brushed against his broadened chest.
"You think you’re completely untouchable just because you bought out a local stadium and crushed a minor corrupt inspector," Kira hissed quietly, her ragged breathing turning hot against his chin under his heavy, unyielding gaze. "Jonathan isn’t a low-level bureaucrat like Vane. He owns the entire regional athletic federation board. He’ll crush this entire court into dust before he lets me walk away from his contract."
"Let him try," Jaxon murmured, his voice deep, smooth, and laced with an absolute alpha authority that left zero room for doubt. "I wrote the laws of this world, Kira. And I didn’t write a single ending where Jonathan Vance wins."
Bzzzzt.
[The Constellation ’Tyrant of the Unbroken Court’ roars in approval of your absolute confidence!]
[Stream Audience Hype Level: 500%!] You are reading on g.com, the official source.
[Cosmic Tokens are raining down into your wallet!]
Before Kira could utter a single word of response, a piercing, high-pitched electronic shriek violently cut through the silent gymnasium.
Beep-beep-beep!
On Kira’s left wrist, her digital athletic terminal suddenly lit up like a bright flare, casting a harsh glow across her pale features. A violent, blood-red warning message flashed rapidly across her glass screen, accompanied by a high-pitched system alarm that rattled her composure.
[WARNING: Critical Legal Enforcement Triggered!]
[Target Entity: Kira Thorne — Athletic License #7749]
[Jonathan Vance has officially authorized an immediate, forced athletic license freeze and global court ban!]
[Time Remaining Until Enforcement Locks Database: 10 Seconds!]
Kira’s face went entirely pale, every ounce of her "Ice Queen" armor shattering as her eyes locked onto the flashing red text in an absolute, suffocating horror.
Jaxon didn’t even blink. He just looked down at her glowing wristband terminal, a ruthless, dark smirk pulling at the corner of his lips as the countdown began to tick away.