Lexi stormed into the Nova estate with determination in her step and her heart pounding so hard she could feel it in her throat.
The email still felt fresh in her mind—clinical, merciless, and signed off from her father's account. She had read it twice. Then ten more times. The more she stared, the less it felt real. But it was.
She found Ves in his office, as always. The door was slightly ajar, and she pushed it open without knocking.
He looked up, startled. "Lexi?"
"Did you write this?" she demanded, striding across the room and tossing her phone onto his desk. The email glowed coldly on the screen.
Ves read it, brow tightening. "What is this?"
"It's an email," she said, voice sharp. "Firing Charles Blackwood. Denying him severance. It came from your account."
Ves's eyes widened. "I never sent this."
Lexi folded her arms. "Then explain how it exists."
He scrolled through the message again. His jaw tightened. "This… This isn't my writing. This tone, the phrasing—Lexi, I swear on everything, I didn't send this. Charlie and I were in the army together. There was no bad blood between us when he passed."
Her voice cracked, emotion spilling in. "Then who did? Who used your name to fuck Charles up so badly that he killed himself?"
Ves stood, suddenly looking every bit the soldier he once was. "Let me be perfectly clear—I had no idea this message existed. If someone at my company used my access or impersonated me to make this decision, I will find them. I will expose them, and they will never work in this industry again. I give you my word."
Lexi searched his face for hesitation—for anything that would make her doubt. But all she saw was fire.
"I believe you," she said softly, then sat down, her anger replaced by exhaustion. "But I need to know who did this. And I need to know who sent it to me and Noah."
Ves nodded, already moving to his desk. "I'll pull the security logs and email access records. If someone covered their tracks, IT will still know. And I'll find out who leaked it. You'll have answers as soon as possible, but it might take time. A lot has been deleted from our system since then."
Lexi took a long breath and nodded. "Thank you, Dad."
He looked up, something like regret flickering in his expression. "I failed Charles. But I won't fail you."
—-
The week that followed was nothing less than heartbreaking. Lexi felt how the air in Noah's apartment had turned cold. How she had turned invisible.
She tried to talk to him. More than once. But Noah was lost in a new surge of grief. It was like the new discoveries made him relive that feeling of an abandoned child.
Sometimes he did speak. Short sentences and only when absolutely necessary. Having a serious conversation and clear the air wasn't happening as long as Noah was stuck inside himself and felt angry at the world.
Gia talked Lexi through her tears every night. "You know, maybe you should come stay with me for a while. At least until he calms down and is ready to talk," Gia suggested. Lexi took a deep breath, voice cracked from the crying. "I don't know. Maybe I could give him one last chance."
The following morning Lexi found Noah on the sofa watching golf on mute and eating peanut butter out of the jar.
"Are you just eating peanut butter for breakfast?" she asked.
Noah didn't look up. "Problem?"
Lexi sighed at his unfriendly tone. "I can make you some breakfast, if you'd like."
"Don't bother."
Lexi stood silent, just watching her husband digging in the jar like he was an overambitious archaeologist.
Noah felt Lexi's eyes on him. Her gaze was burning a hole through his defenses and he needed those defenses right now. It kept him together, allowed him to get up in the mornings, get to the gym, do the work he needed to do to keep his followers happy.
The followers' marital questions went unanswered for now.
"I'm going to stay with Gia for a while," Lexi finally decided out loud, swallowing back the tears that threatened to spill.
Noah's jaw clenched and he finally look at her. Only for a second to see if she was being serious before he turned his eyes back to DeChambeau, hitting the ball into the water.
"Is that what you want?" he asked, voice seemingly void of emotions.
"No!" Lexi said exasperated. "But I can't stand being treated like the enemy anymore."
Silence.
Lexi couldn't find anything more to say either. She took a silent deep breath to keep composure before turning around and heading back to the guestroom to pack.
---
Gia opened the door to find her best friend, a designer suitcase in hand and rain making her hair stick to her tear stained face.
"Oh, honey," Gia whispered and pulled Lexi in without another word.
Lexi lay on Gia's couch that evening, wrapped in a blanket, eating takeout straight from the box while Gia and Lucas buzzed in the kitchen making tea.
"Noah can be like that sometimes," Lucas explained. "He shuts down and no one can reach him for weeks, sometimes months."
Lexi looked up at Lucas with dread.
"Months?"
Gia gave Lucas "that look", but he had already figured out by himself that he was making things worse.
"I mean… To be fair, I usually deserved the infamous Blackwood cold shoulder," he said quickly in an attempt to save the situation. "It's not like you killed his hamster."
Gia rolled her eyes. Lexi stared at Lucas blankly.
"What are you ta-"
"Come on, let's have some tea and forget about marital problems for a bit," Gia interrupted, recognising that this discussion wasn't going anywhere nice.
—-
A week passed without communication. Lexi couldn't watch Noah's new content. It hurt too much to see him act like everything was fine. Like this challenge had never happened in the first place.
She tried to stay busy with the charity gala plans. It was just around the corner and would get massive media coverage. The recent fires had encouraged people to support reforestation like never before.
Lexi and Gia decided to take a drive to an antique store outside the city. They wanted to donate some pieces for the auction and Lexi had offered to pick them up in person.
"I heard Jake asked you to go with him to Levi's premier party tomorrow," Lexi said with a smirk while driving. "Are you going?"
Lexi stared out the window as they drove over George Washington Bridge. A sailboat was enjoying the sun and still waters.
"I don't think so. I don't really feel like partying," she sighed.
"Maybe it's exactly what you need. To get out and see people and-"
"Pretend everything's fine and that my husband doesn't hate me?" Lexi quickly interrupted.
Gia kept calm. "I was going to say reconnect with friends. There are friends you haven't seen since before the challenge started."
Lexi knew Gia was right. Isolating herself had never worked before and there was no indication that it would be better this time.
"Fine, I'll-"
This time Lexi interrupts herself. Or at least her stomach. The gag was ominous to say the least.
"Gia, stop the car!"
"I can't, we're on the bridge!" she said with a slight panic as she realises what's going on.
And that's how Lexi and Gia found out what half digested pancakes look like on a car floor and parts of the dashboard.