Chapter 37

Emery had planned to take Daxton to the hospital, but Daxton refused. He was too embarrassed about getting beaten up by Bowen.

“I’m a doctor. I know how bad it is,” he said sharply. Emery had no choice but to call the family doctor to check him out at home.

“What did you do to Aubree earlier? I saw Bowen carrying her out. Did you hurt her?” Emery asked.

Daxton leaned against the car window, holding his stomach. His tone was hasty. “That bitch had it coming.”

He didn’t even hesitate to call his sister that.

Emery felt a wave of guilt and gave Daxton a sharp look.

“At first, I thought Bryan was making it up when he said she clung to Bowen,” Daxton continued, still bitter about being beaten by Bowen. “But now, I’m starting to think she already had a backup plan before she left the family. Look how Bowen’s jumping to protect her.”

Emery rubbed his temple. He was tired of arguing. “Bowen’s been out of the country until recently. Aubree couldn’t have known him before. None of us could even get close to the guy.”

Daxton didn’t care. “Come on, what kind of relationship does it take? She’s a woman, and he’s a man. What other reason would he have to help her?”

Emery had no answer for that. He didn’t understand it either. But Bowen’s actions made him uneasy. He worried Bowen might be hiding something, and Aubree could get hurt. This made him even more eager to bring Aubree back.

They drove the rest of the way in silence.

As soon as they pulled up to the house, Carmen was standing by the door. Daxton’s face softened the moment he saw her. “Silly girl, why are you waiting out here in the cold? Go inside and rest.”

When she noticed his bruises, Carmen’s face went pale. She ran into his arms, voice shaking. “Daxton, you’re hurt! Who did this? Was it Aubree? How could she hurt you like this?”

It hadn’t been Aubree directly, but in Daxton’s mind, it might as well have been.

Carmen’s words lit Daxton’s anger right back up. He thought there was nothing Aubree could not do at this point.

The doctor showed up soon after. Not wanting Carmen to see him like that, Daxton gently talked her into going to bed.

Lying on the living room couch, he pulled up his shirt. His strong frame was now covered in dark bruises across his waist and stomach.

The doctor got to work, putting on ointment and wrapping the worst spots.

Emery watched quietly, his face unreadable. He wasn’t worried about Daxton—he was thinking about Aubree. If Bowen had hit Daxton this hard, he believed Aubree had to be in bad shape.

“Daxton, Aubree is still our sister,” Emery said softly. “You don’t have to like her, but do you really have to go this far?”

He never expected the family to love Aubree the way they loved Carmen. But this kind of hate felt too much. And the things Carmen…

After thinking for a moment, Emery continued, “Daxton, Carmen’s not as sweet and innocent as you think.” He explained everything he and Bryan had found out.

“And what about today? Did you go to the garage because Carmen told you something again?” Emery asked. He knew Daxton wouldn’t have picked a fight with Aubree for no reason. Carmen must’ve said something first.

Emery didn’t expect Daxton to change his mind right away. He just hoped to make Daxton think twice and make him more wary of Carmen, but instead, Daxton’s temper exploded.

He shot up from the couch and punched Emery in the face. “I told you not to talk trash about Carmen! Has Aubree brainwashed your…”

He glared at Emery. “What do you mean by saying that Carmen was upset? She’s my sister, isn’t it my job to make her feel better? She’s been working her tail off trying to win a championship for you–and this is how you treat her, huh?”

Daxton was furious—he couldn’t believe what he was hearing from Emery. “I think that…I”

He wasn’t about to let anyone talk trash about Carmen, not even their parents.

“…bitch has clouded your judgment.”

Emery’s eyes widened. He was shocked. As the calmest of the brothers, he felt his temper flaring. “What the hell are you talking about? I think Bowen knocked the sense out of you with those punches.”

He couldn’t believe this unreasonable guy in front of him was usually his smart, level-headed brother.

But Daxton just got more worked up. “If you still think of yourself as Carmen’s brother, then use your money to buy out the rest of Aubree’s team. Let’s see how well she does without them.”

He made it sound like Emery refusing would be some huge betrayal.

Emery was so angry he didn’t even know what to say. He could not believe that all this was just because Carmen lost one match. And now he was expected to go this far to please her.

“What’s going on here? What are you fighting about?” Trevor had just gotten back from filming, suitcase still in hand, and looked at them with curiosity.

From what little he overheard, it sounded like this had something to do with Carmen and Aubree. What really caught his attention was that Emery seemed to be standing up for Aubree.

Seeing Trevor, Daxton jumped in and told him what had happened, clearly expecting backup. “Trevor, don’t you think Emery’s completely lost it?”

Trevor was the smoothest of the four, thanks to his time in the entertainment world. He smiled and casually walked over to Daxton. “Take it easy, Daxton. Emery is upset. You’re stepping into his team’s business. How would you feel if Bryan told you to ditch your lab to help out at the company?”

With just a few words, Trevor made it sound like Emery was only mad because Daxton was messing with his career.

Emery was about to speak up, but Trevor continued, “And Emery, you know Daxton cares more about Carmen than any of us. Of course, he’s mad if she’s upset. You should try to be more understanding.”

That shut both of them up.

“Come on, this isn’t that complicated,” Trevor said with a half-smile. “There’s already buzz about Aubree being a girl in esports. We could just let public opinion do its thing. Even if she holds up, the officials might not.”

Daxton thought about it. It wasn’t a new idea—this kind of thing happened all the time in Trevor’s world. It wouldn’t take much, and with Trevor’s connections, it’d be easy to pull off.

Emery caught on quickly and stepped in. “No way. I don’t agree. If we do that, the officials will have no choice but to drop Aubree. She’ll be blacklisted from the entire esports scene.”

The pressure wouldn’t just be from fans. Daxton would definitely throw the Wilson family name into the mix.

Trevor already expected that reaction. He laughed it off. “Relax, Emery. I’m just messing with you. Aubree’s still our sister. I’m not…”

But when Emery wasn’t looking, Trevor shot Daxton a knowing glance.

Daxton looked thoughtful for once and, surprisingly, didn’t argue back.

Emery looked from one to the other, suspicious. Trevor just kept smiling. Emery finally let it go and added, “You’d better be joking.”

Then he walked out of the Wilson family house, feeling like if he stayed any longer, he might actually have a heart attack. Now he got why Aubree didn’t want to come back–this place was suffocating.

It was like the whole family ran on a “Carmen only” rulebook.

Inside the house, Trevor gave Daxton a pat on the shoulder without saying a word. As he headed upstairs, he spotted Carmen slipping away around the corner. He just smiled to himself.