Chapter 6
345words
I opened it to find Lucas standing there.
He'd lost weight, with dark shadows under his eyes suggesting sleepless nights.
"Sophia." His voice was rough. "Can I come in? Just for a minute?"
I stepped aside wordlessly.
He stood silent for a moment, then inhaled deeply.
"I'm sorry, Sophia. That statement… Emily's club forced me to make it."
"They threatened to pull my competition eligibility if I didn't cooperate. I wanted to win so badly… I felt trapped…"
"So you threw my father under the bus?"
"I know it was wrong! Sophia, I'm so sorry—to you and your parents!"
His words meant nothing now.
I shoved him out and slammed the door.
The next day brought a thunderbolt from the blue.
Someone reported me for doping.
Stone-faced officials escorted me to testing. Blood draw, urine sample, a battery of procedures. Then the results.
Positive.
I was blindsided.
"Impossible! I've never taken any banned substances!"
"Test results don't lie. Per regulations, you're disqualified pending further investigation."
I stood there, mind completely blank.
How could this happen?
I'd been meticulously careful—eating only in the official cafeteria, never accepting anything from unknown sources.
The only person who'd been in my room…
Lucas Lane.
I tore out of the room like a madwoman and spotted him in the hallway.
"It was you, wasn't it? You did this to me!"
"Sophia, calm down. I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Don't play dumb! Nobody else has been in my room! What did you do?"
I shoved him hard, blind with rage.
"Sophia Shaw! What the hell is wrong with you?!"
Someone shouted, and a crowd quickly formed.
In the chaos of pushing and pulling…
Lucas crashed heavily to the floor.
I learned what happened next from the news.
"Skater in Doping Scandal Attacks Former Partner in Violent Meltdown!"
"Jealousy and Rage: Disgraced Sophia Shaw Banned for Three Years After Attack!"
No one cared about my side of the story.
No one believed I'd never touched performance enhancers.
