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“I know,” Esme says. “But we’ll do it. We’ll find them, we’ll talk to them. And we’ll get him.”

I look at her and see the determination in her eyes. She’s right. We will get him. We have to.

“Is that it now?” I ask. “Is this enough to make Declan pay?”

“Not yet,” Esme replies, starting the car. “We’re still missing two pieces. We need the voice, an actual name who’s willing to go on record, and then we need to record the podcast episode and release it. And we have to get the timing right. We can’t do it too soon, or too late.”

“Why not too soon?” I ask, curious.

“Because he’s still a coach, he still has influence and power. If we expose him now, he might get away with a slap on the wrist, or a PR campaign. He might even sue us, shut us down. We have to wait until he’s at his most vulnerable, when he has the most to lose.”

“And when will that be?” I wonder.

“I don’t know yet. But I have a feeling it will be soon. Very soon.”

I nod, trusting her. She’s the expert, after all.

“Do you think we will get anyone to go on record?” I ask. “Maybe they all signed NDAs.”

“Maybe,” she says. “But we know of at least one person who didn’t. Someone who was never paid off, who never agreed to keep quiet. Someone who has a grudge, a reason to speak up. Someone who’s already made a move against him.”

I frown. “Who?”

She glances at me, her eyes twinkling. “Who do you think, Alycia? Who walked out of your father’s club this year and into a rival’s shirt?”

“Mia Hartley?”

“Mia Hartley,” Esme says, her eyes back on the road. “She’d been a Tider since she was a kid, and she walked out without a word to anyone. She hasn’t returned one of my calls since June.”

My eyes widen. “No way. Not Mia.”

“We won’t know until we talk to her.”

“The girls… Declan’s girls have been through a lot. If they go on record, it will be because they decide so and not because we guilt tripped them into it.”

“We’ll take this name by name,” Esme agrees. “But sooner or later we’re talking to her, and we’re also talking to Rebecca Harris.”

“You should leave her alone.”

Esme looks at me. “I’ll do it with or without you.”

CHAPTER 14 – Lexa

Sunday, September 21

“There’s no need to be nervous,” I tell Rebecca as we’re walking onto the field for the match. It’s her first start since her injury. “You’ve got this.”

She gives me a tight smile. “I’m not nervous.”

“You’re not?”

“It’s like riding a bike.”

Daisy laughs. “It’s not like riding a bike. Football is harder than that.”

“I’ve been working hard. I’m ready,” Rebecca says.

“It’s September,” Daisy says. “You told me on a bus to ask you again in September.”