Faking It With The Hockey Star

Justin’s POV

I couldn’t breathe. Everything I had believed about my life, every memory I had held onto about my family, felt like it was being taken apart piece by piece.

"So..." My voice barely worked, coming out rough and hollow. "I’ve been living a lie?"

Nobody answered.

Vanessa suddenly shot to her feet, her hands clenched into tight fists. "This is ridiculous!" She pointed wildly at my grandparents. "You people can’t prove any of this! You’re just trying to destroy my mother because you’ve always hated her!"

I was too exhausted to argue, but Grandpa wasn’t. For the first time that afternoon, he stood. He moved slowly and deliberately, but the sheer weight of his presence brought the room to an immediate hush.

"Sit down," Grandpa said. His voice wasn’t loud. It didn’t have to be.

Vanessa let out a bitter laugh. "You can’t tell me—"

"I said..." Grandpa’s sharp eyes hardened into steel. "Sit."

She actually flinched, shrinking back before slowly lowering herself into her seat. Grandpa looked at her for a long, heavy moment.

"It concerns you more than you realize," he told her softly.

She frowned, crossing her arms defensively. "What does that mean?"

Grandpa folded his hands behind his back. "Vanessa... I think it’s time you met your father."

The air in the room instantly turned to ice.

"What?" Vanessa scoffed, though her voice wavered. "What kind of joke is this?"

Grandpa turned toward Dr. Murphy. "No joke." He looked back at Vanessa, his expression solemn. "Your mother met him when they were both students. He was in medical school, and she was one of the university cheerleaders."

My stomach twisted into a hard knot.

Grandpa continued, his voice steady. "The same university. The same hockey program. The exact same place where history is currently repeating itself." He glanced over at me. "That is why Diane spent years trying to convince your father that hockey would ruin your future. She didn’t hate the sport itself. She hated what hockey reminded her of."

I stared at Diane. Every jagged piece of the puzzle finally began fitting together in my mind.

"So..." I said, looking at her as the truth washed over me. "You kept trying to pull me away from the rink... because he never made it."

Grandpa nodded once. "Exactly."

Vanessa slowly turned her head toward Dr. Murphy, her cheeks draining of color. "No..." Her voice trembled violently. "No... Mom?" She looked up at Diane with wide, terrified eyes. "Tell him he’s lying."

Diane didn’t answer. She couldn’t.

Vanessa’s eyes widened as the silence stretched between them. "You..." She took a step backward, away from her mother. "...you lied to me too?"

Grandpa wasn’t finished. He turned back toward Dr. Murphy. "Doctor. Twenty-three years. I think that’s long enough."

Dr. Murphy slowly removed his glasses, his hands shaking so hard the frames rattled. "When Diane came back into my life... she said this was our chance. Our chance to finally have everything. She told me Richard was wealthy. That if she stayed with him long enough... Vanessa would inherit a fortune."

Vanessa’s breathing became uneven and ragged. "No... no..."

Dr. Murphy looked directly at her, his expression broken. "I believed her. I thought... we would eventually become a real family."

Grandpa asked quietly, "And in return?"

The doctor closed his eyes tightly.

"What kind of favors?" Grandpa pressed.

Silence filled the room. Finally, Dr. Murphy spoke. "I adjusted medical records. I approved medication changes. I signed off on reports I never should have signed."

Richard stumbled backward, bumping into the side table. "You... you what?"

"I told myself... I wasn’t hurting anyone," Dr. Murphy stammered, tears springing to his eyes. "I convinced myself the specialists knew what they were doing. I kept lying to myself."

My father shook his head violently. "No. No. No..."

I took a step closer to the doctor, my chest heavy with a dark, crushing fury. "So because you wanted money... you helped destroy my family?"

Dr. Murphy couldn’t bring himself to look at me. "I’m sorry. I’m so sorry."

I let out a dry laugh. Not because anything about this was funny, but because I didn’t know what else to do. "My mother died. My entire childhood vanished. And all you have to say is... ’I’m sorry’?"

Dad suddenly exploded. "Diane!" He spun toward her, his face contorted in agony. "What have you done?"

She immediately pointed an accusing finger at the doctor. "He agreed to it! He did it! I didn’t force him!"

"Oh, so now it’s my fault?" Dr. Murphy shouted back, his composure shattering. "You promised we would all end up together! You said once Justin inherited everything we would find another way! You lied to me too!"

Everything dissolved into absolute chaos. Voices crashed over one another in a barrage of accusations and screams. Vanessa burst into hysterical tears, while Ethan sat frozen beside her, looking thoroughly horrified. Even he hadn’t expected the rot to run this deep.

Grandpa raised one authoritative hand. "Enough."

The room fell silent once more. He nodded toward one of the detectives waiting quietly near the entryway. "The reports."

The detective stepped forward carrying a thick evidence folder. Grandpa took it from his hands, stepped over to where I stood, and handed it directly to me.

"This belongs to you," he said gently.

My hands shook as I unclasped the file and opened it. Page after page of medical charts, laboratory reports, independent forensic reviews, and highlighted notes stared back at me. Near the bottom of a summary page, one sentence had been circled in red ink: Evidence of prolonged toxic exposure inconsistent with the prescribed treatment plan.

I stopped breathing.

I lifted my gaze, looking straight at my father. "Dad..." My voice cracked, and I could barely force the words past the lump in my throat. "Do you understand what this says?"

He stared at me, completely confused and utterly terrified.

I felt burning tears finally spill over my eyelashes. "Diane..." I swallowed hard, forcing the reality into the open. "...killed Mom."

The folder slipped from my numb fingers, scattering papers across the hardwood floor.

Dad looked at the scattered pages, then up at Diane, and then back down at the evidence. His legs completely gave out beneath him, and he collapsed onto his knees with a heavy thud.

A broken, ragged whisper escaped his throat. "What... have I done?"

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