"EXTREME."
I pressed my index finger against the bold black letters printed across Caleb's medical file. The pad of my finger covered the warning entirely, pressing the dark ink into the heavy paper.
"The league doesn't hand out that classification lightly," Adrian said. He stepped away from the floor-to-ceiling window, crossing the room to stand beside my chair. "They only use it for active players carrying a volatile genetic marker."
"I know what the marker means, Mr. Cole."
"Then you know the consequences." Adrian pointed a silver pen at the red symbol glaring from the page. "Under league rules, a red-flagged player is a massive liability. If they fail to bind with a legally registered maternal calming source, they become a danger to themselves and the entire roster."
"How long?" I asked, keeping my hand flat on the file.
"Thirty days."
I looked up at him. "And if he doesn't secure the binding?"
"Mandatory suspension," Adrian stated, his tone completely devoid of sympathy. "The league steps in immediately. They freeze his rookie contract. They lock him out of the training facility. No practices, no games, no signing bonus. He becomes a ghost."
I stared at my unmarked fingertip. Last night, the chipped porcelain bowl sat empty on my bathroom sink. The heavy bead of blood never fell. For eighteen years, I gave away pieces of myself in the dark. I bled into his soup while Desmond slept, keeping the monster inside my son quiet. I endured the exhaustion, the dizzy spells, the cold sneers from a husband who thought I was just a useless housewife playing with recipes.
Now, that exact same secret held the keys to Caleb's entire career.
"Desmond told the head physician that Lola's new diet plan will clear up his muscle fatigue," I said, a dry rasp scratching my throat.
Adrian scoffed. "Desmond is a fool. Lola's ice baths and protein shakes are going to kill him. The cellular degradation will accelerate every time he pushes his body on the turf. By week two, Caleb won't be able to lift his arms above his head without tearing a rotator cuff."
"He won't stop pushing," I noted. "He wants the cameras."
"If he keeps sprinting for the media, the feral lunar break will trigger by week three," Adrian warned. "His muscles will literally snap off the bone."
"Desmond thinks he can buy his way out of a genetic curse."
"Money doesn't rewrite DNA, Ms. Holt. The medical committee will enforce the freeze, and they don't care how many VIP passes Desmond demanded this morning."
The heavy silence of the boardroom shattered. A muffled sound drifted through the thick glass walls separating us from the executive corridor.
Footsteps. Heavy, rapid strides echoing against the polished marble floors outside.
"That is Garrett Shaw," Adrian noted, angling his head toward the double doors. "General Manager. He is giving the golden boy the grand tour of the executive suite."
"Is the golden boy paying attention?" I asked.
"Listen for yourself."
The voices grew louder, carrying clearly through the small gap beneath the heavy oak doors.
"You need to dial back the attitude, Caleb," a gruff, older male voice barked. Garrett Shaw sounded out of breath and entirely out of patience. "I don't care how many cameras Lola shoved in your face downstairs. Up here, you show respect."
"I am the number one overall pick, Garrett," Caleb shot back. His voice sounded thin, tight with an arrogance I didn't recognize. Or maybe I just hadn't wanted to see it before. "My dad said the new owner is just some suit who wants to win. I can win."
"The new owner bought out fifty-one percent of this franchise in cash," Garrett snapped. "They can trade you to a practice squad in Canada if they don't like your face. Be polite to the new boss. Do you understand me?"
A heavy sigh vibrated through the wood. "Yeah, fine. I will smile and shake hands. Let's just get this over with so I can get back to the VIP lounge. Lola ordered my pre-game meals and the photographer is waiting."
"Your dad is already pissing off the coaching staff," Garrett warned, his heavy shoes stopping just a few yards from the boardroom. "Tell him to back off the offensive coordinator. He doesn't call the plays."
"Dad knows what he's doing," Caleb argued. "Lola charted my whole rookie season. We have a brand to build."
"You don't have a brand until you play a snap," Garrett fired back. "And you don't play a snap until the new owner signs off on your roster spot. Fix your face."
"Lola wants field access during practice," Caleb demanded, ignoring the warning. "I told security to clear her."
"You can't clear her," Garrett growled. "She is a distraction, Caleb. This is a professional football facility, not a reality television set."
"She is my manager now. She needs to monitor my reps."
I kept my eyes on the red envelope resting on the mahogany table. I listened to my son fight for a woman who didn't share a single drop of his genetics. Eighteen years of my blood, traded for a few months of her camera-ready smiles. I didn't feel angry anymore. I just felt cold.
"He doesn't know," Adrian murmured, leaning closer to my chair.
"He only knows what Desmond told him," I replied, my voice steady. "And Desmond told him I am nothing. Just a woman in cheap clothes who boils water."
"Are you going to sign the medical waiver for him?" Adrian asked.
"No."
Adrian's jaw tightened. He didn't argue. He reached into his sleek leather briefcase again, his hands moving with quiet efficiency. He pulled out a single sheet of heavy parchment paper, stamped heavily with the League Wolfblood Medical Committee's official gold seal.
He slid it across the polished mahogany table. The paper stopped right next to the red-flagged medical file.
"This is the official suspension countdown," Adrian stated, tapping the bottom corner of the page with his pen. "The thirty-day binding window doesn't start when training camp opens. It doesn't start when the season kicks off."
I looked at the timestamp printed in stark black ink at the very top of the document.
"It started the moment he signed the preliminary draft contract," Adrian finished.
"Midnight," I read aloud.
"Today at zero hundred hours," Adrian confirmed. "The clock is already ticking. Twenty-nine days and fourteen hours left. If your signature isn't on that line, he loses everything."
The brass handle on the heavy oak door clicked loudly.
"Put a smile on, kid," Garrett's voice ordered from the other side of the wood. "Showtime."
I didn't move my hands. I left the red-flagged medical file and the thirty-day countdown sitting dead center on the table, right under the bright morning sun. I sat perfectly straight in the majority owner's chair.
The heavy brass doorknob turned.
