Chapter 145: The Framed Truth
Kayden
I read the headline over and over again, trying to figure out what it meant, and then I saw the video attached to it.
Coach Reddick handed me his phone, his thumb clicking on the play button.
I gave him a questioning look, but he simply pointed down at the screen as the video began to play.
It was a clip of me—punching Julius in the face and shoving him to the ground.
"I hate it! And no, I will never spend another minute with any of you!"
My eyes widened as I watched. I remembered exactly where this had come from; it was from a few months ago, just before I left the Westbridge Falcons.
I could vividly recall the reality of that day.
Julius had verbally attacked me, calling me horrific names before he had his minions swarm and hit me.
In the video, they had cut that part out entirely, editing it to make it seem as if I were the primary bully.
My face had been covered in blood after being jumped, but the footage had been altered; the lighting was skewed, and the context was erased to make it look like I had started the fight when it wasn’t my fault in the first place.
"This team sucks and there is no way you could ever succeed without me. I don’t want to be a part of this anymore!" I screamed on the screen, hitting a locker before turning to leave.
In the clip, Julius grabbed my leg, acting as if he were begging me to stay.
"But we are a team and we are supposed to stick together, not be apart!" Julius sounded like he actually cared about me being on the roster.
He was purely pretending because, at that moment, other teammates had walked in. He wanted to play the martyr while painting me as the villain.
"Let me go!" I screamed in the video, angrily kicking his hand away before storming off.
The video stopped there, but that wasn’t the end.
In reality, after I had pushed his hand away, two of his minions pinned me against the locker and punched me over and over again. They had left me bleeding on the floor.
I scrolled through the Coach’s screen, hoping to see the rest of the footage, but there was nothing else.
All that was posted were more headlines about me.
Is this why he left Westbridge Falcons?
Kayden Vale is a bully.
The real truth about Kayden Vale.
Is this the end of Kayden Vale? career?
I clicked on some of the links, and the comment sections were filled with nasty, inhumane remarks.
#KickKaydenValeOutOfNorthernAvalanche was already trending.
There were so many mean memes using my face alongside the word "bully."
It was so hard to watch that I stumbled forward, almost falling to the floor, but the Coach’s hand was on my shoulder, steadying me.
"Easy there," he muttered.
I sighed heavily, placing my hand on my forehead as I let out a low groan of pain.
My hands started shaking so violently that the phone would have dropped to the ground if the Coach hadn’t taken it back. I never knew this video existed. I never expected that someone would have cut the most important part just to paint me as evil.
What was the reason for releasing it now? Was it Julius’s doing? Or did it come from the person who sent me that message before I left Westbridge?
Now that it was all over the news, I was sure my teammates had seen it.
They would probably have a second opinion of me now. Ever since I joined the Northern Avalanche, it had been nothing but trouble for the team.
"Vale, I need you to tell me the truth about this video," Coach Reddick began. "Stop shaking and listen to me. If you tell me the truth, we might find a way out of this—make you apologize and continue playing at least until the season is over. I already called Elton to prepare what the PR team will release, but I still need the truth. Is this video real?"
I raised my head to face the Coach, staring at the phone in his hand before I opened my mouth to speak. "This video is..." I stuttered.
Coach Reddick squeezed my shoulder gently. "Now is not the time to stutter! The CEO already called me, the board is demanding an explanation and wondering if they should drop you. They are planning to terminate your contract. The NHL also wants answers. This isn’t just any scandal, Kayden; this is a violent case," he squeezed my shoulder tighter. "And this is why I need the truth. Is the video real?"
I lowered my head and slowly nodded.
Coach Reddick sighed and let go of my shoulder. Even without him saying anything, I knew he was disappointed. I could feel it in the way he stepped back and lowered his head.
"But..." I shouted. "That’s not the whole video! I was attacked! The boys—Julius—they came at me first. They attacked me, and that video has been altered. I was bleeding there! I—"
"Are you telling me the truth right now, Kayden?" Coach Reddick demanded in a serious tone, searching my eyes.
I nodded frantically.
"I will have Elton tell the PR team to schedule a press release, and I need you to be prepared for it. But you won’t be participating in the next game, or the rest of the games against the Westbridge Falcons."
My eyes widened, my heart pounding loudly against my ribs. "Wha—"
"You heard me right, Vale. I know you are a good boy, Kayden, and I have never seen any form of bullying from you since you joined us. But right now, this is beyond me. It’s coming from the CEO, the board, and the sponsors. If that truly isn’t the whole video, then I need you to try and find the rest. You have until the series ends. That is all I can do for you."
"Coach, I..." I ran a hand through my hair, breathing fast.
Coach Reddick shook his head. "I am sorry, Kayden. That’s all I can do. Until this ends, you need to stay away from the public and social media. I wish you the best, son." He tapped me on the shoulder and turned to leave.
I remained in the corner, slumping against the wall and burying my face in my palms.
The loud voices of my teammates had stopped, now replaced by the Coach’s. He informed them about the situation and dropped the terrible news.
"Kayden won’t be playing in the remaining games."
The words resounded in my head, drowning out the rest of his speech. I don’t know how long I had been there, how long I had been crying while pulling at my hair, until I smelled the familiar pine scent in front of me. I didn’t have to look up to know it was him; he was always the one who came running to me.
But this time, he wasn’t alone. There were other scents, and out of curiosity, I raised my head to meet the faces of my teammates.
I stared at them, expecting nasty, judging looks, but there were none. Nobody glared at me. Instead, they all stared down at me with pity—the kind of look that said they didn’t believe what was online.
It made me burst into fresh tears.
"Kayden," Rhys was the first to speak. He crouched to my level on the floor and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Are you alright?"
I didn’t respond; I just kept sobbing.
"Kayden," someone else called my name. It was Philip.
I couldn’t bring myself to look at him because I didn’t know what he or the others truly thought of me.
The tears wouldn’t stop streaming, and not even Rhys’s assuring hands could ground me.
"Talk to me, Kayden, you—" Rhys tried to speak, but I slapped his hand away and jumped to my feet, accidentally hitting his jaw in my frantic state.
"I can’t be here!" I shouted. "I shouldn’t be here at all because you..." I pointed toward all of them. "You saw the news, you saw the video! Everyone..." I placed a hand on my chest and started hitting it. "I... I shouldn’t be here. No!" I screamed, pushing through them and rushing out of the locker room.
I didn’t grab my bag. I didn’t wait at all, even when Rhys and Miller were screaming my name. I ran off, having no idea where I was going.
I just needed to be away from the team, from the world. I wanted to be alone.
When I got out of the locker room, the crowd had already cleared the arena, but the press was still lingering near the exits.
I found a dark, secluded corner and hid myself, lowering my head and surrendering to the tears once again.
"What is happening?"