CHAPTER 200: TOGETHER

Marco stepped into the glass-walled office hallway where The Rising Talent Agency was located, just as the automatic lights flickered on. Outside, Frankfurt was already sinking into dusk — the sky a muted purple, streetlights shining against the windows like faint stars. It had been a long, frantic journey from Madrid: a rush out of the hotel, a cab straight to Barajas, two hours in the air where he couldn’t stop tapping his foot, and a final sprint through arrivals straight to the office.

The building was buzzing. Less than a year ago, Marco had only Carla and a rented cubicle to his name—now there were more than twenty employees scattered across the open office, speaking into headsets, typing up reports, drafting negotiation packages. He had signed some promising young players, but everyone in the room knew who the crown jewel was, who the company revolved around. Who turned this entire agency from a dream into something real?

Lukas. Of course, it was Lukas.

Marco pushed the conference door open. Inside sat Carla, pale and tense, clutching a folder to her chest. Javi was there too — he must have driven straight from the university, still in his light jacket, his hair slightly dishevelled from how fast he must have rushed. And across from them sat two lawyers, both in dark suits, laptops already open, documents spread out across the table.

They all stood when Marco entered.

"Marco," Javi said, shaking his hand firmly. "Thank you for calling. I drove here immediately."

"I’m sorry to yank you out of Darmstadt like this," Marco replied, breath still uneven. "But I didn’t want you finding out from anyone else."

He took a seat, tossed his coat over the back of a chair, and nodded at Carla to begin.

She swallowed. "We received an email at 16:14 this afternoon... from an anonymous source. The sender used a temporary address — no identifying markers, no signature, nothing." She slid her laptop across for Marco to see. "Attached was... the picture."

Javi’s jaw clenched.

Marco already knew what he would see, but he still exhaled sharply when the image came up. Lukas and Joanna, right there in front of the ProfiCamp gates. Her hands were resting on his neck. His hands were on her waist. A kiss that was unmistakably romantic, unmistakably intimate, unmistakably... headline-worthy.

And then the text beneath it:

"Bring me 100,000€ in unidentifiable notes, or this goes to every major outlet in Germany. You have 36 hours."

Marco rubbed his forehead. "Bastards."

"We’ve talked options," one of the lawyers said, leaning forward. "Given the content of the email and the demanded payment, this qualifies as blackmail and extortion under German law. Our recommendation is clear: involve the police immediately. They’re equipped to track down the sender — anonymous emails aren’t as anonymous as people think."

The other lawyer added, "Before anything else, we need to know what Lukas wants. If this photo being released won’t damage him, personally or professionally, then the safest path is simply to ignore the threat entirely and let the police run the investigation. If he doesn’t care that it becomes public, there’s no leverage."

Javi exhaled slowly, palms pressed together. "And if he does want it kept private?"

The lawyers exchanged a glance.

"Then," the first lawyer said carefully, "you should begin preparing the funds. Blackmailers are unpredictable. They may release it anyway. But paying would, at the very least, buy time."

Marco’s expression hardened. "I don’t want this bastard thinking he can squeeze money out of a sixteen-year-old boy."

"We understand," the second lawyer replied. "But legally, ethically, strategically — we cannot proceed until Lukas tells us his stance."

Silence fell over the room for a moment.

The lights hummed softly overhead.

Far below, the muffled sounds of traffic floated up from the street.

Javi rubbed his hands together, exhaling deeply. "I’ll go get him. He deserves to hear everything from us — not from his phone, not from the internet. I just don’t want anything that will distract him from his game now."

Marco nodded. "Don’t worry, Javi. Luke is more mature than his age suggests. We’ll call him. He should be done with training by now."

Carla already had her phone out. "I’ll text him that he needs to come to the office urgently."

The lawyers folded their hands on the table, waiting.

Marco leaned back in his chair, eyes fixed on the dim skyline outside.

Everything felt like it was moving too fast again.

And the boy who never asked for any of this — who only wanted to play football — was about to walk into the middle of a storm.

About twenty minutes later, the glass door to the conference room slid open, and Lukas stepped inside, still wearing the light jacket he’d put on when leaving the ProfiCamp. He froze for half a second when he saw Javi sitting at the table beside Marco and Carla, with two suited lawyers across from them.

"Dad? What are you doing here?" he asked, blinking. He hadn’t expected to see anyone from home — certainly not his father — in Marco’s skyscraper office. And definitely not with such stiff expressions on their faces.

The mood in the room was so heavy it almost hummed.

Javi rose halfway from his seat. "Hey, Luke. Come, sit."

Lukas stepped forward, greeted everyone with a polite handshake, and slid into the empty chair beside his father. His brows knit into confusion as he looked around the table. "Okay, uhm... what’s going on? Carla said it was an emergency."

Marco exhaled sharply, as if holding in the news had physically weighed on him. He tapped his tablet, then turned it toward Lukas. "We received this. About an hour ago."

Lukas leaned forward. The moment his eyes fell on the image — him and Joanna kissing outside the ProfiCamp — his face shifted. The smile he’d walked in with drained, softening into a worried frown.

The email beneath it was short. Cold. Straightforward. A demand for €100,000 in exchange for keeping the picture away from the press.

Lukas stared at it silently, his jaw tightening. Marco filled in the rest.

"Anonymous sender. No name. No signature. Just threats. And the picture attached."

One of the lawyers added, "This is clear extortion. Illegal. We recommend going to the police immediately."

Marco leaned back. "But first, we needed to ask you directly, Lukas. Do you care if this picture goes out?" He glanced at Javi, then back to Lukas. "Because if you don’t mind, then we can ignore the email and let the authorities deal with it. But if this is something you want to keep private, we may have to consider... other options."

Lukas swallowed, looking at the photo again.

Then he shook his head slowly. "I don’t care if people know about us. I really don’t."

But the next words came with a softer voice — heavier, more vulnerable.

"...I’m just worried about how it would affect Joanna."

At that, Javi gently nudged him with his elbow. "Then call her, hijo. Ask her how she feels. Let her have a say."

Lukas nodded. He pulled out his phone, dialed Joanna, and turned on speaker.

It rang once. Twice.

Then her voice burst through the room like sunlight.

"Hello baby! How are you doing this night? You miss me?"

Lukas almost choked on air. His eyes went wide. Javi coughed into his hand to suppress a smile. The two lawyers stared at the table very professionally. Carla bit her lip to stop herself from laughing.

"Jo—Jo, you’re on speaker," Lukas blurted immediately. "I’m at Marco’s office. My dad, Marco, Carla, and two lawyers are all here."

Silence on her end.

Then—

"Oh my God—hi, Mr. Brandt... hi Marco... uhm—hello, everyone," she sputtered. Her voice was still warm, but now laced with embarrassment.

Lukas cleared his throat and explained everything: the picture... the email... the extortion... the threat to leak it to the media.

Joanna didn’t interrupt. Not even once.

When he finished, there was a long pause from her end. A heavy, sharp, chilling silence.

"...Someone is trying to blackmail you?" she finally said, her voice flat. Then it sharpened with anger. "Blackmail you with a picture of us kissing?"

Her tone wasn’t shaky. It wasn’t frightened.

It was furious — disgusted, almost offended on his behalf.

"That’s disgusting," she said plainly. "And whoever sent that is pathetic."

Her anger, protective and fierce, washed over the room like a shield. Even the lawyers raised their brows slightly. Javi glanced at Lukas, observing his son’s shoulders loosen with relief.

Joanna continued, voice steadier now:

"Lukas, listen to me — I don’t care if the world sees we’re together. I’m not ashamed of you, and I don’t want you worrying about me. If they leak it, then they leak it. Let them talk. We know the truth. And I’m with you. Always."

Lukas exhaled — a slow, almost trembling breath — the tension he’d been holding melting from his body.

Javi placed a stabilizing hand on his son’s shoulder.

Marco exchanged looks with the lawyers, nodding once.

Joanna’s voice came softer at the end:

"We face it together, okay?"

Lukas smiled for the first time since entering the room.

"Yeah," he whispered. "Together."

A/N: I can’t believe it... 200 Chapters. I remember when I was contemplating uploading Chapter 1. We’ve come so far together. Thank you all so much. I love you all!

This is just the beginning!

-Writ