Their Punching Bag Became The Storm novel Chapter 50

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Chapter 50 That Chance Is Gone

[The production team has said it over and over, don’t leave the safe zone. But does Emily care? Not even a little. If something goes wrong, who’s taking the fall for that?]

[And you’re actually supposed to trust her judgment? What judgment? What does she even know? Aside from that fake–sweet act and her princess complex, I haven’t seen a single decent thing about her.]

[You can totally tell Emily is so desperate to prove herself. She’s completely lost the plot.]

[This is Emily’s stream. If you don’t like her, then leave.]

[Emily has a point. The sun is blazing, the weather’s gorgeous. What could go wrong? She barely stepped outside the safe zone. Why is everyone losing their minds?] [Who knows what kind of stunt Whitney pulled on the fish back in the safe zone? Thanks to her, Emily didn’t catch a single thing.]

[Seriously. This is all Whitney’s fault. She wanted to see Emily crash and burn. She used tricks to lure every fish in the area over to her side. How was Emily supposed to catch anything after that?]

[Oh, right, so Emily ignores the crew’s warnings, charges straight out of the safe zone, and that’s totally justified.

[She comes up empty, and that’s totally fine too. Whatever her fans say goes, apparently.]

The chat had turned into a full–blown battlefield, insults flying from every direction. Darian stared at the screen, so furious his head was throbbing.

His face was livid as he launched into a tirade against the Anderson siblings, completely unbothered by the crew members standing right there

Whitney reached out and placed a hand on Darian’s shoulder.

Her voice was calm, the kind of calm that settled people down even when tensions were running high. “Yelling at her right now won’t do any good. She’s not going to listen.”

Whitney kept her eyes on the screen, watching Emily’s sweet, innocent face.

Even though Emily was putting on a flawless performance for the camera, Whitney could spot the darkness lurking behind her eyes.

There was no way Emily was going to listen to Darian and turn back now. She was dead set on beating Whitney, no matter what it took.

“Send someone to intercept their boat,” Whitney said.

Chapter 50 That Chance Is Gone

Darian jolted upright. “Yes! We have to stop them. They’re getting way too far out.”

He barked orders at the crew, telling them to get the lifeguards on the jet skis and rush out to cut the boat off.

Whitney stepped out of the director’s tent, not wanting to get in the crew’s way, and made her way back to the beach with Ryan.

The sky was a brilliant blue, melting seamlessly into the sea. The golden sunlight was dazzling, making the whole scene look bright and cheerful.

But Whitney narrowed her eyes, checking the angle of the sun and studying the breeze drifting in from the water.

She turned her head, and her gaze met Ryan’s. Their eyes held for a moment.

A faint ripple of concern surfaced in Ryan’s usually composed expression. “You feel it too, don’t you?”

Whitney paused, her eyes sharpening as she studied his face.

“The wind’s picking up,” he said, brushing off her probing look and turning his gaze slowly toward the sea.

Whitney pressed her lips together. She thought, ‘Yeah, the wind is definitely getting stronger. Can that boat really make it back safe?‘

If the people on board had actually noticed the shift in the air, maybe they’d have a chance at avoiding disaster.

Too bad everyone on that boat was dead weight. And with Emily so fixated on beating her, that chance was probably long gone.

Emily steered the boat in a wide loop, then couldn’t wait to haul up the net and see what they’d caught.

The moment the first net came up, Kayla and Jason started shouting, “Fish! I see fish. Emily, you’re incredible.”

Sure enough, the net was teerning with fish of different kinds, and plenty of them. A glance told them there had to be at least twenty or thirty pounds.

For Emily, this was a massive shot of confidence. She couldn’t keep the smugness out of her eyes.

‘Finally, I’ve caught something! Now I’ve got a real shot at going head–to–head with Whitney.‘ Emily thought, her heart pounding.

There were still two and a half hours left before the competition ended. More than enough time to turn things around and come out on top.

Emily swallowed the triumphant smile threatening to break across her face and lifted

Chapter 50 That Chance Is Gone

her chin with cool confidence. “Let’s cast the net again.”

“Now that we’ve caught some fish, shouldn’t we head back to the safe zone?” Bella suggested, her delicate brows drawing together.

Her heart was hammering, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was brewing.

“No!” Emily’s voice shot up, the mic making it sound even sharper.

The two followers on the boat froze, too spooked to move.

Chase frowned slightly and looked at her, puzzled.

Emily scrambled to smooth things over. She cleared her throat and softened her tone. I mean, we’ve finally got some momentum. Let’s push through and cast the net again.” She fluttered her lashes, glancing around at each of them. “Didn’t we all agree to go all out for first place today?”

Bella, who only cared about cozying up to Chase and couldn’t have cared less about Emily, rolled her eyes. ‘Who made that deal with you?‘ she thought.

Besides, this was supposed to be an individual competition. With the Anderson siblings around, the rest of them were little more than background extras. First place was never going to land in their laps.

After she finished speaking, Emily turned to Chase, her eyes burning with resolve. “I really want you to enjoy that seafood feast tonight, Chase.”

Bella and the others exchanged uneasy glances. ‘Emily said it. How could we possibly say no now? If we refused, it’d be like we don’t want Chase to have his feast, they thought.

“Alright, one more cast and then we head back,” Bella said, biting her lip.

She glanced toward the safe zone, which was shrinking further into the distance, and forced a tight smile to hide her nerves. “Let’s be careful. We’re getting really far out.”

Emily flashed a confident smile. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this.”

But her actions didn’t exactly match her reassuring words.

The further they drifted from the safe zone, the deeper the group’s anxiety grew.

Suddenly, the roar of engines tore across the water. Two jet skis sliced through the waves like sharks, long foamy wakes streaming behind them. In seconds, they were right alongside the boat.

“Stop! You can’t go any further. Stop right now,” a gruff voice blasted through a megaphone.

The two lifeguards on the jet skis blocked their path, shouting through the megaphone.

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Chapter 50 That Chance Is Gone

One of them waved his arms furiously, signaling them to turn back toward the safe Zone.

With the lifeguards planted directly in their way, Emily had no choice but to bring the boat to a halt. She frowned, standing at the edge and staring down at the lifeguards who had just ruined her momentum..

That first successful net had given Emily a huge surge of confidence. Once the second net came in, she was certain she’d win this thing.

She was going to prove she was better than Whitney and win Ryan over to her side.

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