Chapter 1

The roar of the crowd still echoed in my ears, hours later.

We' d won the Grand Finals, Phoenix Rising, my team.

I was Jake, the captain.

My strategies, my calls, they' d pulled us through another impossible match.

Alexis, my wife and the team owner, had been ecstatic on stage.

She' d grabbed the mic, her voice ringing through the arena.

"And for our incredible captain, Jake, who led us to this victory, a $200,000 performance bonus!"

The crowd went wild again.

I smiled, a real smile. Maybe things were looking up.

Days later, I checked my account.

No $200,000.

Instead, a notification: "200,000 Phoenix Credits deposited."

Our team' s fan token, a collectible, basically digital fluff.

I walked into Alexis' s office, the one she inherited from her father.

It was all glass and chrome now, not like the old days.

"The bonus, Alexis?" I asked.

She didn' t look up from her monitor, scrolling through something.

"Oh, Jake, yes. Had to put it in Phoenix Credits for now."

"Phoenix Credits? You promised cash."

"Temporary liquidity issues for the organization, darling," she said, finally glancing at me, a dismissive wave of her hand. "The brand needs to show robust token support. It' s good optics."

Optics. That word again.

I felt a cold knot in my stomach.

Later that day, I was scrolling through Instagram.

An Insta story popped up. Alexis.

She was beaming, arm around Ethan, our newest recruit.

He was handsome, a Twitch streamer with a huge following, but his in-game skills were average at best.

The caption read: "Officially welcoming Ethan with a $200,000 signing bonus adjustment! And a little something to get him around town! #PhoenixRising #NewEra"

The picture showed Ethan next to a brand-new luxury sports car, keys dangling from his hand, Alexis looking at him like he' d hung the moon.

Cash. A car.

For "boosting team engagement metrics," the follow-up post said.

I looked at my Phoenix Credits balance on my phone.

Worthless.

The knot in my stomach tightened. I wasn't just unappreciated; I was being replaced, made a fool of.

Seven years of marriage, building this team from nothing, and this is what it came to.

She didn' t see me anymore, only the brand, and Ethan was her shiny new toy for it.