CHAPTER 1 — THE WOMAN EVERYONE WANTED THROWN OUT
The moment she stepped onto the ice, laughter echoed through the arena.
Thousands of spectators turned their heads.
Some pulled out their phones.
Others didn't even try to hide their smirks.
She didn't look like an athlete.
She looked like someone who had wandered in from the freezing streets.
Her brown jacket was faded and stained.
Her jeans were ripped at both knees.
The white leather on her skates had cracked with age, and one of the laces had been tied together with a thin piece of blue string.
A little boy sitting in the front row whispered to his mother,
"Mom... is she really going to skate?"
His mother smiled awkwardly.
"I don't think they'll even let her."
The announcer looked down at the registration card with obvious confusion.
"...Contestant number twenty-three... Emily Carter."
Silence.
Then he glanced back at her.
"Miss Carter... are you certain you're in the right place?"
More laughter.
Emily simply nodded.
"I registered three months ago."
One judge adjusted his glasses.
"The entry fee alone was expensive."
She quietly answered,
"I saved for almost a year."
Another judge folded his arms.
"You understand this is a national championship?"
"Yes."
"You'll be competing against Olympic-level athletes."
"I know."
"And you still think you belong here?"
Emily looked around the arena.
Not at the judges.
Not at the cameras.
But at the giant banner hanging above the rink.
FIRST PRIZE — $100,000
For several seconds she stared at those words without blinking.
Then she whispered,
"I don't have another choice."
No one understood what she meant.
The audience assumed she was making excuses.
Several competitors exchanged amused glances.
One famous skater laughed loudly enough for nearby cameras to capture it.
"This isn't a homeless shelter."
Another added,
"My warm-up skates cost more than everything she's wearing."
The crowd laughed again.
Even the host couldn't resist.
"Well... this should at least be entertaining."
Only an elderly janitor standing beside the rink looked at Emily with concern.
He quietly noticed something nobody else did.
Every few seconds...
Emily discreetly pressed her hand against her left side.
As if trying to hide terrible pain.
Backstage, officials debated canceling her performance before it even began.
"She's embarrassing the event."
"Imagine the headlines."
"What if she falls and gets injured?"
"Look at those skates—they're falling apart."
The chief referee finally walked toward her.
"If you withdraw now, we'll refund your registration fee."
Emily smiled weakly.
"I don't want the money back."
"I just need one chance."
The referee sighed.
"You'll regret this."
She answered so quietly only he could hear.
"If I lose today...
...my little brother loses his surgery."
The referee froze.
Before he could ask another question...
The arena lights suddenly dimmed.
The music operator announced,
"Contestant Twenty-Three... please take your starting position."
Emily slowly skated to the center of the rink.
The laughter hadn't stopped.
But she closed her eyes...
Took one long breath...
And whispered to herself,
"This is for you, Noah."
Then the music began.
May you like
No one in the arena could have imagined...
that the next six minutes would change every life inside that building forever.
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