Page 127 of Under Southern Stars
“I should have known,” I insist, the guilt crushing me. “I’m her mother! I should have seen what he really was!”
“There’s more,” Emma says gently, guiding me to a chair as my legs threaten to give way. “He appeared on a podcast called ‘The Alpha Male Revolution.’ There’s a transcript.”
I flip to the transcript with shaking hands, my eyes catching horrifying phrases:
“…and that’s the bottom line, fellas. Your daughters? They need to understand their place. They need to be taught to obey men, to respect male authority unquestioningly. It’s for their own good, their own protection. A daughter who doesn’t know how to submit to a strong man is a danger to herself and a disgrace to her father…”
A sob tears from my throat, raw and primal. “How could he say these things? How could he think this way about his own daughter? About any woman?”
Emma sits beside me, her usual brash confidence replaced by genuine compassion. “I don’t know, Sophia. I really don’t.”
As the initial shock begins to subside, a question forms through my tears. “If this is all online, how has Madison never seen it? How has no one at school found it and told her?”
“Because it’s not online anymore,” Emma says quietly. “Jack made sure of that.”
I look up sharply. “What do you mean?”
“After Jack saw all this, he was beyond furious. I’ve rarely seen my brother that angry.” Emma’s voice softens. “He confronted Troy directly.”
“He did what?” I can’t process what I’m hearing.
“About a week before you came to New Zealand,” Emma explains. “He arranged to meet Troy at a coffee shop when Troy was picking up Madison.”
“That day,” I whisper, memory clicking into place. “Madison mentioned seeing Jack there. I thought it was just a coincidence.”
“Not a coincidence,” Emma confirms. “Jack showed Troy what he’d found—all the screenshots, all the evidence. And he made it crystal clear that if Madison ever found those posts—which she inevitably would as she got older—it would destroy her.”
The pieces suddenly fall together. “So that’s what the ‘canceled by the woke mob’ video was about.”
“Exactly,” Emma nods. “Troy took down all the vile content after Jack confronted him. But apparently he couldn’t resist playing the victim with that ridiculous video.”
“Why didn’t Jack tell me about any of this?” I ask, still trying to comprehend the magnitude of what I’m learning.
Emma’s expression grows serious. “He said it wasn’t his place to come between Madison and her father. That he didn’t want to be the one to tell you something that might force you to restrict Madison’s contact with Troy. He just wanted the harmful content gone before she could ever see it.”
“So he confronted Troy, made him take down everything, and never said a word to me.” I struggle to process Jack’s quiet intervention. “He protected Madison without seeking any credit.”
“I was ready to fly to the States and rugby tackle that twat into next week,” Emma says, her bluntness startling a wet laughfrom me despite my tears. “But Jack handled it his way. I don’t know exactly what he said to Troy, but all that vile stuff came down, and this whiny video is all that’s left.”
I wipe my eyes, trying to collect myself. “I had no idea it was this bad. I knew Troy had issues, but this…this is pure hatred.”
“Are you okay?” Emma asks gently.
“No,” I admit, my voice breaking. “I’ve spent years trying to shield Madison from the worst of Troy’s influence while still allowing her to love her father. I’ve swallowed my own pain, my own anger, because I thought that was what good mothers do.” Fresh tears well. “And all this time, he’s been viewing her as a possession. A liability. Something to be controlled rather than cherished.”
Emma squeezes my hand. “You’re an incredible mother, Sophia. And Madison is amazing, really—strong, independent, kind. Whatever toxic garbage Troy believes, it hasn’t touched her because of you.”
I nod, trying to take comfort in her words. “I need to figure out how to handle this with Madison.”
“If anyone can navigate that impossible situation, it’s you,” Emma says with surprising confidence. “Jack always said you were the strongest person he’d ever met.”
The compliment, relayed secondhand, pierces through my emotional turmoil. “Where is Jack now?”
“Walking the kiwi sanctuary, I bet,” Emma says. “He goes there when he needs to think. Has since he was a teenager.”
I stand, decision made. “Could you keep Madison occupied for a while? I need to talk to him.”
Emma’s smile is knowing despite the heaviness of our conversation. “Absolutely. I’ve been meaning to show her some proper rugby tackling techniques anyway.”
