Chapter 13 - The Office Above the Stadium
The donor gala began at seven.
Avery entered the stadium at seven twenty-three wearing a catering uniform.
Hannah monitored security feeds from a van outside.
Lila stayed hidden at the cabin.
Mercer had insisted on going alone.
Avery refused.
The stadium felt completely different without thousands of fans.
Silent corridors stretched beneath dark seating sections.
Above them, laughter echoed from the donor ballroom.
Avery reached the executive floor.
Mercer's keycard worked.
Dean Voss's office overlooked the entire field.
Trophies lined one wall.
Photographs covered another.
Voss shaking hands with governors.
Voss standing beside athletes.
Voss receiving national leadership awards.
Avery searched the desk.
Nothing.
Hannah whispered through her earpiece.
“You have four minutes.”
Avery opened a cabinet.
Locked.
She used Mercer's second key.
Inside were paper files.
Old ones.
Older than Vale's company.
She opened the first folder.
The scheme had existed for eleven years.
Long before Vale joined Westbridge.
Donors paid money.
Children received athletic opportunities.
Staff received bonuses.
Problems disappeared.
Injuries were hidden.
Academic violations were erased.
One athlete had reported financial pressure seven years earlier.
She lost her scholarship within a week.
Another accused a coach of falsifying medical clearance.
She was expelled for misconduct.
Avery photographed everything.
Then she found a red folder.
Her name was printed on the tab.
AVERY COLE.
Inside were copies of her financial aid records.
Her mother's employment history.
Her father's medical debt.
Her younger brother's school information.
They had researched her family.
A handwritten note appeared at the bottom.
PRESSURE POINT: SCHOLARSHIP REVOCATION MOST EFFECTIVE.
Avery's hands trembled.
Then she found another folder.
LILA HART.
And another.
DANA MERCER.
BROOKE JENSEN.
Every person had a pressure point.
Debt.
Family.
Secrets.
Fear.
Hannah's voice became urgent.
“Someone is coming.”
Avery closed the cabinet.
Too late.
The office door opened.
Dean Caroline Voss entered.
She wore a black evening gown.
Her expression was calm.
May you like
Almost disappointed.
“You really were always too curious, Avery.”
