Chapter 4 - The Missing Nine Thousand
Avery read the email until the words blurred.
I know what Coach Vale is doing.
She had never opened it.
The message had landed in an old campus account she rarely checked.
The body had been deleted automatically after thirty days.
But the subject remained.
Hannah looked over Avery's shoulder.
“So Lila tried to contact you before the accident.”
“Apparently.”
“About Vale.”
Avery closed the laptop.
“Why accuse me now?”
“That is the question.”
They began reconstructing the weeks before the fall.
The missing fundraiser money had first appeared in March.
Nine thousand four hundred dollars had vanished from a student account used to pay for uniforms and competition travel.
Coach Mercer blamed delayed reimbursements.
Assistant coach Vale insisted the books would balance by the end of the semester.
They never did.
Then three freshmen unexpectedly received private training scholarships.
All three were connected to wealthy alumni.
All three had paid thousands to a summer program run by Vale.
Avery had questioned it.
Vale had smiled and told her not to worry about things above her position.
She remembered the exact words.
“Captains lead routines, Avery.”
“They don't audit adults.”
At the time, she had dismissed the comment.
Now it sounded like a warning.
Hannah searched property records.
Vale's training company had been losing money for almost two years.
Then, three months earlier, its debt disappeared.
Avery leaned back.
“He stole from the team.”
“Maybe.”
“And Lila found out.”
“Maybe.”
Avery's mind moved faster.
“What if the fall wasn't supposed to hurt her?”
Hannah stared at her.
“You think she agreed to it?”
“I don't know.”
The idea made Avery sick.
But something didn't fit.
Lila had emailed Avery asking for help.
Then someone damaged the harness.
Then Lila accused Avery.
Fear could make people do strange things.
So could blackmail.
Avery returned to the old gym after dark.
The building was scheduled for renovation and rarely used.
Cabinet B-17 stood in a storage room behind the bleachers.
Avery tried her old captain's key.
It opened the outer door.
Inside, the cabinet itself required a second key.
The same kind Lila carried.
Avery inspected the lock.
Scratch marks surrounded it.
Someone had opened it recently.
Then she heard footsteps.
Avery shut off her flashlight.
The storage room door opened.
Assistant coach Vale entered.
He was not alone.
Coach Mercer followed him.
Vale's voice was low.
“She should've been gone by now.”
Mercer sounded angry.
“You said the suspension would scare her.”
“It would've if Lila had stuck to the story.”
Avery held her breath.
Mercer whispered, “What happens if Avery finds the ledger?”
May you like
Vale answered without hesitation.
“Then we make sure she never gets the chance to use it.”
