Chapter 145: When His Name Appeared

Chapter 145: Chapter 145: When His Name Appeared

Audrey stared at her lukewarm coffee like it held the absolute secrets to the universe. It did not. It just held a depressing amount of cheap breakroom creamer and her own exhausted reflection.

She had spent the last forty-eight hours avoiding the giant elephant in the room. Mason’s name was sitting in the preliminary financial investigation file. She knew he wasn’t accused of anything. His corporate records were simply caught in the massive sweep of the Calloway Football Group audit.

But seeing his name printed in bold black ink inside a highly confidential newsroom folder made her stomach twist into painful knots. It crossed a line. It made everything suddenly feel incredibly personal.

Audrey finally decided she couldn’t keep treating him differently without explaining why. She dumped the cold coffee into the trash and grabbed her coat.

She walked into his private penthouse an hour later. Mason was sitting on his large leather sofa. He wore a simple dark t-shirt and was quickly typing an email on his phone. He looked completely relaxed, completely unaware of the heavy weight sitting on her chest.

Audrey dropped her bag by the door. It hit the hardwood floor with a heavy thud.

Mason locked his phone instantly. He looked up. He studied her pale face for exactly two seconds. He always noticed everything.

"You’ve been quiet," Mason said. He did not sound angry. He just stated a fact.

Audrey stood frozen in the middle of the spacious living room. She wrapped her arms tightly around her stomach. She could not keep pretending everything was fine.

"Your name came up at work," Audrey said.

Mason stopped moving. His relaxed posture completely vanished. His dark eyes locked directly onto hers.

"What happened?" Mason asked. His voice dropped into a low, serious rumble.

Audrey took a shaky breath. "The newspaper is running a major investigation. We are looking into severe financial discrepancies inside the Calloway Football Group. The shell companies. The missing funds from 2019."

She watched his face incredibly carefully. She expected him to get angry. She expected him to pace the room and demand to know who was writing the article.

He didn’t do any of that.

"Several senior executives are being investigated," Audrey continued. Her voice dropped to a quiet whisper. "Your name is on the list of people whose financial records are being examined."

Mason sat perfectly still. He digested the information rapidly. He was genuinely surprised, but he was absolutely not defensive.

"Does the report say I’m accused of anything?" Mason asked calmly.

"No," Audrey replied instantly. "It just says your records are part of the sweep."

"Then don’t look at me like I am," Mason told her.

Audrey blinked. The words hit her right in the chest.

That was the exact moment of clarity. She suddenly realized she was standing near the door like she was afraid of him. She was letting her own panic and exhaustion dictate the situation before she even had all the facts.

"I have nothing to hide, Audrey," Mason said quietly. He stood up and walked over to her. He did not pull her into a giant romantic hug. He just stood close enough so she could feel the steady heat radiating off him. "If the investigation reaches my desk, they can look at whatever they want. I did not steal money."

"I know," Audrey admitted. She looked down at her shoes, feeling a sharp sting of guilt. "It’s not that I think you did something."

"Then what is it?" Mason asked softly.

Audrey looked up into his eyes. She didn’t have a clean, perfect answer.

"Because your world is massive," Audrey whispered truthfully. "It is billionaires, corporate boards, and hidden shell companies. I write sports columns, Mason. Seeing your name in a criminal investigation file just made me realize how complicated your life actually is. It terrified me."

Mason looked at her. He didn’t give her a sweeping romantic speech about how love conquers all. He was much more grounded than that.

"My world is complicated," Mason agreed. "But my life with you is not. The newspaper can do their job. We are going to be fine."

Audrey let out a long breath. The tight knot in her stomach slowly uncoiled. He was completely right. She was projecting her fear of the unknown directly onto him.

Before she could say thank you, her cell phone buzzed violently in her pocket.

She pulled it out. It was a text from Ben.

**Get back to the newsroom. I found something.**

Audrey sighed heavily. "I have to go back to work."

"Go," Mason said. He offered a small, reassuring smile. "Find the bad guys, Ellis."

###

The city newsroom was buzzing with loud afternoon chaos. Phones rang endlessly. Junior reporters ran between crowded desks.

Ben and Daisy were huddled over a glowing laptop screen in the corner of the dusty archive department. They were completely ignoring the noise around them.

"This makes absolutely no sense," Ben muttered. He furiously clicked his mouse, comparing a digital PDF to a physical piece of paper on his desk. "The 2019 original document says there was an unscheduled club activity that week. No names attached."

"And the official record changed it to a private training session," Daisy noted calmly. She took a slow sip of her strawberry smoothie.

"Exactly," Ben said. He pointed his pen at the bright screen. "And we know Daniel Mercer raised his financial complaint that exact same week. We also know Mason was in a photograph taken outside the stadium that day."

"But Mason’s name isn’t in the financial ledgers," Daisy pointed out.

"No, it isn’t," Ben agreed. "So the key issue is the unscheduled activity itself. We need to know who was actually inside that room."

Ben rapidly typed a search query into the club’s archived database. He pulled up the building access logs for that specific date in 2019.

The screen loaded. A bright red error message popped up instantly.

**File Not Found.**

Ben stared at the screen. He took off his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes.

"The attendance record is missing," Ben announced. "Someone completely scrubbed the access log for that specific room."

"You don’t accidentally delete an access log," Daisy said. Her honey colored eyes widened slightly.

"No, you don’t," Ben replied. His journalistic instincts were practically vibrating. "Whoever controlled those records had a reason to make that log disappear," Ben replied. "And whoever was in that room could be important. We need to find out who had access to it before we start accusing anyone."

A cheerful, entirely unwelcome voice echoed from the doorway behind them.

"You two look incredibly stressed."

Ben jumped. He spun around in his office chair.

Zane Kessler was standing right behind them. He wore a sharp grey suit and a perfectly easy smile. He held a cup of coffee, looking like he did not have a single care in the entire world.

"What are you doing in the newsroom?" Ben demanded sharply.

"I was dropping off some press credentials for the Chief," Zane answered smoothly.

Zane took a sip of his coffee. He casually glanced at Ben’s laptop screen. The bright red error message was still glowing brightly.

Zane’s smile didn’t fade, but his eyes turned completely serious.

"You guys are working really hard," Zane noted casually.

"We are doing our jobs," Daisy said. She gave him a highly suspicious look. "Do you have a tracking device on us?"

Zane looked back and forth between them. He did not explain why he was standing in the archives. He did not explain how he knew they were investigating the 2019 records.

He just offered them another incredibly frustrating, cryptic warning.

"You’re looking at the wrong name," Zane said quietly.

Ben stood up from his chair. He was officially tired of the games.

"Whose name should we be looking at?" Ben asked directly.

Zane smiled a small, knowing smile. He didn’t answer the question. He just turned around and walked casually out of the archive room. He completely disappeared into the busy newsroom crowd.

Ben stared at the empty doorway. He grabbed his pen and threw it onto the desk in pure frustration.

"I really hate that guy," Ben muttered.

###

Audrey walked back into the main bullpen. She dropped her bag next to her chair and sat down at her desk.

The quiet conversation with Mason played on a loop in her head. He was right. She had looked at him like a suspect because she was terrified of his massive corporate world. She needed to look at the facts exactly like a journalist.

She unlocked her computer. She opened the confidential investigative file the Chief had given her.

Mason’s name was still sitting right there on the screen.

Her eyes locked onto one specific name listed under the senior operations department.

The name appeared in several of the old administrative records surrounding the stadium.

Audrey clicked through the attached documents, comparing dates, access permissions, and the shell companies Ben had mentioned.

The same name appeared beside multiple records that had been created, modified, or accessed around the time Daniel Mercer raised his complaint.

Her finger stopped moving on the mouse.

Someone in senior operations had authorization to move financial assets and access the stadium’s security records.

Audrey stared at the name on her screen.

The pieces weren’t fitting together yet.

But something about them was wrong.

This time, it wasn’t Mason’s name that frightened her.