Chapter 3 The Deep Water

A sharp sting of panic radiated through my chest.

The suffocating heat of the campus library wrapped around my throat like a heavy wool scarf. It was four in the afternoon. The third floor was packed with desperate students cramming for midterms.

The heavy thud of my constitutional law textbook hitting the polished oak desk made the girl next to me flinch.

I did not apologize. My hands were shaking too hard to speak.

I opened my laptop. The memory of Leo Kincaid standing on the freezing ice played on a relentless loop in my mind. He had pointed directly at me. He knew I was watching. He knew I had seen his microscopic betrayal of the game.

A frantic, anxious fluttering hammered against my ribs.

I logged into the university secure server. My fingers flew across the keyboard. I was a pre law student aiming for a flawless 4.50 grade point average. I knew how to find buried information. I bypassed the basic sports statistics and opened the global financial databases.

I felt like a solitary whale navigating dangerously deep and dark waters. The pressure was building. The sunlight was fading the deeper I went. I was isolated in a sea of raw data.

I pulled up the public betting spreads for the college league. I needed to see the money. The raw athletic data on Leo was not enough to understand the full picture.

The numbers flashing on my screen were staggering.

State University hockey was not just a college sport. It was a massive financial engine. Millions of dollars changed hands during every single playoff game.

I cross referenced the betting spikes with offshore financial accounts. I used the investigative techniques my favorite professor had taught us during a mock trial seminar. I tracked the digital footprints hidden beneath the legal corporate filings.

Follow the money. The money never lies.

I found a series of anonymous shell companies registered in the Cayman Islands. These companies were placing massive, high risk bets against State University on specific penalty statistics. They were betting astronomical sums of money on the exact statistics Leo Kincaid was manipulating.

This was not a few college kids running a dorm room gambling ring. This was a sophisticated, heavily funded syndicate.

The scale of the corruption made my blood run cold. The suffocating library heat vanished from my awareness. Pure ice flooded my veins.

If the federal authorities discovered this syndicate, they would tear the university apart. The board of directors would face federal indictments. The coaching staff would be fired in disgrace. The players would be banned from professional leagues for life.

And Leo Kincaid would go to federal prison.

He was the star captain. He was the most visible player on the roster. The prosecution would make an agonizing public example out of him. They would ruin his life forever.

A sharp ache bloomed behind my eyes. I pressed my palms against my forehead.

Why was he doing this?

Leo Kincaid came from a respected, wealthy family. He was a guaranteed first round draft pick for the professional hockey leagues. He had the world at his feet. He had fans screaming his name every weekend. It made zero logical sense for him to risk federal prison for a syndicate payout.

Unless he had no choice.

I stared at the glowing screen. A new, terrifying theory formed in my mind.

What if he was not doing it for greed? What if he was doing it out of fear?

The image of his exhausted, bruised eyes from the basement office flashed in my memory. The dark circles under his intense gaze told a story of sleepless nights and crushing stress. He did not look like a smug criminal mastermind. He looked like a man standing on the gallows, waiting for the heavy wooden floor to drop.

He was being blackmailed.

The realization hit me with the force of a physical blow to the stomach. The syndicate was forcing him to throw the games. They had something dangerous on him. They held a secret so damaging that he was willing to destroy his own golden legacy to protect it.

I dragged my trembling hands through my hair. The rough texture of my blue crocheted beanie offered a brief moment of grounding comfort. I pulled it lower over my ears to block out the hushed whispers of the library.

I had to report this.

My scholarship depended on my strict adherence to the university honor code. My compliance audits required full transparency. My mother had worked double shifts in a diner for a decade just to pay for my early tutoring. She was my favorite person in the whole wide world. I could not fail her. I could not jeopardize my future for a dangerous boy I barely knew.

I navigated to the top menu bar. I clicked the print command.

The heavy industrial laser printer in the corner of the library hummed to life. It began spitting out the damning spreadsheets, the offshore account links, and the probability calculations.

Thirty pages of hard, undeniable evidence.

I stood up and walked over to the machine. I gathered the warm papers. They felt impossibly heavy in my hands. The sharp edges of the paper threatened to cut my skin.

I slid the documents into a thick manila folder. I sealed the metal clasp tight.

All I had to do was walk across the campus quad. All I had to do was slide this folder under the dean's locked door. It would be over. The investigation would be out of my hands. I would remain invisible. I would be safe.

I walked back to my desk. I packed my heavy legal textbooks into my worn leather satchel. I slung the strap over my shoulder.

But as I walked toward the library exit, my feet felt like lead weights. The anxious fluttering in my chest turned into a painful, tight knot that made it hard to breathe.

If I handed this folder to the dean today, Leo would have no chance to defend himself. The syndicate shadow figures would probably vanish into the dark, leaving Leo to take the crushing fall alone. He would take the blame for the entire operation.

He had pointed at me on the ice. He had issued a silent challenge. He wanted me to look at him.

I was a pre law scholar. I believed in truth. But I also believed in justice. Handing a blackmailed victim over to the authorities without knowing the full story was not justice. It was cowardice.

I stopped at the heavy glass doors of the library.

The sun was setting over the vast campus. Long, dark shadows stretched ominously across the manicured green lawns. The sky was turning a deep, bruised purple.

I looked down at the manila folder in my hands.

I could not go to the dean. Not yet.

I needed to look Leo Kincaid in the eyes. I needed to hear him say it. I needed to know exactly how deep the dark water really went before I decided to let him drown.

I remembered reviewing his practice schedules for my compliance reports. He skated alone at midnight. He always booked the empty arena when the rest of the campus was asleep.

I tightened my grip on the folder. The rough paper bit into my palm.

Tonight, the invisible girl was going to step out of the shadows. And I was bringing the fire with me.

Author's Note:

Hi everyone! Caroline is stepping up and making a huge decision. Do you think confronting Leo alone at midnight is a smart move or a dangerous mistake? Please leave a comment and share your thoughts with me. If you loved this chapter, please like and share the story!