Chapter 153: Someone Used Mason’s Name

Chapter 153: Chapter 153: Someone Used Mason’s Name

WHO CHANGED MASON’S RECORDS?

WHO MOVED MERCER’S MONEY?

KESSLER SPORTS CONSULTING.

Audrey stared at the whiteboard. Her eyes burned. She had arrived at the newsroom three hours before her shift started. She barely slept. Every time she closed her eyes, the three questions repeated in her mind.

Ben and Daisy walked into the bullpen a few minutes later. Ben was holding a massive cup of black coffee.

"The state records office is useless," Ben announced. He dropped his bag onto his desk. "The original registration documents for the dissolved company aren’t available in the normal digital database."

Audrey blinked and looked away from the whiteboard. "Then how do we get them?"

"There is an archived physical file," Ben explained, taking a sip of his coffee. "It was transferred to an old government records facility years ago."

Daisy dropped her camera bag onto the floor. "So we’re going digging again."

"Apparently that’s our career now," Ben sighed.

Audrey didn’t laugh. She was focused on one single thing. The original director of that company.

They drove to the records facility, signed in, and retrieved the archived registration packet. They laid the thick stack of papers out on a table in the viewing room.

Ben flipped open the cover. "The company was originally established several years before the suspicious transactions started."

He pointed to the first page. The first director was listed clearly in black ink. But the name didn’t fit the timeline.

"The director changed right before the suspicious payments began," Audrey noted. She pulled the paper closer. The company’s ownership structure had shifted at exactly the wrong time.

Audrey checked the dates at the bottom of the page. "When did Thomas Vance become director?"

Ben cross referenced the dates with his laptop. "Only a few weeks before the first suspicious payment hit the ledger."

Daisy leaned over the table. "That’s too convenient."

Ben gave her a sharp look. "Connection isn’t proof."

Daisy rolled her eyes. "I know."

Audrey smiled slightly. The strict journalistic discipline was keeping them grounded.

"Let’s look at the incorporation documents," Audrey instructed.

Ben flipped to the next section. Thomas Vance was officially listed as the director. But the registration contained a secondary section right below his signature.

Authorized Financial Representative.

Audrey read the permissions attached to the title. That specific person had authority to approve financial transfers, communicate directly with banks, submit payment instructions, and represent the company during financial audits.

She looked at the printed name next to the title.

Adrian Cole.

"Who is Adrian Cole?" Daisy asked.

Ben typed the name into the Calloway Football Group archives. A personnel file loaded onto his screen instantly.

"He is a former financial controller," Ben said quietly. "He left Calloway Football Group shortly after the 2019 scandal."

Audrey leaned forward. They finally had another person to investigate. It wasn’t just Miles Calloway. Adrian Cole was connected to the operation too.

"Check his employment dates," Audrey said.

Daisy pulled up the timeline they had built. She compared Adrian Cole’s exact employment dates with the Kessler registration documents.

"Wait," Daisy whispered.

Audrey stopped moving. "What?"

"Adrian was still working at Calloway when he became Kessler’s authorized financial representative," Daisy explained.

Audrey froze. "He worked for Calloway while having financial authority for Kessler?"

Ben nodded, tapping his pen against the screen. "According to this."

They finally had something much more concrete. It was not absolute proof of criminal activity yet, but it was a serious conflict of interest worth investigating.

Daisy continued digging through the registration packet. She pulled out a small, attached correspondence record from the back of the folder.

"Daniel Mercer," Daisy read aloud.

Ben and Audrey immediately looked up.

"Mercer requested information about Kessler Sports Consulting during an earlier audit," Daisy explained.

"What did he find?" Ben asked.

Daisy frowned at the paper. "Nothing. His request was denied."

Audrey reached for the paper. She read the official reason printed at the bottom of the denial form.

Commercial confidentiality.

Ben checked the timestamp on the denial. "This happened two years before Mercer’s disappearance."

Audrey realized something important. Mercer had already encountered resistance when investigating Kessler. He wasn’t discovering the company for the very first time in 2019. He had been following the financial trail for years before he finally raised his formal complaint to senior management.

Audrey’s phone suddenly started ringing loudly against the metal table.

The screen lit up. Mason.

She picked up the phone and took a few steps away from Ben and Daisy. She answered the call.

"Hello?" Audrey said quietly.

"Did you sleep?" Mason asked. His deep voice rumbled through the speaker. He didn’t bother asking if she found anything yet.

Audrey almost laughed. "Barely."

"You found another name," Mason stated.

Audrey paused. She looked back at the table where Ben and Daisy were still sorting through the papers.

"You always get quiet when you’re trying to protect me from information," Mason noted softly.

A brief, intimate warmth settled in Audrey’s chest. He knew her entirely too well.

"We’re following the money," Audrey finally said.

"And?" Mason asked.

"It leads through Kessler Sports Consulting."

Silence fell over the line.

"I’ve heard the name before," Mason finally said.

Audrey’s grip tightened on her phone. "Where?"

"They appeared in some old club business documents," Mason explained. "I never personally dealt with them. It was strictly administrative."

"If they’re connected to the old financial records, keep digging," Mason instructed.

"That’s the plan," Audrey said.

"And Audrey?"

"Yeah?"

"Be careful."

Audrey hung up the phone. She walked back over to the table.

Ben was holding up one final page he had just found tucked deep inside the registration packet.

"Look at this old bank authorization document," Ben said.

The paper clearly listed Kessler Sports Consulting. The authorized representative was signed as Adrian Cole.

But right beneath his name was a second authorization block. The signature was not clear at all. The scanned copy was heavily damaged by water or poor printing.

Only the initials remained legible in the corner.

M.C.

Everyone at the table went totally silent.

Daisy looked at Audrey. "M.C."

Audrey’s stomach dropped straight to the floor. Mason Calloway.

For a terrifying moment, the most obvious, horrible conclusion hit them.

Ben immediately held up his hand. "Don’t."

Audrey looked at him. Her heart was racing.

"The initials could belong to anyone," Ben stated firmly. He pointed directly to the date printed at the top of the authorization form.

The document was created in 2018.

Mason was still a university football player back then. Nothing in his records suggested he had any corporate authority.

"Then why would his initials be here?" Daisy asked.

Nobody had an answer. The mystery shifted again.

Ben reached out and turned the damaged page over.

There was handwritten text scribbled on the back of the paper. Most of it was illegible, but one single sentence survived clearly in blue ink.

"Do not use the player’s name again."

Audrey’s blood ran cold.

The wording immediately connected back to the altered 2019 records. They weren’t simply using Mason’s name to cover up the restricted room access. Someone had already been using his identity before the Mercer scandal even exploded.

Audrey looked at Ben. "We need to know who wrote that."

Ben looked closely at the damaged signature block. "Then we need the original file."

Daisy closed the heavy registration folder. "Where is it?"

Ben checked the archive reference code printed at the bottom of the page. His expression changed.

"Calloway Football Group," Ben said quietly.

Silence filled the viewing room.

Audrey stared at the reference number.

The trail they had been following had just led them straight back to the Calloway building. And this time, they couldn’t investigate it from the outside.