Chapter 110: The Silent Table

Theo's POV

The oak table in the library basement felt like a tomb.

For two hours, we sat in a suffocating corner, trapped by academic necessity. I kept my eyes on our open textbooks, but my mind was completely focused on the person sitting opposite me. Asher looked exhausted.

The tension from the campus rumours hung heavy over his shoulders. He was desperate for a lifeline, and I gave him exactly what he wanted a masterful performance of a supportive best friend whose jealousy had completely evaporated.

It worked like a charm. Asher lowered his guard completely, letting out a breath he had been holding all morning.

But then, he stopped typing. He leaned across the table, his eyes searching mine, his voice dropping to a tight whisper. "Theo... be honest with me. Did you upload that video?"

My heart did a quick, violent skip against my ribs, but I didn't let my expression slip for a single second. I forced a look of deep, hurt confusion. "What? Asher, how can you even ask me that?"

"Because you cornered me in the closet last night," Asher pointed out, his jaw tightening slightly. "You warned me to stay away from him. You told me you were going to take him down. And then a few hours later, a video drops anonymously? It looks a lot like you're doing it."

"I was angry last night, yeah. I admit that," I said, putting on the performance of a lifetime, keeping my voice soft and full of fake regret. "But I told you, I’m done with the toxic jealousy. I had proof like that, I told you about it to you first, seems I wasn't the only one that saw him and I wouldn't leak it to a trashy school gossip network to ruin the whole team's coming season. I want us to fix our friendship, Asher. I swear, it wasn't me."

Asher stared at me for a long, agonising moment, weighing my words. Finally, his shoulders dropped, a wave of relief washing over his face. He entirely believed me. "Okay. I'm sorry. I just... everything is spinning out of control right now."

Before I could reply, his phone buzzed loudly on the wooden table. Asher swiped it open, his eyes widening as he read the alert.

"Who is it?" I asked, leaning in. "What happened?"

"It’s Coach Hale," Asher muttered, quickly pushing his chair back and grabbing his jacket. "He needs me down at the rink right now. The athletic department is having an emergency session. The league board is getting involved because of the allegations in the video, and they are interviewing the players one by one."

"An interview for the whole team?" I asked, feigning surprise.

"Yeah," Asher said, his voice laced with anxiety. "Hale said we’re all being asked questions about the allegations. You should probably check your phone, Theo. You're going to be called down soon too."

"Go ahead," I said smoothly, giving him a reassuring nod. "I’ll stay here and finish organising the references for our outline."

"Thanks. You're a lifesaver," he muttered, rushing toward the exit.

He moved so fast he didn't even notice what he left behind his canvas backpack remained slumped against the leg of his chair.

The second the library doors clicked shut, my friendly facade shattered.

I scanned the empty basement room. Completely isolated. I lunged forward, dragging his bag onto my lap, ruthlessly unzipping the compartments until my fingers wrapped around a hidden, handwritten notebook.

I flipped it open, and my brain scrambled to process the pages. It wasn't school notes. It was a comprehensive suspect list detailing every single person's negative impact on Asher's life, right alongside a massive section about an illegal betting app.

What the fuck is this?

Confused as fuck, I pulled out my phone, switched it to high-resolution mode, and rapidly snapped clear pictures of every single page. I zipped the notebook back into his bag, sliding it into the exact position he left it. My fingers flew across my screen, sending the images straight to Silas.

Look at what I just found in Asher's bag, I texted. I need answers. Now.

Meanwhile, the viral video I uploaded was already tearing the athletic department apart from the inside.

Upstairs in the main offices, a massive crisis had officially triggered.

The rival coach from the Denver Blizzard was using the rumours as a political weapon. He had gone straight to the league board, aggressively demanding Kieran Hampton's immediate suspension before the next showcase game.

The rival coach was playing incredibly dirty. He was throwing absolute shit in the media, arguing that even though Kieran hadn't played in the championship match due to his previous injuries, his actions in the tunnel violated the league's strict code of conduct.

The board members were old-school, wealthy, and deeply corporate. They weren't just investigating a fight; they were completely pissed that their star NHL prospect was caught in a gay scandal that could tarnish the league's pristine image. They didn't care about the truth; they cared about protecting their brand from a public relations firestorm.

The trap was closing in on the captain. And with the pages I just copied from Asher's notebook, I had enough fuel to burn the entire hierarchy to the ground.