Chapter 165 The Connection

Chapter 165 The Connection
Theo's POV

I stood outside lake house, my phone pressed to my ear. The noise from the bonfire was quiet out here, but my chest felt tight. My mother’s voice was sharp through the line.

"She is driving me crazy sitting in the living room, Theo," my mother said. "So I told the driver to bring her straight to the party. She needs to be around people her own age. Just keep her out of trouble tonight."

"Mom, wait..." I started, but the line went dead.
I lowered the phone and stared at the screen. Vanessa. Out of everyone in my family, my mother had to send her.

I hated being in the same room as her. Vanessa was the person who had spied on me years ago, found out my secret, and immediately told my parents. That single betrayal changed everything in my house. It made my father grow tough on me, turning every conversation into an argument and making the house feel too small.

A silver car pulled into the driveway a few minutes later, its headlights cutting through the dark trees. The door opened, and Vanessa stepped out onto the gravel. She was wearing an expensive coat, her chin lifted high as she looked at the lake house.

I walked over, keeping my face completely flat. "Vanessa."

"Theo," she said, walking past me toward the porch.

"aunt said you were in an interesting party, but this place looks ancient. Who owns this shack?"

"One of the line players," I said, following her up the steps.

We sat down on the edge of the porch, away from the loud music blasting from the truck bed. Vanessa didn't care about greeting anyone on the team. Instead, she spent the first several minutes insulting the people walking across, pointing at their clothes.

"Look at those boots," she said, nodding toward Landon’s friends by the fire. "Total trash. I don't know how you survive out here, Theo. At my school, people actually know how to dress for a party."

I didn't answer her. I just leaned my back against the post, wanting her to finish talking so I could focus on my own problems.

"Anyway, I'm just glad my winter season is over,"

Vanessa continued, shifting her weight on the bench as she began talking about her sports wins. "We took the trophy again. I trained hard because I wanted to break every record on the coast. I couldn't let another fluke happen."

"What fluke?" I asked, barely listening.

"Our semi-final match," Vanessa said, her voice turning sharp. "I played against this crazy girl player during our games. I was so angry when we lost that round. She skated fast, Theo. I’ve never seen anyone handle a puck like that. It ended my winning streak, and I spent the whole last year training just so I could beat her in the rematch."

I kept my eyes on the bonfire, my mind still tracking back to Aveline.

"But when her team shows up for the next games," Vanessa kept going, her teeth gritted, "suddenly they are telling me she transferred. Just vanished from the roster. No name of the school she transferred to, no records, nothing. I was so mad because I wanted to know where she went. I just wanted a real face-off with her to prove she wasn't better than me."

A strange feeling hit my neck. A fast player. A sudden transfer with no school name.

I turned my head slowly, looking straight at her face. "What was her name?"

"Aveline Carter," Vanessa said flatly.

My breath caught in my throat. I stared at her, my fingers gripping the edge of the bench. I already knew Aveline was the one pretending to be Asher. But I had no official proof to show. If Vanessa had her record, it could changed everything.

"Do you have a picture of her?" I asked immediately, forcing my voice to stay level. "Can I see a picture of the girl?"

Vanessa narrowed her eyes, looking at me with a suspicious expression. "Why do you suddenly care about her?"

"I told you. I might know her."

Vanessa sneered, crossing her arms. "You are a terrible liar, Theo. You never care about women's hockey."

"Then stop asking questions and show me the picture," I said, my voice dropping into a hard line.

Vanessa sighed, pulling her phone out of her pocket and scrolling through her old team chats. "Fine.
Someone sent a copy of her school ID card hold on."
She tapped the screen and hit send.

My phone buzzed in my palm. I opened the message log. An image loaded under the screen light. It was an official school ID card from her previous district, showing a clear, full-face headshot of her without the short hair. The text under the picture read: Aveline Carter. Center. Number Eleven.

This was the proof I had been missing. With this in my hands, Aveline's secret was no longer just something I knew. It was something I could prove.

"Theo?" Vanessa asked, leaning closer to look at my screen. "What is that look for? Do you know her? Is she out here?"

I stood up fast, shoving the phone deep into my pocket before she could see the screen change.
"Vanessa, listen to me," I said, looking straight down at her. My voice was low. "You are not going to tell anyone this story tonight. You do not mention her name, and you do not cause any trouble at this place."

"Why should I listen to you?" Vanessa scoffed, her lips turning up into a smile.

"Because if you say one word about her to anyone on this place," I said, leaning down until I was right in front of her face, "I am calling the driver back right now, and you are leaving this property before the bonfire burns down. Do you understand me?"

The smile vanished from her face, her eyes widening slightly as she saw how serious I was.
She shrugged her shoulders and looked away toward the dock. “Fine. Whatever. It's just an old hockey story anyway.”

I didn't wait for her to say another word. I slipped my phone back into my pocket and looked toward the bonfire.