Chapter 1
“Who was waiting to watch my son crash?”
Evelyn’s eyes moved toward the track entrance.
Only for a second.
Enough.
I shifted Finn behind me and picked up the phone from the tripod. The screen was still active.
Not recording.
Streaming.
Three small video windows filled the display.
Men I knew.
Savelli men.
One was my senior collector, Victor Daines. Another was Anton Rizzo, a capo who had served my father. The third window had gone dark the instant I lifted the phone.
I stared at Declan.
“You broadcast this.”
His face changed.
Finn grabbed my jacket.
“Mom…”
I crouched.
“I’m here.”
His helmet was crooked. His breathing came too fast, but he was conscious and standing.
That was all I cared about first.
Then I looked at the controller in my hand.
“Who steered the kart?”
Evelyn said nothing.
Finn answered.
“Grandma.”
My jaw tightened.
Declan pushed himself upright among the foam tires.
“It was a training exercise.”
I turned.
“You pinned his hands to the wheel.”
“So he wouldn’t panic.”
“He was three before you touched him.”
Silence.
I looked back at the phone.
Victor’s window remained open.
He was still watching.
“Victor.”
His face appeared larger when I tapped the screen.
“Mara, I didn’t know—”
“What were you told?”
He swallowed.
“That Finn was being evaluated.”
The room went quiet.
“For what?”
Victor looked at Declan.
Wrong move.
I followed his eyes.
Declan closed his.
May you like
And suddenly I understood this was not about teaching my son to drive.
Someone had been trying to prove something about him.
