Chapter 5: The Ghost Behind The Wheel
The message stayed on my screen.
*Don’t trust Frank.*
Three words.
Three words that somehow felt heavier than everything else that happened that night.
The crowd around me disappeared.
The engines disappeared.
Even Tyler’s shouting somewhere beside me disappeared.
All I could see was that sentence glowing in the darkness.
Don’t trust Frank.
My hand tightened around the phone.
Because the worst part wasn't that I believed it.
The worst part was that a small part of me already wondered if it was true.
Frank knew too much.
He had hidden things from me.
He had lied by omission for years.
He had promised my father something and never told me what it was.
But he had also been the only person who came to warn me.
The only person who seemed afraid for me instead of afraid of me.
I looked into the rearview mirror.
The Challenger's interior reflected my face.
My father's face was gone.
But his car was carrying his secrets.
And now I had to decide who I trusted.
The countdown official stepped between the cars.
“Drivers ready?””
Tyler revved his engine.
The GT-R roared like an angry animal.
The crowd cheered.
Everyone loved him.
Or at least they loved what his family's money had built.
I placed my hand on the steering wheel.
The leather was worn.
The same place my father had gripped thousands of times.
I remembered his voice.
“Never let the noise outside the car become louder than what's inside.””
I took a breath.
The noise disappeared.
The crowd.
The cameras.
Tyler.
Everything.
There was only the engine.
Only the road.
Only the machine.
“Three.””
Tyler looked over.
His window rolled down.
“You know what I find funny?””
I ignored him.
“You really think your dad was some kind of hero.””
My eyes stayed forward.
“Two.””
Tyler smiled.
“He wasn't.””
My fingers tightened.
“One.””
“He lost.””
The flag dropped.
And I left him behind.
The Challenger launched forward.
The force pushed me back into the seat.
The crowd exploded.
Tyler’s GT-R screamed beside me, but for the first few seconds, the old car pulled ahead.
I heard people shouting.
I saw flashes from cameras.
But I didn't look at them.
I knew this car.
I knew every vibration.
Every sound.
Every movement.
My father built it with his own hands.
And somehow, even after all these years, it still remembered him.
The first turn came fast.
River Road twisted ahead.
The same curve where my father crashed.
The same place people said he lost control.
I approached it.
And something felt wrong.
Not with the car.
With the road.
My instincts screamed.
I lifted slightly.
Tyler didn't.
His GT-R flew past me.
He laughed over the radio connection between our cars.
“You scared?””
I didn't answer.
A few seconds later, he realized why I slowed down.
The road surface changed.
A section of pavement had been repaired.
Fresh asphalt.
Uneven.
Dangerous.
Tyler's car bounced hard.
He corrected quickly.
But his confidence disappeared.
I heard him curse.
“How did you know?””
I stayed quiet.
Because I didn't know.
Not exactly.
I just felt it.
The way my father taught me.
Listen.
The car tells you everything.
I pushed forward.
The Challenger moved like it was alive.
Tyler caught up on the straightaway.
His car had more modern technology.
More horsepower.
More everything.
But racing wasn't always about having the strongest machine.
Sometimes it was about knowing exactly when to use what you had.
We reached the second section of River Road.
The old bridge.
My father's favorite part.
The place where he always said a driver showed who they really were.
Tyler pulled beside me.
His window lowered again.
“You know what happened here?””
I didn't look.
“My father told me.””
“No.””
His voice changed.
“You don't know anything.””
I glanced at him.
For a second, Tyler didn't look arrogant.
He looked angry.
Like he had spent his entire life trying to prove something.
“My father said your dad was a fraud.””
My jaw tightened.
“He said Jimmie Carter stole everything.””
I looked ahead.
“Your father lies.””
Tyler smiled.
“Does he?””
That question bothered me.
Not because I believed him.
Because I remembered Frank's warning.
Your father didn't die because Richard was faster.
He died because he trusted someone standing beside him.
Tyler accelerated.
The GT-R moved ahead.
The crowd at the finish line was getting closer.
The race was almost over.
But something felt wrong.
Then I saw it.
A reflection.
A flash of light near the road barrier.
A person standing there.
Holding something.
My heart jumped.
A camera?
No.
Something else.
I slowed.
Tyler crossed the finish line first.
The crowd exploded.
He stepped out of his car with both hands raised.
“I told you!””
People cheered.
Phones lifted.
Tyler looked at me.
“You're just like your father.””
I got out of the Challenger slowly.
“What does that mean?””
He walked closer.
“You both think being talented makes you untouchable.””
The crowd became quieter.
Tyler lowered his voice.
“But talent doesn't beat power.””
I stared at him.
“Is that what your father taught you?””
His smile faded.
Before he could answer, a voice came from behind the crowd.
“Tyler.””
Everyone turned.
A black SUV pulled up.
The door opened.
And Richard King stepped out.
The entire atmosphere changed.
People stopped cheering.
Whispers spread.
The powerful man himself had arrived.
Tyler smiled.
“Dad.””
Richard ignored him.
His eyes went straight to the Challenger.
Then to me.
For a moment, he looked shocked.
Not angry.
Not surprised.
Afraid.
That reaction told me everything.
He knew this car.
He knew exactly what it meant.
Richard walked toward me.
“You shouldn't have brought that here.””
The crowd went silent.
I crossed my arms.
“You knew about it.””
His expression hardened.
“Get in your car and go home.””
I almost laughed.
“That's not an answer.””
His eyes narrowed.
“You don't understand what you're involved in.””
“I understand enough.””
I pulled out my phone.
The picture.
My father.
Richard.
The device.
I held it up.
The color drained from his face.
Tyler noticed.
“Dad?””
Richard looked at him.
Then at me.
“Where did you get that?””
“So you recognize it.””
The crowd started whispering.
Richard stepped closer.
“You need to give me the phone.””
“No.””
His expression changed.
The calm businessman disappeared.
For a second, I saw something else.
Panic.
Then his phone rang.
He answered immediately.
“Yes?””
He listened.
Then his face changed.
“What?””
Everyone watched him.
A few seconds passed.
Then Richard slowly lowered the phone.
He looked at me.
And for the first time that night…
I saw fear in his eyes.
“Someone broke into the Carter garage.””
My blood went cold.
“What?””
Richard looked toward the Challenger.
Then back at me.
“They weren't looking for the car.””
The crowd became completely silent.
“They were looking for something your father hid.””
I stepped forward.
“What did he hide?””
Richard didn't answer.
Because he was staring at the back seat of the Challenger.
At something I hadn't noticed.
Something hidden beneath the old leather.
A small red light blinking.
My heart stopped.
A tracker.
But not the same one Frank found.
This one was newer.
Installed recently.
Richard whispered the words that made everyone around us freeze.
“Someone has been following you since the moment you uncovered that car.””
I looked at the crowd.
At Tyler.
At Richard.
Then at my phone.
Another message appeared.
Unknown number.
This time, it included a picture.
A live picture.
Of me standing beside the Challenger.
Taken from somewhere nearby.
May you like
And underneath it were five words.
*You brought them exactly where I wanted.*
