Chapter 6: The Man Who Was Watching Us All
The message on my phone didn't make sense.
Not at first.
*You brought them exactly where I wanted.*
I stared at the words while the crowd around me slowly turned from excited spectators into confused witnesses.
Everyone had come expecting a race.
A winner.
A loser.
A story they could post online the next morning.
Nobody expected secrets.
Nobody expected fear.
And nobody expected the man who built Detroit's biggest empire to look terrified.
I looked at Richard King.
“You know who sent this.””
It wasn't a question.
Richard's face stayed still, but his eyes moved.
A small movement.
Barely noticeable.
But I saw it.
He was calculating.
Trying to decide what to say.
That was the same expression I had seen on Tyler earlier.
The expression of someone who believed they could control the room.
Richard slowly stepped closer.
“You need to leave.””
I laughed quietly.
“That's all you have?””
His eyes hardened.
“This isn't a game.””
“No.””
I held up my phone.
“Apparently, it's been a game for twenty-five years.””
The crowd murmured.
Richard looked around.
He knew people were listening.
He knew cameras were recording.
That bothered him.
Good.
For the first time in my life, I wanted someone powerful to feel trapped.
Tyler walked toward his father.
“What is going on?””
Richard ignored him.
“Tyler, get in the car.””
Tyler frowned.
“Dad.””
“Now.””
That command wasn't angry.
It was afraid.
And Tyler noticed.
Everyone noticed.
The son who thought his father could fix anything had just watched the one person he worshiped lose control.
Tyler looked at me.
Then at the Challenger.
Then back at his father.
“What is she talking about?””
Richard said nothing.
That was when I realized something.
Tyler didn't know.
The spoiled rich kid who destroyed my father's car didn't understand the darkness behind his own family name.
He was just another person being used.
A dangerous person.
But still being used.
I stepped closer.
“Your father knows why my dad died.””
Tyler's expression changed.
“What?””
Richard turned sharply.
“Don't.””
The word came out almost like a warning.
Not to me.
To Tyler.
That told me more than anything else.
Tyler looked at his father.
“Is that true?””
Richard's silence answered.
Tyler took a step back.
“No.””
He shook his head.
“No, that's impossible.””
I watched his confidence collapse.
Because there was a difference between believing your family was powerful and discovering your family was dangerous.
Tyler had spent his whole life enjoying the first.
Now he was facing the second.
A loud engine suddenly echoed from the road.
Everyone turned.
Another vehicle approached.
A black sedan.
No license plate.
No markings.
It stopped near the crowd.
The doors opened.
Three men stepped out.
Not racers.
Not spectators.
Professionals.
The kind of people who didn't come to watch.
They came to handle problems.
Richard immediately recognized them.
“Everyone needs to leave.””
Nobody moved.
One of the men looked directly at Richard.
“Mr. King.””
Richard's jaw tightened.
“What are you doing here?””
The man smiled.
“Cleaning up.””
My instincts screamed.
I stepped backward toward the Challenger.
Frank had been right.
This was bigger.
Much bigger.
The man looked at the car.
Then at me.
“So you're Jimmie Carter's daughter.””
I didn't answer.
He smiled.
“You look like him.””
I hated how many people said that.
Especially now.
Because every time they did, I felt like they were comparing me to someone I could never become.
“Who are you?””
The man ignored my question.
“Your father was stubborn.””
I felt anger rise.
“Don't talk about him.””
“He should have taken the money.””
The crowd went silent.
Richard looked at the man.
“Enough.””
The man turned.
“You don't get to tell me when enough is.””
That sentence changed everything.
Because Richard King wasn't in control.
Not anymore.
The man looked back at me.
“Your father thought he could expose everyone.””
“Everyone?””
The man smiled.
“People always think Richard King is the problem.””
He glanced at Richard.
“He's just the one people know.””
My stomach tightened.
“What does that mean?””
Nobody answered.
The man reached into his jacket.
Several people in the crowd backed away.
But instead of a weapon, he pulled out a small envelope.
He tossed it onto the ground.
It landed near my feet.
“Open it.””
I didn't move.
Richard's voice came quietly.
“Don't.””
I looked at him.
“You're telling me not to open something?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
For the first time, Richard looked honest.
“Because once you know, you can't go back.””
The same sentence could have come from my father.
The same warning.
But I was already past the point of going back.
I picked up the envelope.
Inside was a single photograph.
Another picture from the night my father died.
But this one was different.
It showed the race.
The crowd.
The cars.
And my father standing beside the Challenger.
Talking to someone.
Someone I recognized.
My hand went cold.
Frank.
I stared at the picture.
No.
That couldn't be right.
Frank was there.
Frank was helping him.
Frank was the one who came to warn me.
But in the picture, Frank wasn't standing behind my father.
He was standing beside Richard.
The same side.
The same conversation.
The same night my father died.
I looked at Richard.
Then at the man.
“Explain.””
The man smiled.
“Ask your father's friend.””
My heart dropped.
I looked around.
“Where is Frank?””
Nobody answered.
Then my phone rang.
Not a message.
A call.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Hello?””
Silence.
Then a voice.
A familiar voice.
Frank.
But he sounded different.
Not afraid.
Not tired.
Broken.
“Don't listen to them.””
I froze.
“Frank?””
Everyone watched me.
His voice came through the speaker.
“You need to get away from that car.””
I looked at the Challenger.
“Why?””
A long pause.
Then he whispered:
“Because I lied to you.””
My chest tightened.
The crowd noise disappeared.
Everything disappeared.
“What are you talking about?””
“I should have told you years ago.””
“Tell me now.””
Another pause.
Then Frank said the words I never expected.
“Your father didn't hide that car from Richard King.””
I waited.
“He hid it from me.””
The phone nearly slipped from my hand.
Richard watched my face.
And I knew.
Whatever Frank was about to reveal would change everything.
“Why?”” I asked.
His voice cracked.
“Because your father discovered what I did.””
I couldn't breathe.
“What did you do?””
Silence.
Then:
“I was the one who changed the engine settings before the race.””
The world stopped.
I looked at the Challenger.
The car my father built.
The car everyone said carried his legacy.
The car Frank helped create.
The car Frank told me to trust.
“No.””
My voice was barely a whisper.
“Frank, no.””
“I didn't know what Richard planned.””
I backed away.
“You're lying.””
“I wish I was.””
The call continued.
“I thought I was helping him win.””
My eyes burned.
“Helping who?””
Frank's answer was almost silent.
“Your father.””
I froze.
“What?””
“I thought Richard was trying to sabotage him. I thought I was fixing the car before the race.””
My mind was spinning.
“Then why did my father die?””
Frank didn't answer.
And that silence was worse.
Because it meant he knew.
Finally, he spoke.
“Because the person who changed the car after me…”
A pause.
“…wasn't Richard.””
I looked at everyone standing around me.
Richard.
Tyler.
The stranger.
The crowd.
Then Frank said the name.
And the entire world shifted.
“It was someone your father trusted more than anyone.””
The call ended.
I stood frozen.
Because I already knew who he was going to say.
May you like
And somehow…
that was the part that hurt the most.
