Chapter 6

"What do you mean?" Manuel frowned at her, not giving her an ounce of respect. "Grandpa's shares are his to give to whoever he wants. What's it got to do with you? You're way out of line."

Nora's face fell. She'd always known Manuel didn't like her, but she never expected him to say something like that right in front of Sylvia.

She covered her mouth and ran out in tears.

Manuel watched her go, muttering in confusion, "Why is she crying?"

He was just stating facts.

Allan's shares were his to give to whoever he pleased. Nobody had any right to say otherwise.

A few days passed. Sylvia had been relaxing at home for a good stretch of time.

She slept in every day, eating, drinking, and having fun.

Linda would have piled every good thing in the world in front of her if she could.

That afternoon, Manuel came downstairs, twirling his car keys, and spotted Sylvia curled up on the couch eating fruit. He walked over with a grin.

"Sylvia, I've got a race this afternoon. Want to come watch?"

Sylvia immediately put down her fork, her eyes lighting up. "Can I drive?"

Manuel laughed. "Sure, I've got a team. I'll get you a car."

"Then I'm in."

Nora happened to come out of her room just then. She caught the exchange and let her gaze slide quietly over Sylvia.

She walked over quickly, a sweet smile on her face. "Manuel, I want to come too. Can you bring me along?"

Manuel glanced at her, a little surprised. She'd never been into racing before, but he didn't think much of it. "Sure, we'll all go together."

Nora smiled sweetly. "Thanks, Manuel."

The three of them headed out.

When they arrived at the track, Manuel barely got out of the car before several team members crowded around him.

"Manuel, you're here?"

"How are you feeling today?"

"Pretty good." Manuel said with a proud grin. "I brought my sisters along to have some fun today. Make sure you take care of them."

The guys glanced over at Sylvia and Nora, smiling and joking around.

"Manuel, your two sisters are totally different styles, but both really good-looking."

"One's cool and elegant, the other's sweet and cute. The Martinez family genes are something else."

Nora couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips.

She snuck a glance at Sylvia, curious to see her reaction.

Sylvia hadn't heard a word of it. Her eyes were fixed on the cars flying around the track, itching to get behind the wheel.

The smile on Nora's face stiffened for a moment. She looked away.

Manuel didn't notice any of this. He grabbed Sylvia's arm and headed toward the garage. "Come on, I'll show you the cars and pick out a good one for you."

Inside the garage, a row of top-of-the-line race cars sat lined up neatly.

Manuel pointed to a silver-grey one. "This one was just tuned. Most horsepower of the bunch. Want to try it?"

Sylvia walked over and ran her hand along the body of the car. The corner of her mouth curved up slightly.

"Sure." She got in, buckled her seatbelt, and the engine roared to life.

The next second, Sylvia floored the gas and shot out.

The tachometer needle spiked to seven thousand RPM instantly. The engine let out a deep, guttural growl, and the force of acceleration pinned her hard into her seat.

Then came the first corner — a near ninety-degree right-hander. The braking point should've been about eighty yards before the turn.

Sylvia had no intention of slowing down early. She delayed her braking, then stomped the pedal at the very last moment. The car's weight shifted forward, and the rear tires lost grip.

She flicked the wheel, the tail swung out smoothly, and the tires screamed across the asphalt, kicking up a cloud of smoke — a perfect pendulum drift.

The instant she cleared the corner, Sylvia released the brakes and went full throttle. The car launched forward.

Clean, precise, and she'd hit that corner at no less than ninety miles per hour.

Manuel had been about to call her back, worried she was going too fast.

Then he saw that perfect pendulum drift, and his jaw dropped.

The team manager and the other crew members were just as stunned.

"Oh my god! Manuel, is Sylvia a professional driver?"

"Those skills — she's definitely trained, right?"

"Manuel, your sister is so cool!"

Manuel grinned, chest puffed up with pride. "That's my sister. Of course she's good."

The smile on Nora's face slowly froze.

Manuel had never shown off about her like that to anyone.

Did being Sylvia's blood sister really mean more to him than her — someone who'd grown up by his side?

The silver-grey race car pulled up in front of them.

Sylvia climbed out, clearly in a great mood.

"Sylvia, how did it feel? Did you train for this?" Manuel was more curious than anyone.

"Never trained. But I've watched a lot of races." Sylvia's lips curved slightly. "That car feels great. Manuel, can I take it out on the actual track for a lap?"

Manuel could see it written all over her face — she wanted more.

He'd just watched her drive and it had his blood pumping. He turned to the team manager. "Can we let her take a lap on the track?"

The team manager hesitated. "The main track? Safety can't be fully guaranteed."

"Did you not just see how she drives?" Manuel shot back.

Sylvia looked out at the winding track in the distance. "Can I go?"

Manuel slapped his knee. "Done. I'll sort it out. Give me a minute."

"For the main track, you'll need to swap the tires out." Manuel worked it out with the team manager.

The team manager called over a mechanic, and they pushed the car into the pit area.

Seeing this, something stirred in Nora. "Sylvia, I'm going to run to the restroom. I'll be back to watch you race."

Sylvia nodded without much thought and picked up a sealed bottle of water.

Five minutes later.

Manuel came back after sorting everything out and waved Sylvia over. "Sylvia, you're good to go! Main track — just one lap. Safety first!"

"Got it."

Sylvia pulled the door open, eased the car out of the pit area, and rolled onto the track.

Once she was on the track, the silver-grey car picked up speed, taking every corner clean and sharp.

For a better view, Manuel ran up to the stands and held up his phone to record, muttering to himself, "Oh man, that corner was so sick."

Sylvia, you legend.

Out on the track.

Ahead was a stretch of back-to-back hairpin turns — three consecutive reverse bends, the most dangerous section of the entire circuit.

The standard line called for heavy braking before the entry, dropping to third gear, clipping the inside apex, then immediately cutting the opposite way into the next bend.

Sylvia pressed the brake, ready to slow down about a hundred yards before the entry.

She pushed down — and something felt wrong. The pedal sank far deeper than it should have, at least a third more travel than normal, with almost no resistance. It felt like pressing her foot into a soaking wet sponge.

Something was wrong with the master cylinder or the brake lines.

Her pupils shrank.

The thought flashed through her mind in an instant. Sylvia calmly checked her mirrors.

Ahead were the hairpins. To the right, a rock wall. To the left, a barrier — and beyond that, a drop of several dozen feet.

If she went over, the car and everyone in it were done.

She gripped the wheel tight and tried downshifting, using engine braking to scrub speed.

The car dropped from 130 miles per hour to 100, but the corners were right there.

Going into a hairpin at 100 miles per hour, the car would flip. No question.

Up in the stands, Manuel had no idea anything was wrong. He was still filming, buzzing with excitement.

Not far away, Benjamin set down his coffee cup.

He was staring at the silver-grey car on the track, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

The brake lights hadn't come on once.

He stood up and walked fast down the stands, pulled open the door of a red race car, and floored it.

The red supercar shot out of the pit lane like a bullet, straight onto the track.

Out on the circuit.

Sylvia's speed was still dropping, but not nearly fast enough.

95 miles per hour — three hundred yards to the corner.

She tried the brakes one last time. The pedal sank all the way to the floor, soft and dead, nothing coming back.

Sylvia took a slow, deep breath and locked her eyes on the buffer zone on the inside of the corner — a wall of stacked tires.

Hit that, and the car was finished. But she might survive.

She yanked the wheel hard, but the rear tires broke loose, and the whole car spun like a top out of control, sliding sideways straight toward the barrier on the outside of the corner.

Below that barrier was a cliff.