Chapter 96
"Turn the wheel, hit the gas..." Emily suddenly spoke up from the passenger seat.
Byron was caught off guard.
He hadn't expected Emily to start giving orders out of nowhere.
For a moment. Byron hesitated. unsure if he should follow her instructions.
Seeing Byron distracted. Emily frowned and spoke with stern authority."
Focus. If you don't want to lose.follow my lead."
Byron felt an inexplicable urge to obey Emily's authority. He instinctively
followed her directions.
Emily watched as Byron complied.
She kept her eyes on the road,fully concentrated.
"Turn the wheel... hit the gas..."
With each command from Emily, Byron found himself tuning out all other sounds, hearing only her voice.
His initial tension began to fade, replaced by absolute trust.
And indeed, as he followed Emily's directions, the gap between him and James started to close.
Bianca had always claimed to know about racing. but her experience was mostly from watching a few races and reading some theory.
Sitting in the car, feeling the speed, she was already a bit nervous.
Seeing Byron, who had been left behind, catching up, she couldn't help but exclaim in panic.
"How is this possible? James, hurry up! That witch Emily and Byron are catching up!"
In her panic, Bianca's true feelings slipped out.
James, shocked. glanced at Bianca.
Bianca, not realizing her slip. urged. "James. what are you doing? Focus! If you get distracted. they'll overtake us. I don't know what Emily did.but Byron is catching up!"
James frowned.
He refocused and began to accelerate, but a seed of doubt had been planted in his mind.
James started to realize that maybe Bianca wasn't as sweer and innocent as he thought.
After all, what slips out in a moment of panic is often the most genuine.
Only two laps left.
James saw Emily and Byron's car getting closer, his brow furrowed. lips pressed tight.
"Accelerate, floor it..." Emily's voice was calm and focused as she spoke to Byron.
As her words fell. Byron suddenly floored the gas pedal.
The car surged forward, overtaking James'car.
"Ms. Johnson, hold on tight. we're about to turn..." Byron's eyes gleamed with excitement.
He hadn't expected Emily to know so much about cars.
Emily was truly amazing. a jack-of-all-trades!
The Johnson family had really underestimated her, calling such a talented person useless.
"Keep going!" Emily's voice was as calm as if she were asking for a glass of water. with no hint of tension.
Bianca. seeing Byron's car overtake them. panicked and grabbed James'hand on the wheel. "James. hurry up! Byron's overtaken us. floor it!"
James' hand jerked. almost causing them to crash into another car.
He snapped. "Let go and shut up!"
His voice was cold and irritated.
Bianca, frightened, let go and apologized, "I'm sorry, James, I didn't mean to. I just..."
"I said shut up and be quiet!" James shouted angrily.
Bianca's face turned pale, her eyes red with tears, looking pitiful.
But James had no time to care.
With a shout of "Hold on!", he floored the gas pedal.
Though they managed to catch up to Emily and Byron's car, the
atmosphere in their car was tense, with Bianca's screams adding to James'frustration.
He couldn't even spare a thought for Bianca, his eyes red. focused on Emily and Byron's car like a predator on its prey.
The two cars took turns leading. each closely tailing the other.
The spectators were silen. eyes glued to the two cars. not daring to blink for fear of missing the most exciting moment.
In the control room. Charles watched intently.
"Wasn't James supposed to be the best after QS and you? I thought he'd easily beat Byron. What's going on? When did Byron get so good?"
Charles loved racing and often watched other races. He had seen Byron race recently.
How had Byron improved so much in such a shon time?
"It's not him!"
Daniel's voice was low, his eyes fixed on Emily.
Though far away, he could see her serious expression. occasionally moving her lips. and he had a hunch.
"What do you mean, not him?"
Charles didn't understand.
Daniel's eyes never left Emily. He didn't explain his guess.
Charles followed Daniel's gaze to Emily.
He frowned. looking from Emily to Byron.
At first, he didn't notice anything.
But after a particularly skillful maneuver, overtaking James again, Charles stood up.
"Impossible!"
He couldn't believe Byron had mastered such skills so quickly.
For the first time. Charles focused on Emily.
He noticed her lips moving. and every time they did. Byron's car would speed up. change lanes. or overtake.
His eyes widened. realizing the possibility. He asked Daniel."Daniel. are you saying it's not Byron driving. but Emily? How is that possible? Emily has this kind of skill?"
Daniel's eyes were deep as he looked at Charles, 'Why noe?'
This was an indirect confirmation of Emily's role.
Charles was speechless.
His understanding of Emily was based on limited information,which made it shallow.
Daniel continued watching the monitor, his face calm, but his heart racing with the car's speed.
On the track, Emily and James' cars were on the final lap.
Bianca was pale. unable to give James any more instructions.
The cars were neck and neck as they reached the final turn.
James,eyes wild. glanced at the two cars beside him.
Suddenly,his eyes flashed.
He steered his car closer to Emily and Byron's, moving towards the inner lane.
With another car on their right and the grass on the inner side, the upcoming turn was crucial.
If they accelerated. the tight turn would require top-notch skills and precise control, making it dangerous for anyone but the best.