Night had settled over the city.
Elara walked through the Weston gates with nothing but a plain black backpack over one shoulder.
Behind her, the villa was still blazing with light.
For the first time in years, she felt light.
No arguments.
No accusations.
No suffocating scrutiny.
She glanced up at the night sky, then reached into her pocket for the key fob to her motorcycle.
The lights flashed.
A black motorcycle parked nearby came to life.
Its sleek frame gleamed beneath the streetlights.
She had pulled strings to get the limited-edition bike years ago.
Only a handful existed worldwide.
When it first arrived, she had been quietly thrilled.
But after years of putting the Westons first, she had barely ridden it.
Now she finally had a reason to use it.
Elara put on her helmet, swung one long leg over, and sat down in one smooth motion.
The engine roared to life.
The sound tore through the quiet street.
She opened the throttle and accelerated into the night.
Wind rushed past her helmet, and a faint smile touched her lips.
From today on, she was living for herself.
…
The western outskirts of the capital.
A sprawling private racing club was lit up like daylight.
It was a little after ten, prime training time, and the track echoed with the constant roar of engines.
Race cars tore past one after another, tires shrieking against the asphalt.
Elara rolled her motorcycle to a stop at the club entrance.
She took off her helmet and casually brushed back her long hair, now a mess from the wind.
The second she walked in, a few young drivers turned to look at her.
“Who’s that?”
“Here to find someone?”
“She looks pretty young.
No way she’s still a student, right?”
One of the newer drivers walked over.
He gave Elara a quick once-over, still trying to be polite.
“Hey, this is a private racing club, not a public track.”
“If you’re here to see someone, you’ll need to sign in first.”
“If you want to try racing…”
He paused, trying to soften the warning.
“This probably isn’t the best place to start.”
Elara lifted a brow.
“Why not?”
The rookie pointed at her.
“You look pretty young.”
“And racing can get dangerous fast.
It’s not something you want to jump into casually.”
Elara said nothing.
She lowered her eyes and glanced at what she was wearing.
A plain white T-shirt.
Black pants.
On her feet, just a pair of regular sneakers.
No wonder he had mistaken her for a student.
She couldn’t be bothered to explain.
“I’m here for Lennox Carr.”
The newbie froze for a second.
“Lennox?”
“Mm.”
“He should be in the office right now, but…”
Before he could finish, a voice suddenly came from behind them.
“Elara?”
The surprise in that voice was impossible to miss.
A young man in a racing suit hurried toward them.
It was Lennox Carr.
He didn’t even have time to pull off his gloves before rushing straight to Elara.
“Ace!
It’s really you!”
Elara lifted her eyes and gave him a calm look.
“Yeah.”
“What made you show up out of nowhere?”
“Got something to handle.”
Lennox broke into a grin.
“Come on.
Let’s talk in the office.”
He hooked an arm around Elara’s shoulder and pulled her straight inside.
The rookie from a second ago was completely stunned.
“Wait…”
He stared at the two of them walking away.
Ace?
Had he heard Lennox right?
Around the club, there was only one person Lennox called Ace.
She was the driver no one at the club dared underestimate—and the real force behind Callum’s racing team.
A few years earlier, when Elara first came to the club, she had been even younger, and nobody had taken her seriously.
Then she got behind the wheel and proved every one of them wrong.
She clipped the racing line through corners, drifted at blistering speed, and pulled off daring overtakes at the absolute limit.
Every move was so precise that even veteran drivers stopped to watch.
In her most famous race, she had been nearly half a lap behind with only three laps to go.
Everyone thought it was over.
She took three consecutive corners flawlessly, completed the pass, and crossed the finish line six seconds ahead of second place.
From that day on, nobody in the club dared look down on her again.
After that, “Ace” became the name everyone at the club used for her—and they meant it with respect.
The rookie swallowed hard.
“She’s…
the Ace?”
Someone beside him reached over and patted his shoulder.
“Now you realize who you were lecturing?”
The rookie went pale.
He had actually said Elara wasn’t cut out for racing?
He had just told the club’s best driver that racing was not for her.
He could only hope she would forget the whole thing.
…
Inside the office.
Lennox made Elara a cup of tea himself.
“Sit.
You’ve got to tell me what happened.”
Elara took the teacup from him and lowered her head for a small sip.
The tea was light and fragrant.
She leaned back into the sofa and finally relaxed.
Lennox, meanwhile, could barely contain himself.
“Ace!”
“Registration for the Apex Racing Relay closes soon!”
“Are you even coming back to race or not?”
“We’ve already done two practice rounds!”
“If you keep disappearing on us, Callum’s team is going to think they already have this won.”
Elara paused for half a second, fingers still around the teacup.
Then she lifted a hand and pressed her temple, a dull ache spreading there.
Right.
The Apex Racing Relay.
She’d almost forgotten about it—and about Callum, the youngest of the three Weston brothers and supposedly her brother too.
He owned one of the best-known racing clubs in the capital, and for the past few years, she had quietly helped train his team, especially in the final stretch.
She had earned many of the points that kept the team in contention.
But whenever the official final arrived, Callum pulled her from the lineup and put Rosalind in her place.
He always gave the same excuse.
“Rosalind’s in better form today.”
Once, she had barely finished a practice race, her wrist still throbbing, when Callum ordered her to hand over her racing gear.
“Rosalind runs the final leg.”
Rosalind crossed the line for the final leg and took the credit for the championship.
Under the blazing lights, Callum personally handed the trophy to Rosalind.
“Nice work, Rosalind.”
Everyone crowded around Rosalind, cheering like crazy, treating her like the star of the night.
And Elara could only stand behind them, silent.
No one mentioned the obvious truth.
Without the points Elara had fought for earlier, Rosalind would never have been in position to win anything.
Thinking about it now, the memory felt almost absurd.
Elara’s expression cooled.
The past was the past, and she was done dwelling on it.
But this time, with the next race approaching, she didn’t mind reminding certain people what real skill looked like.
“I’m in.”
Two simple words.
Lennox stared at her.
“Seriously?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re really coming back?”
“I guess you could say that.”
Lennox nearly shot out of his chair.
“That’s awesome!”
“We’re taking this one.”
Elara set her teacup down.
“How much is the prize money?”
Lennox blinked.
“Fifty million.”
Elara paused, thinking it over for a second.
“I want half.”
The office went quiet for a beat.
Then Lennox burst out laughing.
“No problem!”
“Half?
Take it.
Hell, if you win this for us, I’d give you the whole purse.”
He had been sick of Callum’s team for months.
“You have no idea how unbearable they’ve been lately.”
“They keep saying they can win the championship just fine without you.”
“And Rosalind keeps acting like she’s the reason that team wins anything.”
The more Lennox talked, the more fired up he got.
“This time, I want you to shut them up for good.”
But Elara stayed calm, her expression barely changing.
“No rush.”
She leaned back into the sofa, perfectly calm.
“The race hasn’t even started yet.
Let them enjoy themselves for two more days.”
Lennox stared at her for a beat, then laughed and slapped the desk.
“There she is.
That’s the Ace I remember.”
“Let them brag now.
They can deal with the result when race day comes.”
Elara didn’t say anything else.
She picked up the book on the desk and casually flipped through a couple of pages.
Then Lennox remembered something.
“Oh, right.
One more thing.
The Ashford family from Y Country is in the capital.”
Elara’s hand didn’t pause as she turned the page.
“The Ashford family?”
“Yeah.”
Lennox nodded.
“The Ashfords.
The richest family in Y Country.”
“They lost a daughter eighteen years ago and never stopped looking.
A lot of the family came to the capital this time, and people are talking.”
“Half the city is trying to get close to them.
Some people are even digging for information about the missing daughter.”
Elara’s expression did not change.
“Oh.”
Lennox stared at her.
“That’s it?”
“Mm.”
“You’re not curious?”
“Not really.”
“That’s the richest family in Y Country.”
Elara finally lifted her eyes and glanced at him.
“What’s that got to do with me?”
Lennox had no answer to that.
Okay.
Fair enough.
Anyone else hearing the Ashford name would already be scrambling for an introduction.
Elara, on the other hand, had barely reacted.
Lennox shook his head to himself.
That was Elara for you.
Elara slung her bag over her shoulder and stood.
“You handle the race stuff.
I’m heading back first.”
Lennox blinked at her.
“Back for what?”
“To study.
I’ve got an exam tomorrow.”
He stared at her for a second.
Lennox opened his mouth, then thought better of it.
Everyone else in the city seemed obsessed with the Ashfords—chasing introductions, influence, and opportunity.
Elara only cared about tomorrow’s exam.
Lennox could only laugh.