Chapter 9

Bella seemed strangely confident as if she was certain of her victory, and it left me puzzled.

As the race started, I kept a steady pace, curious to see what she had up her sleeve.

Bella drove casually, with no urgency to compete—she even took the time to fix a stray strand of hair.

Her attitude irritated me.

It seemed she was only interested in drawing attention, not in actually winning the race.

We had become mere performers for the audience.

But after the first turn, I realized Bella’s true intention.

Someone had tampered with my car—it wouldn’t brake at all during the turns.

I gripped the steering wheel tightly, feeling a sinking sensation in my chest.

Fortunately, I wasn’t going too fast, and there were tires set up near the finish line to help me slow down.

Percy noticed something was wrong too.

He led a group of people to the finish line, directing them to set up more obstacles to reduce my speed.

It was one thing for Bella to want Percy or even the Scott family, but f