Chapter 2: The Man Who Was Supposed To Be Dead
Ryan didn’t say the name immediately.
That scared me more than if he had shouted it.
My brother had always been the calm one. The person who could stand in the middle of chaos and find a solution. When our father’s engine exploded during a race years ago, Ryan was the one who ran onto the track before the emergency crew arrived.
When I crashed two seasons ago and woke up in the hospital, Ryan was the one sitting beside my bed.
He never looked afraid.
Not once.
But now he was staring at a frozen image on a tablet, and his hands were shaking.
“Ryan,” I said quietly.
“Who is it?””
He looked at me.
For a second, I saw the older brother who used to carry me home after I fell off my bicycle.
Then I saw the man who had disappeared without a goodbye.
“Daniel Cross,” he finally said.
The name hit the air like a gunshot.
The people standing around us reacted immediately.
A mechanic nearby dropped a wrench.
One of the reporters whispered into her microphone.
Even the police officer holding the tablet looked confused.
“Are you sure?”” the officer asked.
Ryan didn’t answer.
He just kept staring at the screen.
“I watched him die.””
Nobody spoke.
The Arizona sun burned above us, but suddenly I felt cold.
“Who is Daniel Cross?”” I asked.
Ryan looked at me with a sadness I couldn’t understand.
“He was our father’s partner.””
My chest tightened.
I knew the name.
Everyone in racing knew the name.
Daniel Cross had been one of the best engineers in the sport before a garage fire destroyed his career.
A fire that happened six months earlier.
A fire that killed him.
At least, that was what everyone believed.
The police officer took the tablet from Marcus.
“Ms. Carter, we need you to come with us.””
I looked toward my car.
The front tires were covered in dust from the gravel lane.
The vehicle that was supposed to bring me victory had almost become my grave.
“I’m not leaving until I know what happened,” I said.
The officer nodded.
“We’re trying to figure that out too.””
Behind him, Chloe finally moved.
She walked toward us slowly.
Her face had changed.
The confidence was gone.
The smug smile had disappeared.
For the first time in years, Chloe looked afraid.
“Emma,” she said.
I turned toward her.
I almost laughed.
After everything she had done, she still said my name like we were friends.
“You knew him,” I said.
Chloe stopped.
The silence answered for her.
“You knew Daniel Cross was alive.””
Her eyes moved toward Ryan.
Then back to me.
“I didn’t know he was alive.””
I stepped closer.
“You were in the garage with him.””
“I was there, but I didn’t know who he was.””
“That makes no sense.””
Chloe swallowed.
“I thought he was someone else.””
The police officer raised an eyebrow.
“Someone else who was cutting the brakes on her car?””
Chloe looked away.
That was the first moment I realized something.
She wasn’t innocent.
But she wasn’t the only person hiding something.
“Take her statement,” the officer told another officer.
Chloe immediately protested.
“You can’t arrest me.””
“We didn’t say we were arresting you,” the officer replied.
“But you’re treating me like I did something.””
I stared at her.
“You attacked me before the race.””
Her jaw tightened.
“I was trying to stop you.””
“By pulling me out of my car?””
“You don’t understand.””
“No,” I said.
“I don’t.””
Chloe looked around at the cameras.
Then lowered her voice.
“Because if you had started that race, you would have died.””
Everyone went quiet.
The officer looked at her.
“What did you just say?””
Chloe looked at me.
“I was trying to scare you away.””
I felt my anger rise.
“You almost broke my shoulder.””
“I know.””
“You could have gotten me killed.””
“I know.””
The fact that she admitted it made it worse.
I stepped back.
“You don’t get to save me after trying to destroy me.””
Her eyes filled with something I couldn’t identify.
Regret.
Fear.
Or both.
“I wasn’t trying to destroy you, Emma.””
She glanced at the tablet in the officer’s hand.
“I was trying to keep you alive.””
Before I could respond, Ryan grabbed my arm.
“Not here.””
I looked at him.
“What?””
“Not with cameras watching.””
His voice was low.
“There are things you need to know.””
I wanted answers.
I wanted to scream at him for disappearing.
I wanted to ask where he had been for six months.
But the way he looked at me stopped me.
Because Ryan wasn’t hiding a secret.
He was hiding a nightmare.
Two hours later, I sat inside the private medical room at the speedway.
A doctor checked my shoulder.
No broken bones.
Just bruising.
Physically, I was lucky.
That word kept bothering me.
Lucky.
People always used that word after accidents.
Lucky you survived.
Lucky it wasn’t worse.
Lucky you got another chance.
But nobody talked about how close you came to losing everything.
Ryan stood near the window.
He hadn’t sat down once.
“You owe me an explanation,” I said.
He nodded.
“I know.””
“No.””
I looked at him.
“You don’t get to disappear for six months and come back on a motorcycle saving my life like some movie hero.””
His face tightened.
“I wasn’t trying to be a hero.””
“Then what were you doing?””
He looked outside.
“Investigating Dad’s death.””
The room went silent.
I stared at him.
“Our father died eight years ago.””
“I know.””
“The crash was an accident.””
Ryan didn’t answer.
That scared me.
“Ryan.””
He turned around.
“Emma, Dad’s crash wasn’t an accident.””
My heart stopped.
“What are you talking about?””
He walked closer.
“Before Dad died, he discovered someone was stealing racing technology from his team.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“I found his old files.””
“That’s impossible.””
“He kept copies.””
My father had always been careful.
But he was also stubborn.
He believed the truth mattered more than winning.
Ryan pulled out his phone.
He showed me a photo.
A small notebook.
My father’s handwriting covered the pages.
Names.
Dates.
Race numbers.
And one name circled repeatedly.
Daniel Cross.
“He blamed Daniel?”” I asked.
Ryan shook his head.
“No.””
He zoomed in.
“He was investigating him.””
I looked at the screen.
A sentence written by my father caught my attention.
If anything happens to me, don’t trust the people closest to the team.
My hands went cold.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
“Because I didn’t know who to trust.””
The words hurt.
“You didn’t trust me?””
Ryan looked away.
“I was trying to protect you.””
“No. You left me.””
His expression broke slightly.
“I know.””
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then his phone rang.
Ryan looked at the screen.
His face changed.
“What?””
I watched him answer.
“Where?””
A pause.
Then he stood completely still.
“No. Don’t touch anything. I’m coming.””
He ended the call.
“What happened?”” I asked.
Ryan looked at me.
“They found Daniel Cross.””
I stood.
“What?””
“At the old Cross Racing facility.””
“That place burned down.””
“Yes.””
“Then how did they find him?””
Ryan hesitated.
“Because he left something behind.””
“What?””
He looked at the tablet on the table.
The video of Daniel sabotaging my car was still frozen on the screen.
Then Ryan said something that made my blood run cold.
“A message.””
“What message?””
Ryan picked up his jacket.
“He wrote your name.””
I followed him out.
The facility was less than twenty minutes away.
The old Cross Racing building sat abandoned outside the city.
The place where Daniel Cross supposedly died.
The place where my brother had been searching for answers.
When we arrived, police cars surrounded the building.
An officer led us inside.
The smell hit me first.
Burned metal.
Old gasoline.
Dust.
The walls were covered in black marks from the fire years earlier.
“This is where you found him?”” Ryan asked.
The officer nodded.
“Not exactly.””
He pointed toward the back room.
“He found us.””
I froze.
“What does that mean?””
The officer opened the door.
Inside was an old racing desk.
A single envelope sat on top.
My name was written across it.
Emma Carter.
Nobody moved.
Ryan looked at me.
“Don’t open it.””
I stared at the envelope.
“Why?””
His voice dropped.
“Because whoever left it here knew you would survive today.””
I reached toward it anyway.
My fingers touched the paper.
And underneath my name, written in dark ink, were five words.
Words that made Ryan step backward.
May you like
Words that proved Daniel Cross had been watching me all along.
*I know what your brother did.*
