Chapter 391
Ethan Mercer gave Leo Gable his final instructions. “If he refuses to listen, tell him… tell him our dad is in critical condition p>
“Understood p>
As an assistant, Leo knew better than to pry into the eldest Mercer son’s motives. Ethan was always level-headed; he wouldn’t make up such a drastic lie without a damn good reason.
Julian Mercer was doing his pre-race warm-up. The moment he pulled his race car to a stop after a test lap, Leo sprinted toward him.
But before he could take more than a few steps, Mara Mercer grabbed his arm.
“Leo, what are you doing?” she demanded.
“I have to stop Julian from racing p>
“Why would you do that when everything is perfectly fine p>
“Your dad is in critical condition p>
“What? No way, Ethan is lying to you. Look, you really shouldn’t tell Julian this and mess with his headspace right before the race. Think about it—even if Dad were really dying, Lucas is a doctor and he’s right there. Julian isn’t a doctor. Going back wouldn’t change anything. It’s much better for him to focus on the race and go back afterward to spend time with Dad p>
“That makes sense, but if Ethan wants to stop him, he must have his reasons p>
With that, Leo pulled away and sprinted toward Julian.
“What a thick-headed idiot,” Mara muttered, her face twisting in annoyance before she chased after him.
Leo followed Ethan’s instructions perfectly, telling Julian the lie. To his shock, Julian echoed Mara’s exact logic. “Lucas is there to handle Dad’s condition. Don’t worry, it won’t be anything serious p>
Mara jogged up right on cue. “Julian is absolutely right. That’s exactly what I said p>
Leo tried to press the issue, but the siblings were presenting a united front. Neither of them was willing to listen to reason.
By the time Ethan finished handling his corporate emergencies and rushed to the track, Julian was already in his car, idling at the starting line.
“Julian! Get out of there! There’s something wrong with your car!” Ethan screamed at the top of his lungs.
But Julian was utterly consumed by the need to win. He didn’t even flinch.
He thought his older brother had lost his mind today. First, it was a lie about their father dying, and now he was claiming the car was broken. This was a state-of-the-art facing machine worth millions of dollars. What could possibly be wrong with it?
Seeing that Julian was ignoring him, Ethan broke into a cold sweat. He tried to sprint
onto the track to physically drag Julian out of the driver’s seat.
Before Ethan could even get close, Julian confidently shifted gears and slammed on the gas, roaring onto the track.
“Stop! I’m serious, your car has been tampered with p>
But the howling wind and the deafening roar of the engine swallowed Ethan’s desperate pleas. The racer couldn’t hear him—or rather, he simply didn’t want to.
Track officials quickly intercepted Ethan, forcing him back into the spectator stands. Ethan knew he was out of options. At this point, all he could do was pray to God and leave the rest to fate.
He glanced to his side and spotted Leo. “Did you not try to stop him p>
“I did, but he wouldn’t listen. Neither of them would p>
“Neither p>
“Yeah, I said exactly what you told me to. But they both said the same thing: ‘If Dad
is in trouble, Lucas will take care of him.’ My hands were tied p>
Ethan slowly turned his head to glare at Mara. She stared at her shoes. “I… I p>
Smack!
Ethan raised his hand and struck her hard across the face. “What did I tell
you? Not only did you fail to
persuade him, but you actively
sabotaged the intervention What
the hell is wrong
ith you?
If she simply couldn’t convince Julian, that would be forgivable. But the fact that she had actively argued against Leo and encouraged Julian to race was utterly despicable.
Mara wiped her tears, looking at him with wide, pitiful eyes. “Ethan, how could you hit me p>
Ethan didn’t have the patience to coddle her. He pressed his palms together, his eyes locked onto the blue sports car tearing down the track.
Please let that nightmare just be a bad dream.
It didn’t take long for Julian’s car to take the absolute lead.
Julian was a top-tier racer who hạd won the championship three times in a row. His driving skills were legendary, a force on the track that struck fear into the hearts of his international competitors.