The Race Director's Daughter (Sebastian Vettel)

1. A New Beginning

A/N: just a short chapter to introduce our main girl.

March 2022, Oxfordshire, UK

Leah Chandler-Webb looked at herself in the mirror.  Everyone told her she was beautiful but she didn't see a beautiful woman looking back at her.  She saw the mousy, nervous, nineteen year old she'd been when her life had changed forever. 

Nearly eight years had passed but still the events of that night haunted her, and she knew they always would.  She'd tried to forget it. She'd tried counselling.  She'd tried to move on but she couldn't forget that night.  The night her best friend had raped her. 

Even the ten year jail sentence Aaron had received had done little to help her move on with her life.  He'd served just six years.  He was out now, engaged with a baby on the way she'd heard on the grapevine. 

Meanwhile she was the one with the life sentence, the one that had to live with the memories of what he'd done to her. 

She ran her fingers through her shoulder length, wavy, caramel coloured hair, trying to make it hang better.  It didn't work. Nothing ever did.  Why couldn't she grow it long?  Easy answer, Aaron.  He'd loved her long hair.  She'd made a point of keeping it shoulder length ever since that night.  

She turned her face slightly, examining her features.  Her skin was flawless, her nose just the right size for her face.  Her eyes were a dark blue, almost violet in colour.  Her eyelashes were her favourite part of herself.  They were so long and thick. 

She picked up her glasses from on top of the nearby desk and slipped them on.  That was better. She only needed them for computer work and reading, but she chose to wear them all the time because for some reason people, men in particular, seemed to overlook her when she wore her glasses.  Every time she went out without wearing them she seemed to attract unwanted attention. 

Any attention was unwanted.  Since that night she'd turned away from her old life.  She'd loved partying and hanging out with her friends. She'd loved fashion and clothes shopping, funded by her generous allowance from her father.   She'd loved wearing short skirts, low cut tops and high heels.

Now all she wore were jeans, T-shirt's, baggy hoodies and trainers.  She hated her body.   Aaron had made sure of that.  

She'd cut herself off from all of her friends, scared to trust anyone.  Aaron had been her best friend since the age of seven.  If she'd been so wrong about him, who else had she been wrong about?

The only people in her life now were her father, Martin, her brother Luca, her stepmother Vicky and her stepbrother, Joel.  Her spare time was spent reading, walking the family Labrador, Snoopy, and watching motor racing on the television. 

It didn't matter what sort of racing it was.  She loved it all, but her passion was Formula 1.  And now she was going to be working in it!

Her father had been a Formula 1 race steward for the last five years.  He'd been due to start in 2015 but had pulled out after what had happened to her, determined to be there to support her through Aaron's trial. 

Then a month before, he'd had a call from the powers that be.  After the previous season's debacle at Abu Dhabi, the man responsible , Michael Masi, had been dismissed and her father had been promoted to Race Director.  

Leah was so proud of him. He deserved it.  He hadn't had the easiest of times since her and Luca's mother had been killed in a car crash when she'd been just two years old and Luca just four.

He'd been an amazing father, but he'd been convinced that she and Luca had needed a mother. She'd been just five years old when he'd married Stepmother Number 1. Charlotte had been nice enough, but the truth was she'd never loved Martin. She'd been on the rebound after splitting up with her fiancé. She'd left Martin to get back with her ex after just nine months of marriage.

Stepmother Number 2, Jessica, had been the stepmother from Hell. She'd hated Leah and Luca with a passion. Oh, she'd hidden her hatred well from Martin, but one day he'd walked in and heard her calling Luca a snotty little bastard. After two years of marriage it was bye bye Jessica.

Next up was Stepmother Number 3, Clarissa. Leah and Luca had both hated her on sight. Clarissa was a classic example of a gold digger. Everyone apart from Martin himself could see she was after his money. He was a rich man, he'd inherited almost £40 million from his paternal grandparents.

Leah had no idea what had happened to Clarissa. All she knew was that she'd flown to Montreal with Martin to the Grand Prix one year and he'd come back alone.  

He'd remained single for the next five years, until
he'd met Stepmother Number 4, Vicky. 

Vicky was everything Martin's previous wives weren't.  She was loving and kind, Leah and Luca both adored her,and the best thing about it was she and Martin were truly in love.  

Vicky was the closest thing she'd ever had to a mother since her own had died.  And the other best bit about Vicky was Joel.  

Joel was Vicky's son from a previous relationship.  He was just a year older than Leah and they'd immediately hit it off.  In fact,  Leah felt closer to her stepbrother than she did to her actual brother. 

Luca and Leah had never been close but he'd distanced himself from her after the rape. He didn't blame her for it or anything, but it was like he didn't know how to act around her, so he'd avoided her.

There was a knock on her bedroom door. "Leah, are you ready? The taxi will be here in five minutes," her Dad called through the door.

"Just coming Dad," she replied. She quickly pulled her hair back into a ponytail and pulled her red baggy hoodie over her head.

Then she opened the door and headed out, ready to start the new chapter of her life.

***

Three hours later Leah stretched her legs out in First Class. They had taken off, Bahrain bound. Her Dad was glued to his laptop, answering emails. She gazed out of the window, daydreaming.

This was a chance for her to try and make a new start. Her Dad had managed to get her a job working for the FIA in admin. No one knew her there, or what had happened to her. She wasn't going to be the girl who got raped. She could be herself there, Leah Webb. She had dropped the Chandler part of her surname, not wanting people to know she was the Race Director's daughter.

She thought about all the greats of Formula 1 she may get to meet. Lewis Hamilton, in her opinion the greatest driver to ever turn a wheel . Fernando Alonso, she'd never liked him much but admitted he was a fantastic driver. Sebastian Vettel, she'd always had a soft spot for him. Daniel Ricciardo, the Aussie joker. The new world champion, Max Verstappen. Not to mention all the former drivers that worked for the television stations. Nico Rosberg, Jenson Button, Damon Hill. She smiled, excitement beginning to manifest inside her.

Maybe this time she could move on. Maybe now she'd finally begin to live.