Race for the Throne | Formula One

60. Seeing White

Lap after lap, I was on the edge of my seat. Charles and Max battled for first. They traded P1 back and forth, never able to extend the gap by too much. My breathing quickened as they got close on a turn and I swore under my breath as I remembered the crash in Qatar. Arthur grip on my hand tightened, probably as he remembered the same thing I did. Going into the final lap, Max had the lead.

"Come on, Shy. Come on. You got this. Win it for us, I love you," I whispered under my breath.

The gap between them grew smaller. Going into the final turn, Charles nosed ahead.The chequered flag waved. I stood up, jaw dropped. I turned to Arthur who's expression mirrored mine. Charles yelled through the headset. The garage went wild.

"Charles, you are the world champion!" Fred announced. "Il predestinato!"

I covered my mouth with my free hand, tears welling in my eyes. He did it. My Charles did it. Arthur, who was still holding my other hand, pulled me through the garage. We waited at the barrier for Charles. Lorenzo and Pascale followed closely. Charles parked the car. He just sat there for a moment, head in his hands, before jumping out of the car and running his hand along the side of the car. He sat on his heels, hand on the front wing, before standing up, tapping his hand to his helmet and raising it above his head, pointing to the sky. Fireworks exploded above him. If it was possible to take a picture with your mind, I did. I wanted to be able to remember this moment forever. Charles sprinted towards the wall, jumping on his engineers as they ran to meet him. He pulled away from them, lifting his visor and pulling off his gloves, and searched the crowd. I waved slightly and he ran over. Wrapping his arms around me he lifted me over the barrier. Charles pulled away for a moment, just long enough to pull his helmet and balaclava off. He cupped my face in his hands, kissing me passionately.

"You did it. You did it. You did it," I repeated against his lips.

"For you." He smiled against my mouth.

"I love you! I love you so much!" My heart was racing with adrenaline.

"I love you too!" He kissed me one last time before running to Arthur, Lorenzo, and his mom. I stood there, beaming. I was so incredibly proud of him, this was his moment. This was the accumulation of everything he had worked so hard for. This was for his father, for Jules, for Anthoine.

Someone came up behind me. "Princess, I need to speak to you."

"Not now, Alvaro." I waved my hand.

"It's urgent." He put his hand on my shoulder.

I glanced over at him. His face was unreadable. Mateo was at the barrier, close to Charles' family, keeping an eye on him as I had asked. Charles had won but more importantly he was safe and would remain safe with Mateo watching over him.  I nodded to Alvaro and followed him as he pushed through the crowds. He led me back to Ferrari hospitality which was deserted.

"Ok, what is it, Alvaro? I really want to be able to celebrate with Charles." I walked past him and crossed my arms.

He turned to face me, back to the door, voice emotionless. "You're the last one and you're my responsibility."

I laughed. "What are you talking about?"

Alvaro's hand had moved while I was talking and was now under his jacket. "They are dead."

"What are you even talking about?" I tilted my head, very confused. "Who's dead?"

"You can check for yourself in a moment." He moved slowly as he pulled his hand from under his jacket.

My eyes widened and my blood ran cold. The paddock lights caught the muzzle of the gun. It was cold, it was hard, and it was final.

"Why are you doing this?" I whispered.

"To finish the job." His voice was hard.

My mind flashed back to yesterday when he said he would only back off once the job was done.

"Alvaro, please." I raised my hands. "Whatever is going on, you don't have to do this."

Before he could respond the door opened and Ines walked in. "Kat, what are you doing in here? The podium ceremony is going to start."

She froze as she saw the gun in Alvaro's hand. "Holy fuck!"

Alvaro turned just slightly, to motion her over towards me with the gun. Protect Ines. Protect Charles. My brain shut down and I moved purely on instinct. I took the opportunity of him being momentarily distracted to lunge for him. He whipped his head back around towards me, raising the gun. He fired as I dove. Pain flared in my shoulder. I grabbed his wrists and pulled him towards me, catching him off balance. We both fell to the ground as Ines screamed.

Alvaro was next to me on the ground, gun just out of his reach where he dropped it when he fell. He glanced towards me and reached for the gun. I pulled on his arm with my good hand and used the momentum to push myself across the floor. My hand closed around the gun the same time as Alvaro. I brought my knees up to my chest and kicked his stomach as hard as I could, trying to break his hold on the gun. His grip relaxed momentarily and I was able to get a better hold, trying to twist the gun from his hand.

"Stop, this doesn't have to happen!" I shouted at Alvaro, sweat beading my forehead.

"Yes, it does!" He shouted back.

We grappled for the gun. He squeezed my hands, trying to pry them off the gun. He was getting the upper hand. He tried to yank the gun from my grip but my finger was caught in the trigger guard. A gunshot cracked through the air as the door thudded against the wall. My vision went white.