Online Rivals, Offline Lovers

Chapter 19 - A plan

Horner tilted his head, thinking. After a moment, he nodded as well. "We would have to find a way to prove it, though. If he didn't leave a paper trail to follow... we would need his confession."

I shook my head, laughing darkly. "No... that won't happen. I have only met him a handful of times, but he is incredibly controlled. I doubt he would be stupid enough to tell us all of his secrets. Especially in the paddock, with all of the cameras around."

„Maybe he would... I mean he hinted at it today. Lex what do you think?" Horner asked.

I looked over at Lex, noticing she had become rather pale. She looked like she was ready to faint, but then a determined look crossed her face, and I could see she was forming a plan.

"He might not confess anything here, but at home... he would," she said, her voice resolute. "He would want to show me how stupid I was. How easy it was for him to reassert his control over me. He would want to show off."

Suddenly, it clicked. I whipped my head around, realizing what she intended. "No, Lex. You won't. You can't go back to him. He won't let you leave."

Horner looked confused, glancing between the two of us. Lex, however, looked sad but resolute as she nodded. "I can and I will. Max, it's the only way."

I scoffed. "No. No way. I would rather stop racing than force you to go back to him."

Lex smiled gently. "You aren't forcing me to do anything. It's my choice, and I want to do it. Besides... if everything goes right, I won't be there for long."

My stomach churned, and I felt nauseous. "You have a plan?"

Lex nodded. "I do."

Horner downed the rest of his drink and stood up. "Whatever you are going to do... I can't be involved in this. I won't stop you... but I can't be here."

He left the room, leaving us in a heavy silence.

Lex took a deep breath and turned to me, her eyes serious. "If we want to have a chance to outsmart my dad, you will have to help me."

"Tell me what you want me to do, and I'll do it," I replied without hesitation. If Lex managed to stand by my side and hard launch our relationship to the public during a time when everyone else seemed to either fear or hate me... then I could do whatever she asked of me.

She looked me straight in the eyes, refusing to blink. "Max, you need to be spotted out partying without me. It has to look like there's trouble in paradise."

I frowned, not liking the sound of it. "You want me to make it seem like we're having problems? Why? When we just came out publicly?"

"If my dad thinks we're on the rocks, he'll be more likely to let his guard down. He'll believe he's regaining control over me," she explained. "Plus, if people think we're having issues, they won't suspect we're working together."

I nodded slowly, understanding her logic. "Alright. But what else?"

Lex bit her lip before continuing. "You're banned for the next three races, but after that, you can compete again. I need you to... cause me to crash."

"What?!" I exclaimed, feeling a surge of panic. "Lex, I can't do that. I won't do that." She could get seriously hurt. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if anything really happened to her... after all... I still remembered the time George pushed her off the track. It had taken all of my self-control not to punch the guy and break his nose.

"It won't be real, Max," she said, her voice firm. "It just needs to look like it. Enough to convince my dad that I'm vulnerable and desperate."

I shook my head, my heart racing. "Lex, that's too dangerous. What if something goes wrong?"

"I know it's risky," she admitted, "but it's the only way. If my dad believes I'm in a weak position, he'll be more likely to make a mistake. We need that mistake to catch him. He needs to think I'm all alone. He needs to believe he's the only one I've got left. He'll ask me to come home with him – and – I'll agree."

I stared at her, my mind racing with a thousand different objections. What if he never let her go again? What if he hid her away in some obscure villa where I couldn't get to her? What if he hurt her? What if he broke her? I forced myself to take a deep breath. My stomach was rolling and if I didn't stop imagining every worst-case scenario that came to mind, I knew I would vomit. Lex was right. If we wanted to expose her father and clear my name, we had to take this risk.

"Alright," I said finally, my voice heavy with reluctance. "I'll do it. But we need to be careful. I can't lose you, Lex."

"You won't," she promised, squeezing my hand. "We'll be smart about this. Together, we can outsmart him."

I nodded, trying to push down the fear gnawing at my insides. "Together," I agreed, praying that we were making the right choice.