The secretive

Chapter 53

So just realised I had this draft just sitting here -oops.

Anyway enjoy this before I disappear for another 6 months🫣

Anna's POV

This year, I'd fought through a wet qualifying, a wild start, and a late-race scrap with Carlos and Seb that left my tires clinging to life. I crossed the line in P3. It wasn't a win, but it felt like one. The crowd roared as I stepped onto the podium. A British podium, in front of British fans, next to my brother in the support paddock.

And with two of my boys on the podium, it felt even sweeter.

A Few Hours Later – Driver's Motorhome

3rd person pov

The sun was setting. Dinner was done. The post-race adrenaline was fading, replaced with gentle hums of conversation and the occasional crack of laughter from the media room next door.

Lewis was stretched out across one of the giant couches in the common room, wearing someone else's hoodie (probably Mick's) with his hair down and a barely-touched mug of tea in his hands.

Lando sat behind him, legs on either side, arms looped lazily around his waist.

On the floor, Alex and Mick were attempting to explain a niche F1 rule to Oscar Paistri, who had joined them for the evening, using jelly beans and forks as props.

"Okay but why would DRS not be enabled if there's only one car behind the leader?" Oscar argued, waving a bean.

"Because—Osc, mate—it's just how the system works. You need to be within a second of another car, not just the leader," Mick replied, patient as ever.

Max tossed a pillow from the other couch. "You're all wrong. It's FIA logic. No one understands it."

"Don't you dare defend the FIA," Pierre said, eyes wide. Max launched a bean at his head.

"Boys," Dan interrupted, walking in with bowls of popcorn. "Focus. We have important business: watching Shrek 2. For bonding."

"Honestly, I'd die for Fairy Godmother," George chimed in, dramatically flopping onto Alex's lap.

The movie started. Pillows everywhere. Feet over arms. Pierre somehow ended up using Yuki's stomach as a footrest. No one moved him.

Checo POV – Later that Night

Eventually, people began to peel off—Pierre to FaceTime his mum, Carlos to drag Alex to bed ("You have a simulator session at seven!"), Max grumbling about how "even Fairy Godmother couldn't save Ferrari's strategy."

Lando and I stayed curled together, barely speaking. Just... being.

"I liked today," I whispered. "The race. The vibe. It felt like... like a good day."

Lando tightened his hold around me. " We're just getting started."

The Next Morning – Lawyer's Office, London

Anna's pov

I sat in the waiting room of a quiet law firm in MK, scrolling through Instagram stories of the boys doing dumb things on Lewis's plane while my stomach twisted itself in knots.

"Miss Cela?" A woman stepped out, clipboard in hand.

"Right here."

The lawyer's name was Aisha Reynolds, young, sharp-eyed, and kind in a way that didn't feel fake.

We sat in a glass-paneled room. She had everything ready.

"I understand from your message that you're concerned about your parents attempting to contact or manipulate your image or finances?" she asked.