My Accidental Billionaire Husband (Katia and Julian) novel Chapter 409

+15 Bonus

The Race

Julian’s POV

The location dropped four hours before the race. Same coded shit as always. Some abandoned waterfront road in Brooklyn. Wide enough to go fast, quiet enough that the cops wouldn’t show up too quick, close enough that half the city’s underground racing crowd could get there in an hour.

We didn’t all arrive together. Marcus and I planned that days ago. No big family entrance. Nothing that screamed, “Look at us.”

Grandma Celeste got there first. Her own car, her own driver. She sat in a folding chair like she was at a fucking concert instead of an illegal street race. Gail showed up next with Aiden on her hip even though the kid kept saying he could walk. His eyes went huge the second he saw the cars and the crowd.

David and Martha came after that. Still clueless. They thought this was just some family outing to support Katia while she was pregnant. Grandma had sold them that story after the whole Delia mess, and they bought it. They had no idea the woman they came to cheer for was standing less than fifty feet away in a mask.

Noah and Delia arrived together. His hand was on her back. They still looked a little awkward with each other, but at least they weren’t at each other’s throats. Delia looked tired as hell, but she smiled when Aiden ran over to show her some rock he found.

Watching that, I was just glad some part of this fucked-up family was starting to settle.

Zane and Sam showed up already arguing about logistics. Sam’s phone was glued to her hand, tracking every camera Tessa’s

people had set up.

My car was waiting exactly where I told them to leave it. Black. Low. Mask on the passenger seat. Katia’s car was two spots down. I could just see her through the tinted glass, already in the suit, already turned into the version at herself this whole underground world knew better than they knew me.

I walked over and knocked on her window.

It rolled down just enough for her eyes to hit mine.

“You sure about this?” I asked, voice low.

“I’ve never been more fucking sure of anything,” Katia said. “Go get in your car, Jules. We’ve got a race to win.”

I almost smiled despite the knot in my chest and walked back to my own car.

Gail found me a few minutes later with Aiden still on her hip.

“I’m taking him somewhere with a clear view but away from the main crowd,” she said. “I don’t want anyone looking at this kid and wondering why a Windsor is standing that close to Catwoman’s car.”

“Smart,” I said.

“I’ll disappear the second the cars line up. Nobody needs to see where Aiden’s aunt goes once the engines start.”

She left with him, weaving through the crowd toward a raised bit of concrete further back. Close enough to watch. Far enough

that no one would connect the dots.

I found Zane near the staging area going over the last details.

“You block the left side,” he said. “I’ve got people watching the right. Sam’s on Tessa’s team Marcus is shutting down any livestream that tries to go too wide.”

“And if something goes wrong?”

“Then we handle it,” Zane said. “Like we always do.”

The matter started calling racers to the line

The Hor

+15 Bonus

I pulled my car in beside Katia’s. Close enough that our formation looked natural. Far enough that it didn’t look planned. Tessa rolled up on Katia’s other side a second later. Same deep red car. Phoenix mask catching the headlights. She was already talking to whatever stream she had ning; of course she was.

The crowd got louder. That electre, hungry noise people make when they know they’re about to see something worth talking

about for weeks.

The starter raised the flag.

I glanced once toward the concrete where Gail stood with Aiden. Even from here I could see my son bouncing, yelling something that sounded like his mother’s name with pure six-year-old excitement.

The flag dropped.

We shot off the line together. Three engines screaming. The waterfront road opened up, and the city turned into a blur. Katia took the early lead exactly like we planned. She cut through the first curve like she owned the damn road.

I stayed right behind her right shoulder. Close enough to block any camera that might catch too much of her through the glass. Matching her speed. Never pulling ahead.

Tessa pushed hard through the second turn. She almost came even with me for a stretch. The old competitive shit rose up in my chest, and I shoved it back down. Tonight wasn’t about me winning. Tonight was about making sure Katia crossed that line first.

I eased off and let Tessa take the spot beside me. Kept myself solidly behind Katia instead. A wall between her car and anything coming up too fast from behind.

Katia held the lead through the long middle stretch. Her line through every curve was sharp as hell. You could feel how much of herself she’d poured into this race. Every skill she’d built over years of driving circuits, just like this one.

The final stretch opened up.

Katia hit the gas and pulled away with that same reserve she always saved for the end lengths ahead of both of us. The crowd lost its fucking mind.

crossed the finish line a full two car

I came in second. Tessa trailed third, and even through her tinted glass you could feel the frustration rolling off her.

Katia didn’t stop.

She didn’t slow down more than she had to. Didn’t get out. Didn’t linger for one second longer than the win required. Her car just turned, smooth and clean, and disappeared down a side street before post of the crowd had even finished screaming

I knew exactly what she was doing. Same pattern she’d followed for years. No interviews. No close photos. Noining for anyone to examine long enough to notice something they shouldn’t.

I pulled off to the side and watched Tessa climb out of her car. She yanked her mask down, scanning the crowd for any sign of where Catwoman had gone.

She found nothing.

I made my way over to Grandma Celeste a few minutes later. Gail was already back with Aiden, who launched himself at my legs the second he saw me

“Dad! You came in second!”

“I did,” I said, picking him up. “Your mom is very fast.”

“she’s the lastret.” Aiden said, like it was the most obvious truth in the world

Grandinna watched the crowd start to thin out. Tessa was still standing by her car, refusing to leave until she’d squeezed every last: hans of learning something nebul out of the night

The HP A

+15 Bonus

“she found nothing,” Grandma said quietly.

“She found nothing,” Tagreed

Noah and Delia joined us. Delia had her arms crossed against the cold, but there was something almost calm in her face for once.

“That was incredible,” Noah said. “I’ve never seen anything like it,”

“You get used to it,” Zane said, walking up with Sam. “Though it never stops being a little terrifying to watch.”

“A httle,” I admitted.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify