She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 49

On the other side, Loyce removed her headset and walked to her car—Nightly Hawk. It had been sitting untouched in Hugo’s warehouse. He’d brought it out just for this.

“I didn’t mess with the performance,” Hugo said. “Still exactly how you built it. I just had it repainted for you. Looks good, right?”

Loyce actually liked it. After a quick check, she lowered herself into the seat. “Let’s go.”

The moment her car rolled toward the start area, the crowd reacted.

“Is that Hugo team car… a Pharaonic build?”

“But Pharaonic hasn’t taken commissions in years. And the driver’s a woman? What is this?”

Lester saw it too, and his expression changed sharply. “No way…”

A Pharaonic car was rare worldwide, absurdly expensive, and famously dominant. If Loyce was driving one, then for the first time Lester couldn’t confidently predict the outcome.

“What is Loyce to ‘Pharaonic’?” he thought. “How did I never know?”

There was no time to dwell. The fifth leg was coming in. The final duel was about to start—between the two girls he’d once called his “sisters.”

Quiana’s fingertips dug into the wheel until her knuckles went white. Her car trembled in the launch zone, not from wind, but from her shaking hands.

“Three… two… one... GO!”

Both cars exploded forward.

Quiana’s custom pink car hesitated immediately, tires spinning uselessly for half a second before finding grip.

Loyce’s Nightly Hawk tore through the rain like a bullet, leaping ahead by half a car length.

“Damn it! No turbo lag?!” Lester roared from the pit.

No one had told him that Loyce had removed Nightly Hawk’s safety limiter a long time ago.

And then the thought came—cold, sudden, horrifyingly clear. This mountain road had no real guardrail. Beyond the edge was nothing but open air. If she clipped Loyce’s front end in the corner, just a small nudge, at this speed, Loyce could tumble straight into the abyss.

“If Loyce dies…” Quiana’s mind whispered, “there’s nothing left to fear.”

When Loyce saw Quiana trying to squeeze her toward the outer edge and force her to brake, she didn’t flinch. She calmly shoved the lever forward and slammed the throttle, charging into the corner.

“She’s insane!” the commentator screamed. “That turn killed three drivers last year. She’s taking it like this?!”

Quiana chose her moment and stomped the brake. The brake lights flashed.

Hugo, watching from the pit, felt his heart stop. “Loyce!”

Quiana’s eyes went wild. “Die, Loyce!”

In the VIP suite, Lucian’s hand tightened on his knee, his handsome face turning hard with ice-cold focus.