The Scorned Heiress's Hidden Empire (by Jade Quinn) novel Chapter 24

Chapter 24

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The GTR shot off the line with explosive force, seizing the advantage in an instant.

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But almost at the same moment, the Phantom moved. It wasn’t as dramatic as the CTR. The silver car lived up to its name. It was silent, smooth, and eerily fast as it launched forward.

The acceleration wasn’t a brutal shove in the back. It was more like being pulled forward by an invisible, irresistible force, fast enough to leave its passengers struggling to react.

Ryan felt himself pressed hard into his seat. The scenery outside the window blurred into streaks of light. His eyes went wide as he watched the GTR’s arrogant taillights get reeled in at an impossible speed, drawing level in no time.

The first turn was a sharp left, almost ninety degrees, followed immediately by a right turn in the opposite direction, forming a set of consecutive S–curves.

Max had plenty of experience. He slowed early, ready to slide into a textbook drift. It was his specialty.

But Natalie didn’t slow down. Or rather, she did. But the timing and precision of it made Ryan’s scalp tingle.

At the very last moment before the turn, Natalie made the smallest adjustment to the car’s angle and carved straight into the apex. It wasn’t a flashy drift. It was a razor–thin line hugging the inside of the curve.

The moment she cleared the corner, she hit the gas. The power transfer was seamless, without a millisecond of lag.

The second right turn followed immediately. Under Natalie’s control, the car moved with eerie stability and agility, cutting another perfect arc through the bend.

Natalie swept past the barrier with barely an inch to spare, leaving Max, who had just finished his first drift and was lining up for the next turn, decisively in her wake.

“Shit.” Inside his GTR, Max watched helplessly as the silver car overtook from the inside at an impossible angle, instantly pulling ahead. He was so startled that his steering wheel nearly slipped out of his hands.

‘What kind of turn was that?‘ Max thought. ‘Is this chick insane? At that speed and angle, one wrong move and she’d be dead.’

In the passenger seat, Ryan’s heart was pounding, his adrenaline spiked. Yet strangely, he felt no fear.

He kept his eyes fixed on Natalie’s hands on the wheel, then on her calm profile and the focused look in her eyes. A strange sense of calm settled over him.

Ryan thought, ‘Natalie’s not winging it. She’s in complete control

The track ahead got even more treacherous. A string of hairpin turns, steep climbs and drops, narrow stretches hugging the cliffside.

Max’s GTR roared, using its raw power and his knowledge of the track to close the gap on the straights, even briefly pulling ahead on a long downhill stretch.

19:52 Tue, Apr 28

Chapter 24

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But every time they hit a curve, the silver car carved a tighter line and launched out faster, leaving Max behind again.

Natalie’s driving was a paradox, wild yet steady.

Ahead lay a nearly blind right turn. The pavement was still slick in spots from rain two days earlier, patches of moss glistening.

Max gritted his teeth and decided to gamble. He didn’t brake, trying to muscle through the drift on momentum alone.

Natalie seemed to notice the faint sheen of moisture on the road before they even reached it.

She didn’t try to fight it head–on. Instead, before the turn, she made the subtlest adjustment to her line, modulating the throttle and brake with surgical precision, keeping the car balanced on the edge of traction.

Max’s GTR, pushing too hard on the slick surface, fishtailed. He managed to recover, but it cost him precious speed. The chase was over.

The last stretch was a long straight, the finish line in sight. The Phantom’s engine finally let out its loudest roar of the night. It was a deep, guttural, powerful sound wave, like a sleeping king fully awakened.

It looked like the silver car turned into a streak of light as it crossed the finish line with unstoppable dominance.

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“No idea. Never seen her before. She came with Mr. Mitchell.”

“That move just now? Insane. Max looked like a damn rookie next to her.”

“Damn. Her presence and technique are unreal. Hey, look at me, queen.”

Ryan lifted his chin and whistled at Max. “A bet’s a bet, Max. Pay up.”

Max’s teeth ground together so hard that they might have cracked. His fists were clenched tightly, his knuckles pale. The way he looked at Natalie was a mix of humiliation, resentment, and a trace of fear.

Max thought, ‘She really wanna smash my car in front of everyone?‘

The crowd around them fell silent instantly, all eyes fixed on Max, waiting to see how the former king of Blackridge Mountain would get himself out of this.

Natalie didn’t rush Max. She watched him quietly, her eyes calm and unruffled, yet carrying an invisible weight. She thought, ‘Max made his bed. Now he has to lie in it.

Olivia watched Natalie standing in the center of the crowd, radiating full presence. The jealousy she had felt toward Natalie because of Ryan had somehow been replaced by admiration.

Olivia thought, ‘Natalie’s so cool. This is what a real queen looks like.

Natalie had won with pure skill, fair and square, and the stakes she’d set were savage.

Olivia thought that when a woman was cool enough, men didn’t matter anymore. Now, Olivia didn’t care about Ryan at all. Her eyes were only on Natalie.

Olivia thought, ‘How could I have ever thought that this beautiful, badass girl was some kind of seductress? Now, I wanna get her autograph right away.‘

Under the gaze of countless eyes, Max’s face twitched. He knew he was definitely going to lose face today.

But if he backed out now, he wouldn’t be able to show his face in Harbor City anymore. Even his family’s business might end up taking a hit because of it.