Too Late to Hold Me Back novel Chapter 392

Watching the race unfold, Ethan almost started to second-guess himself. Had he made a mistake?

But the suffocating knot of dread in his chest told him this was far from over.

Lap after lap, Julian maintained a massive lead. He had already left the foreign competitors trailing far behind in his rearview mirror.

As the blue race car entered the final stretch, the live broadcast commentators were already declaring Julian's dominant victory, hyping up his imminent championship title.

Ethan’s heart was in his throat. Just cross the finish line. Once he crossed the finish line, he'd be safe.

But just as the blue sports car ripped through a critical hairpin turn, a sickening, high-pitched metallic shriek erupted from the vehicle.

A split second later, the car began to violently violently, its speed dropping erratically.

Julian scrambled to regain control of the steering wheel, but it was completely useless.

It's over. I should have listened to Ethan.

That was Julian's final thought before the world went black.

The high-speed race car spun violently out of control, slamming headfirst into the barricade before flipping heavily through the air and crashing onto the asphalt.

Paramedics and track officials rushed toward the mangled wreckage. Ethan's legs gave out, but he forced himself to stumble forward. With trembling hands, he dialed Lucas.

"Get here now. Julian crashed."

...

That afternoon, Mira Mercer was at home packing her stationery while the news broadcast played in the background.

Tomorrow was the State Academic Decathlon.

Just as in her previous life, Julian had crashed during the championship. She wondered if his injuries would be lighter or more severe this time around.

Mira felt zero sympathy for him. In her past life, when the family had to choose who to save from a hostage situation, Julian had fully supported sacrificing Mira to save Mara.

In one clip, after the vehicle inspection was completed, Mara dragged Julian away to "say hi to the support team" right before he was supposed to warm up the car.

She was creating a distraction for her accomplice.

During that brief window, someone wearing a pit crew uniform slipped out from the shadows, messed with Julian's car, and vanished.

There was another clip taken right before the final race. Mara handed Julian a sports drink. "Here, take a sip for good luck."

But this time, it didn't work. "I'm not thirsty," he said, pushing the bottle away.

Professional racers representing their country had their pre-race diets strictly monitored.

After reviewing the footage, Mira texted Lenny back. "Keep this secured for now. Don't leak it yet."

She paused, then typed one more message. "How is Julian doing?"