Chapter 166: Just an Assistant
The next day, Isabella scheduled an appointment with a 4S dealership near her neighborhood.
Leaving a top-tier race car parked on the street wasn't safe. Since she wouldn't have many opportunities to drive it anyway, Isabella figured she'd take it in for maintenance and then store it in a garage.
This car's sentimental value to Isabella far exceeded its monetary worth.
The moment she slid into the driver's seat, that familiar feeling washed over her—as if she'd been yanked back years, to when she was still a professional racer.
She reached out and patted her old friend, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
She couldn't relive those days, but at least she could treasure the memories.
Driving the race car out onto the road, Isabella drew stares from all directions.
She hadn't gone far when she noticed a car tailing her.
It might have been following since she'd left the neighborhood, but once they merged into traffic, its persistent pursuit became unmistakable.
The Maybach emblem, combined with that flashy, all-too-familiar license plate, told Isabella exactly who was behind her.
She pressed down on the accelerator. The engine roared to life, and the car shot forward like an arrow released from a bow.
Shaking off a tail was child's play for Isabella.
After weaving left and right through a couple of streets, she glanced in the rearview mirror—the car had vanished.
Only then did she return to her original route and pulled into the dealership she'd booked.
Before scheduling the maintenance, Isabella had already sent photos of the vehicle. The manager and staff were waiting at the shop, and when the race car arrived, their eyes lit up in unison.
Anyone who knew cars would recognize this one.
The car Victoria drove during her racing career—even though it was an older model, it had still made last year's luxury car rankings.
But the car's true value wasn't in the machine itself—it was in what its owner had made it represent.
Calling it priceless wouldn't be an exaggeration.
"Victoria's really here in Seaside City! I thought people online were just making stuff up!" One employee whipped out his phone and started snapping photos of the race car.
Fans had crowded the port all day without catching a glimpse of this car, and now here it was, delivered right to their shop for maintenance.
"Just thinking that I might pass the legendary racer Victoria on the street every day makes my blood pump! I'm so hyped!" another employee gushed.
"Victoria announced she's coming out of retirement this year. Wonder if it's just for this season, or if she'll keep racing after?"
Ever since Victoria's comeback announcement, Romantic Racing's approval ratings had skyrocketed, even threatening to overtake Snake Racing. With such a dramatic shift before the race, online discussion was at fever pitch—even people who knew nothing about racing had heard of Victoria.
Isabella pulled out her wallet and paid in cash.
Only then did the group reluctantly tear their eyes away from the car and focus on her.
"Wait—are you Victoria?" the manager asked, mouth agape in surprise.
Judging by build, Isabella's frame matched Victoria's perfectly.
Isabella chuckled softly. "Why would Victoria come do maintenance herself? I'm just her assistant."
Just as she spoke, two figures—one tall, one small—rushed in from outside.
William had indeed lost her trail. He'd had to pull strings to access traffic camera footage before tracking down Isabella's location.
The moment they entered, they caught the tail end of Isabella's calm admission.
Nathan's expression changed instantly. He locked his gaze on Isabella, as if trying to determine whether she was telling the truth.
Isabella simply took a calm step backward.
"I want a picture with this car!" Nathan demanded arrogantly.
She didn't indulge him. "No."
Nathan's lip immediately trembled, and he burst into tears, turning to cling to William's arm while wailing.
In the dealership's cavernous showroom, only Nathan's tantrum echoed. The employees exchanged awkward glances, unsure whether they should intervene.
William's face darkened. "Nathan just wants one photo with the car—he's not asking to own it. You can't even grant such a small wish? Is this what you call being a decent mother?"
Isabella had always been a woman of principle. At those words, she rolled her eyes at him. This guy was getting more insufferable by the day.
"Your son told me himself he doesn't need me as his mother anymore. So how is it that when he wants something, suddenly I'm 'Mom' again?"
This wasn't the first time Isabella had thrown this back at him. Every time Nathan made an unreasonable demand, she remembered him sitting in that hospital bed, shouting that he never wanted her as his mother again.
"Your new mom Laura's so capable, isn't she? Why don't you just have her pull some strings with Victoria and get you that photo op?"
The mockery in Isabella's tone was unmistakable.
Nathan's mouth fell open, his crying cut short.
It was true—he had said he didn't want her as his mother anymore.
But who hasn't said something harsh in the heat of the moment?
Why did Mom have to take it so seriously? Why hold a grudge against a little kid?
"You never told me you had this kind of connection with Victoria," William said, his focus now on Isabella's identity.
Isabella scoffed. "Did you ever care enough to ask?"
Six whole years, and they'd never once had a real conversation.
It was only natural that he didn't know her.
"To you, I only ever had one identity, didn't I? I was just a trophy wife you could take or leave—someone who was only supposed to show up when you needed her."
That's why William's question struck her as so absurd.
"Did you plan this whole thing? Approach me on purpose? What am I to you—just a tool you can use?" William's voice was low and tense.
"To marry you, I left the lab. I gave up everything—my entire career. If you'd ever cared about me, if you'd ever bothered to ask, how could you not have known?"
What marital affection? There had never been anything like that between them.
Their marriage had been an accident from the start.
If she could go back, Isabella would definitely choose to prevent it.
She was done with six years of living like a ghost!
But when Isabella laid out everything she'd sacrificed, William's expression didn't change at all. He even let out a cold snort.
"Don't act like you're the only one who sacrificed anything. It was all your choice."
"Nobody forced you to quit your job. You chose that yourself!" William said coldly.