Chapter 204: She Is Queen
Wayne arrived at the chaotic scene, where it took several crew members working together to finally restrain the thrashing Zachary.
After ordering his men to drag Zachary into a room, Wayne followed close behind. Seeing him in such a frenzied state, he couldn't help but slap him across the face.
"Snap out of it!"
Tears and snot streamed down Zachary's face, smearing together in a disgusting mess.
He grabbed Wayne like a drowning man clutching at straws, tears flowing uncontrollably.
"Wayne, I really heard Isabella's voice just now—she's back!"
Wayne seized Zachary's shirt tightly, forcing him to stay calm while glaring at him with a stern warning.
"Listen to me right now. Isabella and Joseph are never coming back. They're dead. Your only goal is to win this race."
The bosses' money was already on the line. If they didn't get it back, Wayne could guarantee Zachary's fate would be ugly.
"But—"
"No buts," Wayne snapped impatiently, gripping Zachary's collar harder. "Finish this race, and I promise you can retire peacefully, live a normal life like other retired drivers."
If he didn't finish, Wayne would make damn sure Zachary paid in blood.
The race was finally about to begin. All the drivers emerged wearing their respective team uniforms.
Wayne could see Victoria had already put on her helmet. He nodded at Samantha, confirming their agreement one last time.
Samantha merely nodded back expressionlessly.
Before Wayne could sense anything wrong, he spotted a tall figure emerging from the Romantic Racing team's changing room.
Joseph wasn't wearing his helmet, his face still adorned with those flamboyant piercings. When he noticed Wayne's gaze, he arrogantly lifted his chin and winked in greeting.
It wasn't really a greeting—more like a taunt.
Wayne's world seemed to crumble in an instant.
Hadn't Joseph fallen off that cliff? How could he be standing here looking perfectly fine?
And judging by that cocky demeanor, he seemed confident of victory.
Wayne's palms instantly broke out in cold sweat. He shot Samantha a questioning look, but she didn't respond, only gazing in another direction as if she hadn't noticed his confusion at all.
A terrible premonition surged through him. He'd been deceived!
Wayne strode quickly to Zachary, who was about to get in his car. His eyes blazing with fury, he grabbed Zachary's collar and hissed a warning.
"Joseph is alive! Make sure he doesn't walk off that track breathing, or your career and the team's honor are finished!"
Both teams were competing for who would complete the Grand Slam first. Wayne certainly wasn't about to hand over such glory to the Romantic Racing team.
Besides, Joseph likely knew they'd been involved in underground betting—making him a threat to both Wayne and Zachary.
Zachary stared up at Wayne blankly, his brain seeming to short-circuit, not understanding his meaning.
"Show no mercy. Take him out!"
Amid a cacophony of camera shutters, the line of race cars shot forward like arrows from a bow.
Victoria consistently maintained a position in the back half, appearing somewhat sluggish, as if unable to keep up with the leading pack.
Zachary held steady in first place, his car flying at the front. Joseph maintained a solid second position right behind him.
Wayne breathed a sigh of relief, his guard lowering slightly.
Perhaps Joseph had just survived by sheer luck. His skills were roughly on par with Zachary's, but the difference was that Zachary was more ruthless.
In the end, if Joseph remained so oblivious, Wayne wouldn't mind making him the next Zack.
With these thoughts, Wayne leaned back slightly, his panic at Joseph's sudden appearance beginning to ease.
He watched the race with a detached gaze, as if the championship were already locked down.
Wayne had even thought ahead—if Zachary proved to be an idiot who couldn't get his mental state under control after this race, he could try recruiting Joseph, pull him into his own team to fill that gap.
It seemed like a decent plan.
In a field of elite racers, becoming a dark horse was extremely difficult. The lineup seemed set in stone, with no one able to break through to the front.
Wayne even radioed Zachary instructions to prepare for an offensive move.
Entering the final lap, Wayne was suddenly shocked to discover that Victoria had begun accelerating.
She didn't even slow down for the most dangerous curves.
Soon, taking advantage of the winding, treacherous turns, Victoria pulled into the leading pack, right on Joseph's tail. The three of them formed a fierce chase dynamic.
Seeing this, Zachary accelerated. Yet Victoria maintained her tight pursuit, causing the gap between the first and second packs to gradually widen.
Wayne jumped to his feet in agitation. He wanted to storm over to the Romantic Racing observation deck and demand answers from Samantha about what the hell she was thinking.
Why was everything different from what they'd rehearsed? Why had Victoria's skills suddenly skyrocketed? Had she been playing possum all along?
Only Samantha could answer these questions. Wayne had barely taken two steps when someone blocked his path.
"Sorry, during race time, staff from opposing teams are prohibited from communicating."
It was a rule. He could only watch helplessly as Victoria on the track kept pushing the throttle, staying tight behind Joseph, gradually closing in on Zachary. This was extremely dangerous for Zachary!
Victoria continued closing in on Zachary. When Zachary tried to execute his signature drift maneuver, he was suddenly hit with a heavy impact from behind.
Joseph rammed mercilessly into Zachary's rear bumper. The collision of metal panels created a tremendous crash, and because both were moving at high speed, the friction actually sparked flames.
Taking advantage of their collision, Victoria seized the opportunity to overtake Zachary from behind, positioning herself dead ahead of him. With Joseph behind, they formed a pincer formation, leaving Zachary no room to change lanes.
This formation held until they neared the finish line.
Suddenly, Joseph released his stranglehold on Zachary, flooring the accelerator and surging to the front, pulling alongside Victoria with half a car length offset. His mission had never been to win for himself—it was to clear obstacles for Victoria.
Behind them, the Wolf Team, which had been waiting for their moment, finally broke through Zachary's blockade under Joseph's cover.
Victoria led them all, forcing her way past Zachary.
Victoria was the first to cross the finish line, becoming the first racer to achieve the Grand Slam. In that moment, she shattered all doubts and became the true queen.