Chapter 200 Steven Died
Maeve was confused after hearing this and looked at Steven.
"You didn't force Amelia to race, did you?"
Steven said, "Of course not. Ms. Richardson volunteered, right, Ms. Richardson?"
Amelia ignored Steven and only reminded Maeve, "You just recovered from your injury so don't move around too much."
"I know, you're just as nagging as Steven."
As she spoke, she gently squeezed Amelia's hand.
Amelia quickly understood that everything on Maeve's end was ready.
She looked at Steven, "Steven, you should go change too. I want to start early and finish early, so I won't get home late and worry my family."
Steven looked at her and said, "Since Ms. Richardson is so eager to race, I'll go change now."
He deliberately emphasized "so eager to race," and everyone around heard it.
Soon, Steven came back in racing clothes.
Amelia's gaze drifted to someone not far away. He came with Maeve—Maeve's 'friend.'
The person seemed to casually glance their way and nodded slightly.
Under the moonlight, no one else saw it, only Amelia caught it clearly.
Steven walked over at that moment.
"Ms. Richardson, when do we start?"
Amelia said, "We can start now."
"Good, then it's agreed—whoever reaches the bottom of the mountain first wins."
He raised his voice and added, "But we need to be safe. Nothing is more important than life, don't you agree?"
Amelia nodded, "Of course. It's just a race. If you fall behind, don't rush. Life is most important."
As he got in the car, Steven gave Amelia a deep look.
That look held a trace of attachment and reluctance.
He really wished he didn't have to kill Amelia.
Though he believed in destroying what he couldn't have, what truly made him murderous was a message from someone at Thornfield.
The message said Amelia wasn't just a doctor at Shadow Operations Division, but a high-ranking member.
Killing her would bring great benefits to him and the Sullivan family.
He didn't tell anyone about it, eager to achieve this all on his own.
He would tell his family after it was done.
His family trusted her way too much, especially Roman who saw her as a way to extend his life.
However, Steven believed that Roman had lived long enough. When death would come, he should accept the arrangement and die without fussing.
So if Roman knew about this, he would definitely stop him.
That's why he told no one about his plan, only Ava.
He had initially arranged for Ava to race Amelia so that if something were to happen to her, he wouldn't be a suspect.
However, Ava's driving skills weren't good enough, so he had to do it himself.
Still, it didn't matter if he did it himself. It was perfectly normal for accidents to happen during a race.
Steven opened the car door and got in.
Maeve walked over and tapped on the window.
Steven impatiently rolled down the window.
"What?"
"Steven." Maeve began, "I heard about your bet with Amelia. You shouldn't force her like this. I told you, you two aren't right for each other."
Steven frowned tightly.
"What? In your mind, I'm not even good enough for a woman from a bankrupt family?"
"That's not what I mean. I just think you're not suited for each other. Amelia and I are friends now. If I go tell her, there's still time to cancel your bet."
"No need." Steven refused directly.
Maeve wanted to say more, but Steven rolled up the window, not caring if Maeve's hand would get caught.
She barely pulled her hand back in time.
She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, there was no emotion left.
She was Steven's sister. They weren't completely without feelings for each other.
So because of that bond, she came to persuade him one last time.
Steven still wouldn't listen and even nearly injured her hand. He wouldn't be doing this if he cared about her.
At this moment, Maeve was absolutely certain that Steven didn't see any difference between her, Ava and Alice.
He hadn't come after her because she wasn't in his way. However, the minute she was, Steven would strike her down without hesitation.
Maeve's heart turned ice cold, but her expression became especially firm.
If she had any hesitation before, it was completely gone now.
She found Amelia, told her to be safe, said nothing else, and went to the rest area.
The rest area had a large computer connected to aerial monitors that could show both cars throughout the race.
Steven's car left first.
The mountain road was narrow—two cars together could easily crash, so the race used a timed method.
Whoever reached the bottom faster would win.
Amelia's car started five minutes after Steven's.
Maeve watched the screen quietly.
Steven's car was a little slow and very steady, but Amelia's car was moving quite fast.
Every corner she took was extremely tight. Whenever she'd come out of turns, everyone would fear thinking the car would fly over the guardrails.
"Who will win?" Everyone discussed in a buzz.
"Ms. Richardson, probably."
"But Steven has a racing license too. His driving is better than Ava's."
While in the crowd, Ava lifted her eyes but quickly lowered them again, so no one would see the darkness in them.
"Maeve." Someone asked , "Who do you think will win?"
"Steven." Maeve said, focused on the screen.
Someone laughed and said, "But so far, Ms. Richardson is going faster."
"It just started." Maeve said, "Steven is very competitive. He looks steady now because he's underestimating Amelia, not seeing her as a real opponent. Once he realizes he's slower than Amelia, he'll speed up quickly."
As she finished speaking, someone suddenly gasped.
"He really did speed up!"
Everyone looked at the screen.
Steven's car now moved incredibly faster.
Maeve's lips curved slightly as she said, "See, I knew Steven was competitive. He won't let himself lose to Amelia."
The others nodded repeatedly.
"You really know Steven."
...
On the mountain road.
Steven floored the gas pedal.
He lured Amelia all this way not just to race.
He had tampered with the brake pads on Amelia's car.
The brake pads were thin. If she used the brakes rapidly at a burst, the brake pads would overheat and definitely fail.
And now, it was almost time for the brake pads to fail.
He needed to get around the next few turns. From the western angle, he would be able to perfectly see Amelia's car break through the cliff's guardrail and fall straight down when it failed.
He had calculated this carefully.
That's why he suddenly increased his speed; so he could see it when Amelia's car failed and she fell off the cliff to her death.
But just then, his car suddenly warned that the brake pads were overheating.
Several buttons lit up, flashing, making alarm sounds.
He frowned as he wondered what was going on.
Was the detector malfunctioning?
His brake pads were fine. They couldn't overheat and fail to handle this speed.
Should he slow down?
But soon impulse overcame reason.
Just two more turns to reach his planned position.
Even if the brake pads really overheated, they could handle this short distance.
Steven was anxious to see Amelia's end, so he unconsciously sped up even more, quickly passing two turns.
Just as he was about to reach the spot, he pressed the brakes but they didn't respond at all.
His heart lurched.
What's happening?
Steven quickly tried to adjust, using the handbrake to slow down.
But he was going way too fast and the handbrake couldn't stop him at all.
He tried to remain calm, but his mind was racing heavily.
Suddenly, his car struck against a protruding rock and bounced into the air. His brakes had already failed and his car shot right through the guardrail, arching high in the sky.
In that instant, time suddenly slowed down.
Steven saw Goldenvale in the distance, its lights brilliant.
He even saw his home, or maybe it was a hallucination.
The car soon crashed heavily onto the cliff and continued rolling down.
Just before he lost consciousness, Steven's mind wandered and he didn't understand what had gone wrong.
Why was he the one falling off the cliff?
His question, however, would never be answered because he wouldn't be able to ever ask it again.
...
Steven's car rolled off the cliff and fell to the bottom where it exploded with a boom, flames burning fiercely.
From Amelia's angle, she could clearly see this scene.
She drove fast and dangerously, but not because of the race. She also wanted to personally watch as Steven died.
Undeniably, those few seconds when the car rolled down and exploded were spectacular, like the most beautiful fireworks.
Amelia watched this scene with a calm expression.
She turned the car around and drove it back up the mountain.
She wasn't in a hurry to get back. Steadily, she drove the car in a great mood.
When she arrived, the mountaintop was already in chaos.
Everyone was shocked that Steven's car had flown off.
Someone said, "Could Steven still be alive?"
"Steven was too competitive. When he started speeding up, I felt uneasy. Sure enough, something happened," another person replied."
"It's just a race. He said safety was most important, but still had an accident."
"Did anyone call the police? Call the police! What if he's still alive?"
It was so chaotic that no one noticed when Amelia returned.
She met up with Maeve.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
But Maeve smiled and brought up that small incident before departure.
"He didn't care at all if my hand would get caught."
From her response, Amelia knew Maeve was fine and had no regrets. Amelia squeezed her hand and Maeve squeezed back.