MasukEmily POVI walked toward Isabella with my face completely approachable."Isabella," I said. "Can I steal you for a moment? There's a view from the east terrace I wantto show you. The circuit is still lit."She smiled. "I'd love that."We walked out together.The terrace was empty. I stood at the railing.Isabella stood beside me.We looked at the city for a moment."It's beautiful," she said."Yes,"I said.Then I turned to her."Tell me about the Raffles Hotel." I said.A smile stayed on her face for exactly two seconds after I said it.Then it changed into something more honest. kind of recognition."Blake," she said."Blake," I confirmed.She looked at the city. "What do you want to know?""Everything you think I don't already know," I said.She was quiet for a moment and Isabella Sinclair did the thing I had not prepared for.She told me the truth.She told me about the preliminary meetings. The way she had positioned herself asNathan's business contact. The dinner was all her
Blake POVI saw her the moment she stepped out of the elevator.Twenty years of managing people who didn't want to be managed had given me a particular skill reading situations even before the Sinclair's entrance at ten forty-seven PM on the night of a race we had just won was not for a business arrangement .A business entrance is a handshake and a Gerald.This was a Vera Wang gown, a personal assistant carrying nothing but a clutch bag, and awoman who had redirected a private flight from Hong Kong because she saw a race result.I crossed the room to intercept before she reached Nathan but I didn't make it in time.She'd already asked for him at the front desk and she already knew what floor we were on. She had come through the entrance like someone who had an agenda in mind rather than a room to enter.I watched her cross to Emily instead and that surprised me.Emily first, then Nathan.I stood at the edge of the room and did what I had been doing for eight months, which was manag
Emily POVI knew before I saw her.Not because Nathan had told me anything or Marcus had said more than he did.But because I had spent seven years in a marriage to a man who thought I couldn't read aroom and I had learned to read every room I walked into before I cleared the doorway.The Sinclair delegation was six people. Four of them were business while the other assistants flanked a senior partnership director named Gerald who Blake had worked with before. I met Gerald in London three months ago. He was sixty, efficient and completely without pretension.The other two were Isabella Sinclair and a woman I didn't recognise who appeared to be apersonal assistant rather than a business one.Isabella was thirty-three. I knew her profile the way I knew every major player in any industry similar to ours. Sinclair Industries had been a potential partner for eight months. I read her business record, she had a Stanford MBA and her lifestyle brand was genuinelyimpressive, profitable and
Nathan POVThe post-race gala was held on the fifty-third floor of the Marina Bay Sands.Lotus had booked the entire sky terrace. The city spread out below us in every direction,lights reflecting off the water, the circuit still visible from the east side of the building wherethe barriers hadn't been removed yet. Someone had arranged for the trophy to be placed atthe entrance where every guest walked past it coming in.Emily's name on the base, “Singapore Grand Prix. First place.”I stood at the bar watching the room and felt something I hadn't let myself feel in a longtime.Genuine happiness.That was the only word for it, the race was done and the points were banked. Davies wasacross the room telling someone the story of his overtake at turn eleven with both hands involved in the demonstration. Lucas was on the terrace with his wife looking at the city below them. James had a drink for the first time all weekend and was talking to Claire.Blake appeared at my shoulder. "Champio
Emily POVRace morning in Singapore felt nothing like Silverstone.Silverstone was open and loud with the energy of a home crowd that had been waiting all year. It was electric and blazing with heat that sat on your skin before you'd even stepped outside. The city was already awake at seven AM boats on the marina, the skyline catching early light, everything slightly surreal the way Singapore always was. I sat on the hotel balcony having a conversation with myself.Having two thoughts like I always do.The scared side said “Hoffman is twenty-six and has been the fastest driver on this grid for two seasons. He knows this circuit better than you. He qualified eight hundredths faster. You grazed a wall in practice and these streets are unforgiving.”The other side said “you found the wall and went deeper the next lap. You found six hundredths in turn five at midnight because your daughter texted you from boarding school. You have been building toward this race for seven years.”I listen
Emily POVSingapore at night was a different planet.The circuit ran through the city streets under floodlights that turned everything sharp and electric. The barriers were closer than Silverstone, closer than Barcelona. Every mistake was immediate and unforgiving. There was no runoff to save you. I had wanted to drive this circuit since I was twenty-two.Standing in the garage at midnight Thursday for the final practice session, looking at the data from the first two free practice sessions, I understood why.This circuit would tell you the truth about yourself."Talk to me," I said to James."Sector one is yours," he said. "Your pace through the Marina Bay section is half a second faster than Davies. You're comfortable with the barriers." He pulled up the screen. "Sector two is where we're losing time. The tight stuff around turn fourteen through seventeen. Emily, you're braking too early.""The walls are close.""I know. But your braking markers are conservatively placed. You have m
Emily's POVSeventy-two hours to prove the twins were mine. Despite facing bioweapons andassassination attempts, this felt more impossible. How do you prove genetic parentage of fetuses someone else is carrying without invasive testing?At 3 AM, I paced our living room while Nathan, Blake, and Ma
Blake POVThe note found at Emily's door kept me awake for days. While the Lothan family had beenfighting for the twins, someone had been executing a larger operation. I needed to find outwhat.I started by reviewing security footage from the past six months-every location connectedto the Lothan
Emily POVThe call from FBI came at 2 AM, waking me from the first decent sleep I'd had sinceAndrew's capture. I answered, sleep fading off my face as I listened.“We'll be there in an hour," I said, disconnecting with trembling hands."What's wrong?" I asked myself , already knowing it was a bad
Blake POVThe diplomatic fallout from Russia's assault on the federal facility was immediate andcatastrophic. By dawn, h embassy had filed formal protest claiming Americanauthorities were holding their citizen Margaret Volkov illegally and endangering childrenwith Russian heritage."Russian heri







