Chapter 4

The man standing in front of me was Yael Lawson.

He was the most notorious rich kid in town when it came to cars. Nobody spent more money or took bigger risks with custom builds than he did.

His Porsche 935 was one of fewer than five in the entire country. He joined the waiting list six months earlier and insisted that I be the one to work on it.

“Mr. Lawson, I am sorry,” I said. “I was fired. I cannot work on your car anymore.”

“Fired?” Yael’s voice shot up. “Has the shop owner lost his mind? I waited six months. Six months. Now you are telling me you are not doing the build?” His shout drew everyone’s attention. Mechanics stopped what they were doing and looked over.

Draven hurried out of his office with a smile on his face.

“Mr. Lawson, what is going on? Why are you upset?”

Yael pointed at me.

“Mr. Jones, why was Mr. Charlton fired? We agreed six months ago that he would personally build my car. Now you are replacing him with an apprentice? What kind of joke is that?”

Draven glanced at me, and the warning in his eyes was impossible to miss. Then he turned back to Yael with an easy smile.

“Please do not worry, Mr. Lawson. Mr. Charlton chose to resign, and we are sorry to see him go. However, Joseph is the apprentice he trained himself. His skills are every bit as good as Mr. Charlton’s. Your car is in good hands.”

Joseph stepped forward right away.

“Do not worry, Mr. Lawson. I learned everything Mr. Charlton knows. I promise your car will come out perfect.”

Yael looked from Joseph to me, clearly unsure.

I did not want to say another word. Then my eyes landed on the Porsche.

The entire car was fitted with carbon‑fiber components worth a fortune, and many of the factory parts had been flown in from Germaria. One mistake would cost millions.

I let out a quiet sigh.

“Mr. Lawson,” I said, “take my advice. Find another shop.”

Draven’s face darkened.

“Elias,” he shouted, pointing at me. “You do not work here anymore. Stop interfering with my business. If you keep this up, do not expect me to go easy on you.”

Then he took Yael aside and whispered something into his ear.

A few moments later, the way Yael looked at me changed.

“Really?” he muttered. “Seriously?”

He walked over to Joseph, handed him the keys, and said, “All right. I will leave it to you.”

From that moment on, Yael never looked at me again. The disgust on his face was impossible to hide.

I almost tried to stop him one last time, but I changed my mind.

It was not my car. If they wanted to ruin it, that was their problem.

I knew Draven did not say anything good about me.

What I did not expect was how fast his words spread.

A few days after leaving Starry Auto, I called Gilbert and asked if his offer still stood. Gilbert hesitated for a long time before he finally spoke.

“Mr. Charlton… is it true that you served time in prison?”

I froze.

“Did Draven tell you that?” I asked. “Mr. Shaw, I can explain. My parents were being bullied, and…”

“I believe you had your reasons,” Gilbert interrupted gently. “However, the shop is not mine alone. The other partners do not want someone with a criminal record working here. They think it would hurt the company’s reputation.”

Then he told me something worse. Word about my prison record already spread through the local car community. As things stood, there was no chance I could keep working in this industry.

Gilbert asked if I would consider moving to another city. He said he could recommend me to a repair shop outside the area.

His words felt like a bucket of ice water pouring over me.

Draven and I were best friends for years. I never imagined he would go that far just to destroy me.

Fortunately, I was not without a backup plan.

“Thank you, Mr. Shaw,” I said. “However, I am not leaving town.”

I smiled faintly. “Just wait and see. It will not be more than two months before Draven comes begging me to come back.”

After that, I took the hundred thousand dollars and returned to my hometown, where I spent time with my parents.

Two months later, my phone rang in the middle of the night.

The caller was Draven.