Chapter 434

[ 998 words ]

Katia’s POV

I opened my laptop again once Julian had gone to shower, pulling up the article a second time, reading through Tessa’s statement more carefully now that the adrenaline of the first argument had settled. She had chosen her words with the precision of someone who understood exactly how to bait a reaction, framing the disappearance of Catwoman and Jules as cowardice rather than the natural consequence of two people quietly building lives away from underground circuits.

She had no idea how right she actually was and no idea how much that truth would have devastated the narrative she was trying to build.

I began drafting a response in my head, the shape of a public statement that would confirm the challenge accepted without revealing anything that mattered, a location, a date, or terms negotiated through the same anonymous channels that had always governed this world before either Julian or I had names attached to the identities we wore inside it.

Sam called twenty minutes later, her voice sharp with the alarm reserved for moments when she had clearly already read the same headline I had.

“Please tell me you are not seriously considering this,” she said, skipping any greeting entirely.

“I am seriously considering this,” I said.

“Katia, you are pregnant p>

“I know,” I said. “Everyone keeps reminding me of that fact as though I might have forgotten p>

“Because it matters,” Sam said. “Because racing at those speeds is dangerous even when you are not carrying a baby, and doing it now feels like something you would tell someone else not to do if they came to you with the same plan p>

I considered that for a moment, turning the point over honestly rather than dismissing it outright.

“You are right,” I said. “If Aiden’s teacher came to me pregnant and told me she wanted to race an underground circuit against a woman actively hunting her identity, I would probably tell her to reconsider.” I paused. “But I am not her. I know this world better than almost anyone alive. I know exactly how careful I intend to be, and I know exactly what happens if I let fear make this decision for me instead of experience. You of all people should know pregnancy doesn’t stop me from racing p>

Sam was quiet for a moment.

“Does Julian know?” she asked finally.

“He knows,” I said. “He hates it. He is standing by it anyway, because he understands that this is not a decision either of you actually gets to make for me p>

“I am not trying to make it for you,” Sam said. “I am trying to make sure you have actually thought this through, rather than reacting because Tessa Sterling poked at something you cannot resist rising to p>

“I have thought it through,” I said. “More than you know p>

Sam let out a long breath.

“Fine,” she said. “Then tell me what you need from me. Because if you are doing this, I am not sitting on the sidelines pretending I do not have opinions about the logistics p>

I smiled despite everything, some of the tension from the morning finally loosening in my chest.

“I need you exactly where you have always been,” I said. “Running the operation from the ground while I handle the part that actually requires a steering wheel p>

“Obviously,” Sam said. “Send me everything Tessa’s team releases. I want eyes on every detail before you get anywhere near a starting line p>

We spent the next half hour working through logistics, the easy back-and-forth of planning settling something in me that had felt unsettled since I first read the headline that morning. Whatever fear lived underneath Julian’s frustration, whatever caution lived underneath Sam’s, I understood both of them came from love rather than doubt in my ability.

I intended to prove, once again, exactly what I was still capable of.

Julian’s POV

I drove to Zane’s place that evening without calling ahead, needing somewhere to think that was not my own house, and found Sam already there when he opened the door, the two of them sitting on his balcony with drinks in hand.

“You saw the challenge,” Zane said, before I had even fully stepped inside.

“I saw it,” I said.

“And Katia,” Zane asked.

“She wants to race,” I said.

Zane was quiet for a moment, studying my face with the kind of assessment he usually reserved for board decisions rather than personal ones.

“You are here because you want Sam to talk her out of it,” he said finally.

I did not deny it. “Yes,” I answered.

Zane leaned back in his chair, something almost amused crossing his face. “You are late,” he said. “Katia already gave Sam the details this morning. Whatever operation is happening, Sam has already agreed to run it p>

I turned to look at Sam. “You are helping her with this?” I asked.

“I am helping her,” Sam confirmed, unbothered by the accusation in my tone. “Because she asked me to, and because trying to stop Katia Kensington from doing something she has already decided to do is a considerably worse use of my time than simply making sure she does it as safely as possible p>

I sat down heavily in the empty chair across from them, the frustration I had carried in from the car finally settling into something closer to resignation.

“She should not be doing this,” I said. “She is pregnant p>

“She raced while pregnant with Aiden too,” Sam said, her voice gentler now. “I was there for all of it, Julian. I watched her drive circuits that would have terrified most people who were not carrying a child, and she never once made a careless decision behind that wheel. If anything, pregnancy made her more careful, not less. She knows exactly what she is risking, and she plans accordingly every single time p>

“That does not make it safe,” I said.

“Nothing about her life has ever been entirely safe,” Zane said.

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