Chapter 200
McNeil let Simms’ words hang in the air, refusing to play along.
After seeing Simms and the others out of the hospital, his phone buzzed with a call from Gwyneth’s kindergarten teacher.
“Mr. McNeil, is everything all right at home? Gwyneth’s been crying nonstop in class today. She hasn’t stopped for a moment, and nothing we do seems to help. Would you mind picking her up early?”
The teacher sounded helpless. Lately, Gwyneth’s emotions had been all over the place-she’d get distracted during lessons, constantly asking to go home. The teacher had finally put her foot down, telling Gwyneth that even if her parents called in, she couldn’t skip school whenever she wanted. Only then had Gwyneth stopped pestering her.
But after Violet’s accident at the racetrack, Gwyneth couldn’t focus at all. The worry gnawed at her until, in the middle of class, she broke down in tears-tears no amount of comforting could stop. With nowhere else to turn, the teacher called McNeil.
McNeil couldn’t leave the hospital-he needed to stay by Violet’s side-so he sent the driver to pick Gwyneth up.
When Gwyneth finally arrived at the hospital, Violet happened to be awake. The moment she saw Violet, Gwyneth rushed over, her face crumpling with relief and worry.
“Violet, are you okay? I saw all those doctors carrying you away…”
She’d been terrified she’d never see Violet again, her heart in her throat all morning. Only when she saw Violet safe and sound did she finally stop crying.
Violet managed a gentle smile. “Sorry for making you worry, sweetheart. I’m okay.”
McNeil’s phone rang again, and he stepped outside to take the call.
Left alone, Violet reached out from her hospital bed and stroked Gwyneth’s tear- stained cheek, lowering her voice.
“I really let you down out there, didn’t I? I was aiming for first place, but… well, you saw what happened.”
She didn’t finish her sentence. Two broken ribs-she was lucky it wasn’t worse. For a moment there, panic had nearly overwhelmed her.
Especially when they carried her off the track and she saw the first-place driver take off her helmet-a cascade of long hair tumbling free. Violet’s breath caught in her chest.
On that circuit, there was only one other female driver who could possibly be there: the real Vivian. No one else.
If Vivian really had shown up, and people realized Violet had been racing under her name all this time, the fallout would be more than she could bear.
Everything she’d worked for, the reputation she’d fought so hard to build on her own, would suddenly become nothing more than a footnote to Vivian’s fame. People would say she’d just been riding Vivian’s coattails.
Maybe she’d leaned on that reputation a little at first, but now, with McNeil in her life, she didn’t need people thinking she was Vivian anymore.
“Ms. Marchand, it wasn’t your fault. I saw it all—it was that awful woman who stole your lead.”
Gwyneth’s eyes were fierce with certainty. She’d seen every detail: Ms. Marchand was just about to cross the finish line when a blue car shot ahead. Gwyneth wasn’t sure exactly what happened, but somehow, Ms. Marchand’s car crashed into the barrier.
It had to be that woman’s fault-she must have cheated and ruined Ms. Marchand’s race.
“You’re too good to me, Gwyneth. So I think you deserve a special reward.”
“A reward?” Gwyneth asked, her eyes lighting up. Right now, nothing could make her happier than knowing Violet was safe.
“I thought you might like the one game you’ve been wishing for. I’ve already had the company relaunch it. Would you like to try it?”
Gwyneth’s eyes went wide. She stared at Violet for a long moment, then threw her arms around her neck in delight.
“Are you serious? Did you really bring that game back to life?”
Violet smiled faintly at Gwyneth’s excitement and nodded. “Of course. You wanted
to play it, and I promised I’d make it happen for you.”
She pulled out her phone and downloaded the V&S Group’s racing game from the app store, handing it to Gwyneth with a gentle smile.