Chapter 34

The judge didn't bother with Phillip's protest. He looked straight ahead and delivered the decision."After a full review, the panel has reached a unanimous ruling. Phillip Kirk's racing team violated the competition rules because of Stacey Payne's conduct. The penalty is disqualification. Effective today,the entire team is banned from racing for five years."

Phillip's voice cracked with fury. "What are you talking about? How can you say we broke the rules?"

One of the panel members calmly held out the evidence. "This ruling is final. If you want to contest it,you may submit an appeal later."

Rylie glanced toward the stands, surprised that someone in the crowd had turned them in. But it made sense. Everyone had seen the same thing.

For years, several sponsors backed Phillip's team. Their support kept the operation running and paid the drivers. But now, with a five-year ban slapped on them, there was no way those sponsors would stay.

Those who had spoken in Stacey's defense stood awkwardly. The color drained from their faces.

Phillip, desperate to stop the panel from going through with it, shouted toward Rylie, "You've got to speak up! Tell them Stacey didn't break any rules! Don't let them destroy my career! Everything I've worked for is on the line!"

He finally understood how serious this had become. But Rylie only gave a small smile. "That's not my decision," she said. "And anyway, you all said she trained so hard. What's a five-year ban if she was doing it for the team? You guys should understand her. She meant well, right?"

Jake had held his tongue long enough. Now he turned on Stacey, whose mouth was bleeding at the corner."Look what you've done. You've dragged us all into this mess!"

The same teammates who once defended her now walked away in silence.

Stacey had never imagined it would spiral this far. Guilt tightening her chest, she walked to the panel and pleaded, "This is all on me. My teammates weren't involved. Please- just ban me, not Phillip's team.1 accept any punishment."

The panel listened, then responded without sympathy, "Racing is a team effort. That's how these relays work. You win together or you lose together. Besides, Miss Payne, the evidence shows your actions weren't an accident."

Her eyes were filled with panic. "I didn't mean to! I swear it wasn't on purpose!"

One of the judges gave her a dismissive glance and pulled up the car's telemetry data. "This is what we found," he said. "There was no sign that you began to slow before braking. The system shows you hit full brake force at once - far too abrupt to be an accident. There were no signs of correction or hesitation." He looked her in the eye. "Do I need to explain what that means? You could face criminal charges for this."

The mention of prison made Stacey stiffen. Phillip, who had been watching nearby,turned toward her.His voice, low and bitter, sliced through the noise. "Enough. Just stop embarrassing yourself."

Phillip never once believed that his sister would try to kill Rylie. Now that it had been exposed in front of everyone, a darker thought crept in. What if this was't the first time? Had she done something before and simply gone unnoticed?

A sudden wave of exhaustion swept through him. As he watched Rylie walk farther away, he finally grasped the kind of hopelessness that she must have carried all this time.

Up on the podium, she stood tall at the center. The judges handed her the championship trophy as brilliant lights bathed her in gold. Her teammates celebrated beside her. Confetti rained down from above.In that moment, she looked like she belonged to a different world.

Rylieshone that night.

Her grace and certainty unsettled Phillip in a way nothing else had before. For the first time, she scared him. His phone wouldn't stop buzzing.

As he stared at the screen, the club manager's furious voice burst through the speaker. "What were you thinking? The sponsors didn't just walk away. They're asking for money back! You forced Rylie out of the team? She's your sister too, isn't she? You do realize Stacey's nowhere near her level, right?You've taken things so far, we might lose the club over this!"

Phillip had nothing to say. Not one word. His silence came from panic.

His thoughts spiraled. Maybe he had chosen wrong all along. Their wins were real, sure, but those victories had Rylie's namne written undemeath. She was the one who hed the team together. He'd clung to the glory while forcing her into the shadows. Now, with her gone, everything crashing down felt deserved.

Those trophies on the shelf? They mocked him now.

On the stage, Rylie's smile held steady. Then her eyes landed on a face that she hadn't expected to see in the crowd.

She paused for just a second, then handed the trophy to Britton without a word. She hopped down and slipped through the crowd toward one person.

He stood quietly-tall, lean, his black coat rippling with the breeze. The collar of his white shirt sat loose, just enough to reveal the clean lines of his neck.

Stray bits of confetti landed on his lashes, but he didn't move. He let them fall, unfazed. There was something wild behind his calm. He carried himself like someone relaxed but always watching.Like something dangerous beneath soft wool.

Rylie stopped in front of him. "So you didn't leave?"