Chapter 41
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
GRIFFIN
Idragged myself out of the car, yanked off my helmet and handed it to one of the mechanics.
“Tough session.” Al appeared beside me, tablet in hand.
That was putting it mildly.
P8 in Practice 1. Fucking P8.
My arms ached. My neck throbbed. And I’d gotten maybe six hours of sleep in the last two nights combined because Hazel woke up every time I finally managed to drift off.
Violet had been right. Of course she’d been right.
I needed proper rest. I needed her handling the night feeds. I needed to not be a stubborn asshole who thought he could do it all just to prove a point.
I raked a hand through my sweat-soaked hair.
“We’ll review the data,” Al said carefully. “Figure out where we can—”
“What the hell was that?” Julian’s voice boomed across the garage.
Every head turned. Engineers froze mid-conversation. Mechanics stopped what they were doing.
Julian strode toward me, fury radiating off him in waves.
What the hell was he doing?
You didn’t dress down drivers in the garage. Not in front of the entire team. Not where cameras from the paddock could pick up audio if anyone raised their voice too loud. We got media training for this. Keep the drama behind closed doors. Present a united front to the press.
If I pulled a stunt like this, I’d lose my contract.
But Julian didn’t seem to care.
“Seven-tenths off Stefano’s pace.” He stopped right in front of me, arms crossed.
The entire garage was watching. I could feel their eyes on me, on us. The awkward silence pressing down.
My jaw clenched. “It’s Practice 1—”
“P fucking 8, Griffin.” He bit off each word. “You’re behind both Rohan cars.”
Fury burned through me and heat flooded my face.
Why the fuck was he shouting at me like I was some rookie who didn’t know which end of the car was the front. With my entire team watching?
“I’ll find the pace in—”
“Will you?” His laugh was sharp, cruel. “I thought fucking my daughter would be enough motivation to keep you in line, but clearly I was wrong.”
The air sucked out of the garage.
Someone gasped. Al’s eyes widened. Milo dropped the tool he was holding, the clang echoing in the sudden silence.
My brain stuttered. Processing the words. Rearranging them. Trying to make them mean something other than what they obviously meant.
But no. He’d actually just said that. Out loud. In front of everyone.
“Don’t—”
“Don’t what? Tell the truth?” Julian’s smile was vicious.
“You’ve been too busy playing house with that baby to focus on your job.
Too exhausted to drive properly. And now Stefano’s making you look like an amateur while I’m stuck making excuses to the board about why my lead driver can’t even crack the top five in a practice session. ”
Rage flooded through me, hot and sharp. “Watch yourself—”
“No, you watch yourself.” He jabbed a finger at my chest. “Threatening her career kept her in line.”
Wait.
What the hell did he just say?
Keep her in line.
She’d been serious. She’d actually been serious when she’d told me he blackmailed her.
He’d used her education against her. The doctorate program she’d worked for. The career she’d sacrificed for. The future she’d put on hold to help me with Hazel.
And I’d dismissed her. Told her she was overreacting. That Julian wasn’t that bad. That she was catastrophizing because she was scared of losing control.
Fuck.
“You—” My voice cracked. “You threatened her?”
“It’s called leverage.” Julian shrugged like we were discussing tire strategy, not destroying his daughter’s life. “If you want to keep people where you want them, you need to control what matters to them. It’s basic management 101, Griffin.”
Basic management. That’s what he called holding his own daughter’s future hostage to make her obey.
“I simply expected her to do her part for the team. Family loyalty, Griffin. You of all people should understand that’s non-negotiable when there’s this much at stake.”
I’d told her everything was fine now. That her father approved of us. That she could relax because we had his blessing.
While he’d been threatening to destroy her.
And she’d done it. She’d followed almost every instruction he gave. Came to the races when he demanded. Stayed at my house when he ordered it. Played the perfect, obedient daughter in public.
She’d risked everything to protect my privacy.
Because she knew exactly what he was capable of.
And I’d called her paranoid.
The full scope of it hit me. Every moment I’d questioned why Violet had agreed so easily, why she’d stayed when she hated being in my world... None of it had been her choice. Not really.
My hands curled into fists. “You’re a bastard.”
“I’m practical.” He crossed his arms. “Something you’d understand if you weren’t so busy being sentimental about a woman who can’t even follow simple instructions.”
Like betraying me and destroying my privacy so he could control every aspect of my life, on and off the track.
My mind raced, pieces clicking together fast and brutal.
What else had he controlled?
Was the timing of Jesse’s custody push purely coincidental?
It started right after Singapore. Was it a coincidence that he suddenly had a lawyer, and one that Julian had tried to palm off on me a month before?
That didn’t make sense.
Unless someone put him up to it. Someone who needed leverage to keep me focused where he wanted me.
“Cormac Steele,” I said.
Julian’s expression flickered. A crack in the ice.
“What about him?”
“Did you give his number to Callaghan?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
But his jaw tightened, and he stiffened.
“Yes, you do. You gave Callaghan his number.” I stepped closer. “Put him up to the custody fight. Told him exactly what to say, what to threaten.”
“You’re being paranoid.”
I laughed, but nothing about it was funny. “You just admitted to blackmailing your own daughter and you think I’m the one who’s lost the plot?”
“Watch your tone, Griffin. You’re still my driver.”
“Not for long. You orchestrated a custody battle using my daughter as leverage. A baby. You threatened an infant to manipulate me into performing better on the track.”
“If I hadn’t stepped in, you’d have burned your own career to the ground. You can barely keep yourself together. I was protecting the team.”
I snorted.
Julian’s eyes narrowed. “I created the right environment for you to succeed. That’s my job.”
“Your job is managing a racing team. Not playing puppet master with people’s lives just because you bought the shares.” My voice was getting louder. I didn’t care anymore. Let the journalists hear. Let the cameras pick it up. “How much did you pay him?”
Silence stretched across the garage. Nobody moved. Nobody breathed.
Julian’s jaw worked. “Everything I do is for the success of this team. For the championship. You were getting distracted and someone had to refocus you.”
“By threatening to take Hazel away from me? That’s your idea of motivation?”
“It worked, didn’t it? Austin was brilliant. You drove like the champion you’re supposed to be.”
He wasn’t even trying to deny it or deflect it anymore. He was just standing there admitting he’d weaponized my daughter against me.
“You never take responsibility for anything, do you? If something goes wrong, it’s my fault.
If Callaghan acts like a psychopath, it’s because I provoked him.
If the team implodes, it’s because I distracted myself.
You ever stop to think that maybe you’re the problem? Or is that not in your vocabulary?”
He scoffed. “I keep this team running. I protect you from yourself. You think you’re clever, but you never saw the bigger picture. You never even noticed the eyes on you.”
The truth was, I hadn’t noticed. I’d been so wrapped up in her that I’d been completely blind to it.
“After Abu Dhabi, I’m gone.” I pulled my phone from my pocket. “You’ve got four races left to explain to the board why your lead driver is leaving. Should be fun watching you scramble.”
Panic flickered across Julian’s face. The first real crack in his perfect control. “You can’t walk away mid-season. Your contract runs through December.”
“And I’ll honor every race until then. But the second Abu Dhabi ends, I’m done with you and this team for good.” I was already typing the message to Dominic.
Griffin
Ready to sign with Rekford. Today if possible.
Dominic
About bloody time. I’ll reach out now and set up the signing for tomorrow. Come by my suite after FP2 and we’ll finalize everything.
I shoved my phone in my pocket and looked at Julian. His face had gone pale.
“Who?” he demanded.
“You’ll find out soon enough.” I couldn’t help the grim satisfaction that flooded through me. “Feel free to start calling around. Maybe you’ll guess right.”
“Griffin—”
“You might’ve built the team, Julian, but you didn’t build me. You sure as hell didn’t win any of those races. Four more races. Then I’m gone.” I turned to Al. “Sorry you had to witness that. You’re a damn good engineer. These last four races won’t change that.”
Al nodded slowly, eyes still wide.
I walked toward the garage exit. The team parted around me. Nobody spoke. Nobody tried to stop me.
At the threshold, I paused and looked back at Julian.
“One more thing. Violet’s moving out as soon as we get back.”
Julian’s eyes flashed. “That’s not your decision to make.”
“Yeah, it’s hers. And I’m making damn sure she has the option.
” I held his gaze. “Don’t call her. Don’t text her.
Don’t show up trying to guilt her into staying.
You go near her or Hazel, and I’ll make sure every journalist in the paddock knows exactly what kind of manipulative piece of shit you are.
I’ve got forty witnesses who just heard you confess. Test me.”
Then I left.
I’d grovel. Properly. Get on my knees if I had to. Violet deserved that after how badly I’d fucked this up, dismissing every warning she’d given me, making her feel like she was the problem when it was Julian all along.
First though, I needed to find a florist in Mexico City who sold irises in October.