One Year Later
Stresa, Piedmont (Italy) – Autodromo Famiglia Gaudenzi
Nora
The car zooms past me, right on the straight, kicking up dust and rubbery debris.
I stop the stopwatch and let out a sigh: we're not there yet.
"So, how did I do?"
Esther's voice, cheerful as usual, fills my headphones.
"The final stretch lacks propulsion."
"Coach, I'm pushing hard, I don't know what's wrong!"
I sense the disappointment in his voice and cast a questioning glance at Marco, my chief mechanic, who shakes his head.
"Nora, if you want, I'll put a spaceship engine on it, because I can't make it go any faster than this," he replies with a sigh. "Maybe if I tried it myself..."
His tone is hopeful, but my brother Gianni's icy voice stops him.
"She's not getting into any car, I've said it several times! It's bad enough that I let her drive her supercharged Porsche... don't dare me to take that away from her too!"
I give him a venomous look and throw the folder I'm holding at his expensive designer suit.
"Well, brother, you figure it out. Esther can't do more than this, and I don't want to demotivate her two weeks before the start of the Academy tournament. Find another test driver."
I zip up my jacket and walk away toward the garage.
I understand her concern, even her affection, but this way she's suffocating me.
I kick a piece of rubber on the edge of the track, and car number 46 stops a few inches from me.
The roar of the engine is deafening, the driver gives the accelerator a few more bursts, and then silence.
Unbuckling herself, Esther emerges from the cockpit with a graceful gesture. She takes off her helmet and lets the wind caress her thick red hair.
She's beautiful as well as talented, and my heart sinks that I can't give her the car she deserves.
I know she can do it and bring home—and her family—a championship title.
"Nora, I'm so sorry," he says sadly, coming closer and lowering his head. "I don't know why I'm losing grip at Turn 13, maybe I'm understeering, or not getting enough grip... What do you recommend?"
I let out a sigh and shove my hands in my pockets.
"Only you can know, because telemetry doesn't give us precise data on this... Focus on the circuit, feel the track... What feels out of place?"
He closes his eyes and lets out an immersive sigh.
I watch his face as he concentrates on the images and mental maps of his driving.
"It's not the tires, no... I feel them gripping the track... Maybe... no, not even the power. It's as if..."
Her eyes widen and she stares at me, puzzled.
"It's as if... it's taking off. Yeah, yeah."
I give her a surprised look, then before I can even think, I snatch the helmet from her hands, put it on, and rush to the car.
I adjust the seat belt, making it fit as close to my body as possible, start the engine, and with a sudden burst of speed, I'm on the track.
I feel the engine roar as I drive, but I control the horsepower, shifting down and adjusting the power to my will.
I enter the corner too fast.
The rear end slides.
I instinctively correct myself.
I quickly shift down two gears and prepare for the double switchback bend.
And it's at that moment that my driver's statement becomes clear to me: the car seems to lift off the asphalt, lose traction for a few moments, and then glues itself back to the track, continuing along the path.
"Marco, check the data now. It 'skidded' for no plausible reason."
I hear the buzzing in my headphones, a scream: 'Noraaa, get out of that car!', but I pretend not to hear.
"Marco! So?" I urge him.
"We've lost power, boss! Not much, but it's there!"
I slow down, straightening the car before hitting the straight that takes me back to the pits.
Where I find Gianni on the warpath.
It was to be expected.
I take it easy, unbuckling my seatbelts and removing my helmet. I open the door and find him nose to nose.
"What did you think you were doing, huh? Reckless!" He attacks me.
I stare at him with a sarcastic smile, put my middle finger in the middle of his forehead, and gently push him away. Then I place a kiss on his chin, leaving him speechless.
"Thanks, mother hen, but I'm fine."
Leaving him stunned, I head to my team and we begin checking the telemetry and looking for a solution for the new setup.
Gianni stares at us with disdain, slams the door, and leaves.
I smile.
And my mechanics smile proudly, too.
"Nora,..."
Marco's voice expresses concern, but I pat him on the shoulder.
"Forget it, go on. I want the car ready by tonight."
"I'd recognize that driver anywhere."
The low, persuasive voice behind me instantly freezes me.
I turn slowly.
And I see him.
My worst nightmare.
A trickle of cold sweat runs down my back.
Stephan is here.
With my grandfather.
"I told you she was an idiot!"
My grandfather's tone is uncompromising.
I straighten up with a surge of pride and close my eyes.
"What are you doing on my track?"
"Yours? 'Mine,' you mean, since I designed it and helped build it forty years ago. And you weren't even there!"
Every time this topic comes up, Grandpa's bad temper comes out.
Especially when it comes to 'his' family track.
I roll my eyes and push a strand of unruly hair behind my ear.
"You know what I meant..."
"Just because I let you run the Academy doesn't mean..." he begins, but I quickly stop him.
"Yes, yes, fine. Now what do you want?"
"You spoiled, rude girl! I always told your father that he should have beaten you properly from a young age, instead of turning you into the spoiled princess you've become."
"And the best driver in this team. Are you going to deny that?"
My bored tone seems to suffocate him, so he makes a snarky gesture and ignores me.
"Tell her what you owe and forget about her. This brat doesn't deserve a minute of your time."
He leaves, slamming the door, a noise that reverberates throughout the stall.
And there are two of them!
Stephan smirks, but I forestall him: "You go away, you're not welcome. No matter how much my grandfather may treat you like a grandson—which you're not—I don't want to see you!"
"I came to bring you something important."
He hands me a yellow envelope, document-sized, amidst the silence of everyone present.
Only then do I realize we have an audience, so I take the envelope and walk outside, saying, "I'll be back in a bit, Marco."
The footsteps behind me confirm that Stephan is following me.
I whirl around.
"Maybe you don't understand Italian anymore? I told you to go away!"
He shakes his head and points to the envelope.
"Read it. And give me an answer."
Curious—and desperate to get him out of my way—I tear open the envelope and find myself holding a contract.
Audi Automotive.
It's a request to race for their team in the next Formula 1 championship.
I go pale.
My hands are shaking and my breathing is short.
It's the contract that belonged to Adriano and...
I look up and meet Stephan's steel-gray eyes.
His contract.
The one he killed my brother for.
I crumple the papers angrily.
"What does it mean?"
"What you're reading."
"You!.. They..." I choke on the anger, so much so that I can't speak.
The pain I've been keeping hidden in my heart is tearing the security seal and roaring like a twelve-cylinder.
It's too much, even for me!
"I'd like you by my side. And even your grandfather agreed to let you run again."
"To replace my brother?"
His words are burning needles on my skin and my heart.
To run again.
I get a violent shiver all over my body.
Running was my whole life until I was twenty, but now...
I gave up my place to my twin, because it was the family's will, stifling my passion and my talent.
I did it reluctantly, but seeing Adriano happy made up for everything.
And now…
No!
I take a few deep breaths and then look back at my interlocutor.
"I'm not interested. I'm the coach of this Academy now, and this is where I want to stay. I'll communicate my refusal via email to the team."
"Nora, let's talk about this!"
"I'll give you three seconds to disappear, or I'll call the police... You reported me for media harassment on social media, you denigrated me in sports interviews, now I can finally destroy you. You're in my house, on my property, and I'll return the favor with a counter-complaint for stalking."
My tone is dangerously serious, and he takes a step back.
"I was invited..."
I take a step forward, and before he can comprehend it, I punch him in the face, sending him reeling backward.
I bend down to retrieve a .48 wrench and wave it under his nose.
"Don't say I didn't warn you."
Wiping away a trickle of blood from his nose, Stephan gives me one last look before raising his hands and reaching for the exit door.
I drop the tool to the floor with a thud and put my head in my hands.
Why? Why won't life leave me alone?
The sound of the car driving away down the dusty road leaves me feeling hurt and worn out.