17 A Daughter’s Joy, An Unexpected Errand
The yground buzzed with activity as children rushed around during recess. Cora Thorne sat with her friends at a pic table, her tablet propped up in front of her.
“Look what my dad got me!” Cora gushed, showing off the sleek device to her envious ssmates.
Her phone rang, disying her mother’s name and photo. Cora nced at it, then back to her tablet where Vivienne’s smiling face appeared on video chat.
“Is that your mom calling?” Vivienne asked, her perfectly glossed lips curving into a smile.
Cora nodded, letting the call ring. “She always calls at lunch. I’ll talk to herter.”
“Tell me more about your science project, sweetie,” Vivienne prompted, leaning forward in what looked like an expensive restaurant.
The phone stopped ringing. A text message appeared instead.
“Dad says I’m going to win first ce,” Cora announced proudly to her friends, ignoring the notification. “Aunt Vivi is helping me design it.”
“Your volcano is going to blow everyone else’s away,” Vivienne promised with a wink.
“We’ll work on it this weekend.”
“With the real chemicals you used in college?” Cora asked excitedly.
“Only the safe ones,” Vivienneughed. “Your father would kill me otherwise.”
Damien’s deep voice came from off–screen. “What are you two plotting now?”
His handsome face appeared beside Vivienne’s as he leaned into frame. “Science fair domination,” he said with a rare smile. “Nothing less for a Thorne.”
Cora beamed at the praise.
ra sighed as her call went unanswered. She typed a quick message: “Hope you’re
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17 A Daughter’s Joy, An Unexpected Errand
having a good lunch, sweetheart. Call me when you can. Love you.”
Almost immediately, a voice message came back: “Hi Mom, I’m talking to Dad and Aunt Vivi. They’re taking me to the science museum on Saturday for my project. Gotta go!”
The excitement in her daughter’s voice was unmistakable. ra set her phone down on her desk and turned her attention back to the contract drafts before her.
Ms. Ashton knocked lightly on her open door. “Everything alright?”
“Coco’s having lunch with Damien and Vivienne,” ra replied, unable to keep the resignation from her voice. “Via video call, anyway.”
The older woman gave her a sympathetic look. “That child doesn’t know what she’s missing, choosing anyone over you.”
“She’s seven,” ra said with a sad smile. “Fancy restaurants and exciting promises win over everyday motherhood.”
“Still hurts though, doesn’t it?” Ms. Ashton observed.
ra didn’t answer. She didn’t need to.
Hourster, as ra was organizing final documents for the day, her phone rang with an unfamiliar tone. The screen disyed “Victoria Sterling” – her mother–inw.
She answered cautiously. “Hello, Victoria.”
—
“ra.” The older woman’s voice was crisp, demanding immediate attention. “I need
you to run an errand for me.”
Not a request–amand. ra checked her watch. “I was just about to leave the
office-”
“This is important,” Victoria cut her off. “Ethan is at the Highpoint Speedway. I need you to go there and bring him back immediately.”
ra blinked in surprise. “Ethan? Why would he be at a racetrack?”
“Because,” Victoria hissed, “my youngest son thinks he can moonlight as some daredevil racer without my knowledge. His assistant just called to reschedule his appointments for tomorrow, iming he’s ‘under the weather.‘ Yet my sources tell me
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17 A Daughter’s Joy, An Unexpected Errand
he’s registered for tonight’s amateur race.”
ra hesitated. “Couldn’t you send someone from your staff?”
“Everyone recognizable is tied up with the Mercer merger,” Victoria snapped. “You’re unobtrusive enough. Find him and remind him of his responsibilities.”
Before ra could respond, Victoria continued, “The event starts at six. Don’t fail me, ra.”
The call ended abruptly. ra stared at her phone in disbelief.
Ms. Ashton appeared in the doorway again. “Was that Victoria Sterling I overheard?”
“Yes,” ra said, gathering her things with resignation. “Apparently I’m being sent to fetch Ethan from a racetrack.”
“That woman,” Ms. Ashton shook her head disapprovingly. “Still treating you like staff even though you’re family.”
“Not for much longer,” ra reminded her, thinking of the divorce papers still awaiting Damien’s signature.
The drive to Highpoint Speedway took almost an hour, the evening traffic moving at an excruciatingly slow pace. By the time ra arrived, the parking lot was packed with cars and motorcycles, forcing her to park quite a distance from the entrance.
The ticket booth operator looked at her skeptically when she asked about Ethan Thorne. “Competitors are in the restricted area, ma’am.”
“I’m family,” ra exined, feeling the weight of the lie even as she said it.
Eventually, after showing her ID with the Thorne name, she was directed toward the garages behind the track. The contrast between her business attire and the casual atmosphere of the speedway drew curious nces as she navigated through crowds of racing enthusiasts.
The garage area buzzed with activity–mechanics makingst–minute adjustments, drivers in racing suits checking their vehicles, spectators milling about with drinks and excited conversation. ra feltpletely out of ce in her pencil skirt and blouse.
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17 A Daughter’s Joy, An Unexpected Errand
“Excuse me,” she asked a mechanic wiping his hands on a rag, “I’m looking for Ethan
Thorne?”
The man jerked his thumb toward a sleek ck sports car. “Lucky number seven. Though he goes by ‘Phoenix‘ here.”
ra approached the vehicle, where a man in a ck and red racing suit stood with his back to her, helmet tucked under his arm as he spoke with another driver.
“Ethan?” she called hesitantly.
He turned, and ra was struck by the family resemnce to Damien–the same strong jaw and piercing eyes, though Ethan’s features were slightly softer, his expression more animated.
Recognition flickered across his face, quickly followed by shock and then wariness.
“ra?” he asked, ncing around as if expecting someone else. “What are you doing
here?”
“Your mother sent me,” ra exined, feeling awkward under his suspicious gaze.
“She knows about the racing.”
Ethan’s expression darkened. “Of course she does. Nothing escapes the great Victoria Sterling.” He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “How did you find me?”
“It wasn’t easy,” ra admitted. “But Victoria was very… insistent.”
A woman in racing gear approached, cing a familiar hand on Ethan’s arm. “Everything okay, Phoenix?” Her eyes assessed ra with undisguised curiosity.
“Fine, Mara,” Ethan replied tersely. “Just family business.”
The woman nodded and retreated, but not before giving ra another searching look.
“So you’re what–her messenger now?” Ethan asked, turning his attention back to ra. “Come to drag me home by my ear?”
The hostility in his tone caught ra by surprise. She’d met Ethan only a handful of times at family gatherings, where he’d always been polite but distant. This version of him–defiant and passionate–was entirely new.
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17 A Daughter’s Joy, An Unexpected Errand
“I’m just delivering the message,” ra replied carefully. “She wants you toe
home.”
Ethanughed, a hollow sound. “Home? That mausoleum hasn’t been home in years.” He gestured to the bustling garage. “This is where I feel alive.”
A loudspeaker crackled overhead, announcing the first call for drivers. Ethan nced toward the track, then back at ra, conflict evident in his expression.
“You can tell her you couldn’t find me,” he suggested, a hint of desperation in his voice. “Please, ra. This race could qualify me for nationals.”
ra hesitated, struck by the earnestness in his plea. Here was another Thorne, trapped in Victoria’s web of expectations.
“This means a lot to you,” she observed quietly.
“More than anything.” His eyes lit up with genuine passion. “I’ve been training for
months.”
The loudspeaker sounded again. Ethan nced nervously at his watch.
“Look,” he said hurriedly, “just stay for the race. It’s only thirty minutes. After that… I’ll deal with my mother.”
Before ra could respond, a man in official gear approached. “Phoenix, you’re up in five. Need you at the starting line.”
Ethan looked at ra with pleading eyes. “Please?”
The request hung between them, loaded with more than just the immediate situation. It was a plea from one trapped soul to another, asking for understanding that only someone else under Victoria Sterling’s thumb could provide.
“Ethan,” ra began, uncertain of what to say next. The weight of Victoria’s
expectations pressed against her conscience, but something in Ethan’s desperate expression made her hesitate.
“What exactly am I supposed to tell your mother?” she asked, already feeling herself giving in.
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17 A Daughter’s Joy, An Unexpected Errand
Ethan’s face broke into a grin that transformed his features entirely, making him look younger and more carefree than she’d ever seen a Thorne look before.
“Tell her whatever you want,” he said, already backing toward the track, helmet in hand. “Just give me these thirty minutes.”
Before she could respond, he turned and jogged toward the starting area, leaving ra standing alone amid the noise and excitement, pondering exactly how she had ended up in this position—once again caught between a Thorne’s desires and Victoria Sterling’smands.
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