The mes leaped high into the air, quickly consuming the entire car as thick ck smoke billowed across the track.


    "Did the car cross the finish line? The fire''s too big, I can''t see!"


    ording to the rules, the entire car had to cross the line for the finish to count.


    "What about J? Is J still in there?"


    "Where are the safety crews? Save J!"


    "Who would dare get close to a fire that big?"


    As the crowd descended into panic, a second, more violent explosion ripped through the burning car.


    Melvin reached the finish line just then. Without a second''s hesitation, he leaped from his car, grabbed a fire extinguisher, and charged toward the inferno. But the intense wave of heat forced him back.


    "BOOM!"


    The explosions continued, painting the sky a terrifying shade of orange.


    "Melvin, wait!" a track official grabbed him. "The fire trucks are on their way!"


    J hadn''t emerged yet; the oue was grimly obvious. Rushing in now was suicide.


    "Get off me!"


    Melvin''s mind was consumed with one thought: save J. He shoved the official aside and activated the extinguisher. Even if the chance was slim, he had to try.


    "J!"


    In the lounge, Ghoul and Kurt watched in horror as J''s car was engulfed in mes. Their faces went pale.


    "You stay here, I''ll go check," Ghoul said, holding down Kurt, who was trying to get up.


    Kurt was frantic, but his legs, freshly set with steel tes, were useless.


    "Ahhh!" he roared in anguish, mming his fist into the sofa, his eyes turning red If he hadn''t let his


    eyes and fallen for the trap


    guard down


    wouldn''t have had to step in. If hadn''t raced, this wouldn''t have happened. It was all his fault.


    As guilt tore through him, his phone rang. It was his cousin, Shanley.


    "Sha-" Kurt answered, his voice hoarse. Before he could finish, Shanley''s urgent voice cut through the line. "Where is Juniper?"


    “Juniper?” Kurt, lost in his grief, was slow to react. “She said she wasing to the track, but I haven''t seen her."


    "The car that''s on fire-have they put it out yet?"


    Shanley''s cold voice wasced with a desperate urgency that sent a chill down


    Kurt''s spine. His own legs were shattered, yet Shanley wasn''t asking about him. He was asking about Juniper.


    "Speak!" Shanley''s roar was so loud it nearly made Kurt drop the phone.


    The live broadcast had been cut after the explosion. All Shanley knew was that Kurt had been injured and y was subbing for him. He had


    suspected Juniper might be, but it was unconfirmed Before he could get to the track, he heard that J''s car had exploded. He had hacked into the security cameras, but the scene was pure chaos, and there was no sign of the girl getting out of the car.


    Kurt stammered, his face ashen. "The fire... The fire''s not out yet!"


    The car''s fuel reserves wererge, and J''s constant eleration had caused a major leak, making the ze incredibly difficult to extinguish.


    “Boss, we can''t reach Ms. Payne''s phone," Felton''s voice suddenly came through from Shanley''s end. "Qadir said she took leave from school half an hour ago."


    Half an hour ago? A thought


    suddenly struck Kurt like lightning. Juniper had also said she wasing to the track half an hour ago. If he remembered correctly, the time arved at the track perfectly matched the time Juniper would have left school.


    He recalled how skilled Juniper had been when she was teaching him to race, how


    she had confidently dered that Orient Country would not lose...


    Could it be...?


    Kurt''s mouth fell open. “Shanley,” he asked, his voice trembling with disbelief, "is Juniper... J?"