Fuck.

"Oh, you thought I didn't know about your little game?" Sebastian laughed, glancing from Florence to me. "You think I wouldn't miss how my fiancée mysteriously vanished every time I had a business meeting? Or how she's suddenly way too nice for her character? I knew you had something planned. I'm not stupid, son."

"I'm not your son," I spat, balling my hands into fists to release some of the tension built in my fingertips. They were itching to punch him right in the face, especially after I'd seen the way he'd tried to scare Florence and Mom.

Once again, Sebastian just laughed. "Oh, I'm afraid you are. DNA tests don't lie."

"No test in existence would ever make you my father. All you are is an excuse of a man who jumped at the chance to gain some sort of power." I found myself walking toward him, my gaze falling to his hands. They, too, were balled into fists, similar to mine. And it was like that was all it took — the reminder of my relation to this man zapped me straight back to why I was here, what I had planned, and how I was going to do it.

"I hold more power over your life than you know," he retorted.

This time, it was my turn to laugh. "And why is that? Because you think letting the media know about your pretty little DNA test would ruin my career? Hate to disappoint you, Sebastian, but I'm one step ahead of you."

He still carried that smug grin on his face, but I could tell he was struggling to keep it genuine, confusion now taking over his features. "What's that supposed to mean?"

From the corner of my eye, I noticed how Florence led my mother away from Sebastian and closer to me. He hadn't even noticed she'd moved until she was by my side, her hand finding mine and giving it a squeeze. It was her way of telling me this was my fight. My choice.

Shooting her a smile, I then glanced at the door, which had stood wide open since I'd walked in. "Connor, you want to do the honors?"

My half-brother stepped into the room, followed by Amara, who was typing furiously at her phone, not even bothering to look up at Sebastian.

"Son..." Sebastian's eyes widened, but Connor remained unfazed.

"Fuck off," was all he said, a smile playing on his lips. "Amara, you ready?"

She held up one finger before it moved back to the screen to continue typing. "Yup. Just a second... And... Done!"

Silence filled the room, and all eyes turned to Amara. She took her time checking her screen before she glanced up and around the room, her eyes meeting Florence's.

"What did she do?" Sebastian finally asked, wide eyes glaring at Amara.

Amara simply smiled as she broke eye contact with her friend and handed her phone to Connor, who then ‌read out loud.

"Sebastian Williams has been arrested on multiple charges, including fraud, assault, sexual assault, and attempted murder. The prosecution gathered half a dozen witnesses to support those allegations, two of which are his own sons... You know, I would continue, but this entire article is a little boring. It's about you, after all." He cleared his throat. "But you get the gist."

"The gist is you're fucked." Amara grinned.

Tense silence filled the room, with all eyes on Sebastian now.

To my surprise, he didn't even seem scared. Instead, he simply laughed out loud, the sound echoing through the room, bouncing off the walls like a demon finding its way back into him. "I haven't done anything."

"Our witnesses say otherwise," Connor retorted.

"And who would those witnesses be? Those skanks who practically threw themselves at me? No one will believe them..."

I could practically feel the fury rolling off of Florence next to me, her glare burning right into Sebastian's head. The sexual assault allegations had been what'd shattered her most, especially with the amount of women coming forward after we'd done our research. It was sickening.

"First, I think you underestimate the power of women. Especially those who're attacked by an asshole and known predator like you," I replied before Florence could claw his eyes out. "Second, it's not just them who'll speak up."

Sebastian raised a brow, almost challenging me to tell me more. I fucking loved how confident he was. Fucking loved how little he expected what was coming next.

"Rafael, come in." I stepped away from the door to make room for the next couple to join us, and even though I'd expected people to be shocked, I hadn't expected the sheer disbelief on Florence's face.

Because when Rafael walked in, his hand holding a tight grip on his company's arm, I just knew we'd won. The horror in Sebastian's eyes said it all. We were one step ahead of him.

"Salim?" Florence asked in shock, wide eyes watching the former Azure Racing recruiter enter the room.

Salim's eyes flicked to mine, almost as if gauging my reaction. I could tell he wanted to say something, even with the black eye he sported, but the look I shot him must've been enough to keep him quiet. I'd been very clear on our way here; He was not to talk to Florence unless she asked him to.

The laughter erupting from the other side of the room shifted my focus back to Sebastian, who was now grinning from ear to ear. "You think he solves your problem? He won't say a thing!"

Of course, that's what Sebastian expected, given he'd blackmailed Salim into keeping his mouth shut and doing his dirty work for years.

"He already did." I pulled out the three envelopes hidden in the back of my jeans. Picking the first one, I held it up to his face.

"This one's Salim's. It holds five handwritten and signed pages, explaining exactly what you did. It tells us about how you paid Salim to find the right guy in Jeremiah's team, how you blackmailed that guy into giving you his access code, how you rigged Jeremiah's brakes so he'd crash in that first lap. We also learn about how you coerced Henry, my former manager, to turn Florence's and my relationship into a scandal ten years ago. The paparazzi were your idea from day one, and Salim was in on all of it. He confessed to everything and is ready to face the consequences of his actions."

I glanced at Florence, who seemed as speechless as I'd been when I'd found out about the lengths Sebastian had gone to, just to get revenge for a stupid grudge he'd held for decades. It was senseless in the most primal of ways.

"Salim, you know what I can do to you and your—"

"Shut up, Sebastian," Salim cut him off. "I wouldn't have done any of this shit if I'd known just how sick and twisted you were. Going after him, even all those years later? That's just pathetic..."

Sebastian charged toward him, but I put myself between the two of them. "Ah, ah. Don't you want to hear about the other two envelopes?" I asked, cocking a brow at him before nodding to Connor, who grabbed the envelope from my hand.

"The other one is mine," he said, reverting the attention toward him. He patted the envelope on his palm, watching the movement closely. "It tells the story about all the teams you've blackmailed, the people you've bribed, everyone who played a part in bringing your son up in the industry... It also tells the story of a homophobic father who told his son he'd beat the living shit out of him if he didn't get a girlfriend to maintain the family image." His gaze now found his father's, the hatred in his eyes pure and unrestricted. "Good thing there's no such thing as a family image anymore, right?"

Sebastian blinked a few times, his gaze flicking from Connor's envelope to the remaining one in my hands.

"Oh, you're wondering about this one?" I asked, raising the third envelope. "This one's mine. It tells the whole story. About how you approached my mother the second you found out who I was, about how you blackmailed an innocent woman into marrying you just to spite both me and Florence's family... It also explains the coward you've been when you left her to begin with, not that I complain. I said it before and I'll say it again: You never were my father, nor will you ever be. I won't let you."

Silence stretched across the room like a thick blanket, engulfing all of us in the heavy truths that'd been spoken today. Sebastian Williams hadn't just impacted my life. He had his claws in the lives of every single person in this room, and many more outside of it. The impact these letters would have was astronomical, but none of us cared. All we wanted was to get this shit show over with.

"This is insane!" Sebastian exclaimed, his suit wrinkling as he threw his hands in the air. "You..." His eyes shot an entire arsenal of weapons at my being as he approached me, the fury in him only fueling my spirits. "You have no idea what I can do if you actually go through with this. I know things! Things about you, about your precious little mother, things about your little girlfriend over here. I will—"

"You will what?" I stepped toward him, showing him that in no universe would I ever fear his pathetic excuse of a man. "You will tell some journalists your story? Twist the facts and tell them my mother was the one who instigated all this bullshit? Well, that sounds like a great idea in theory, but you're forgetting one thing, Sebastian." A hint of fear ran across his features as I got even closer to him — probably not fear for his life, but fear for his public name. He was beginning to realize the damage I could do to him. "You worked very hard to assure you had evidence of who Connor and I were. Your fancy DNA tests prove we are, in fact, your biological sons. The press will eat that shit up. And you don't think they'll believe a man who left his son to starve thirty years ago over the two men who're currently leading the F1 world championship, do you?"

"Let's not forget we have irrefutable proof," Connor added. "We have proof and witnesses for your insane stunt with Jeremiah Nyx. This is America. The man is a living legend and the American hero of the sport. You think they'll believe a word you say after they hear about how you harassed their idol's family for decades?"

Finally, Sebastian began to crumble. The hint of fear was now growing into an entire avalanche of defeat, the realization that he was, in fact, trapped now crashing down on him.

"Connor... Son." He stepped to the side, approaching Connor. "You wouldn't do that to your father, would you?"

You could say what you wanted about Connor, but you had to admit he had one hell of a backbone. Because instead of lying at his father's feet, Connor simply stood up straight and raised a brow at him, almost as if he was talking to a raging toddler, and not a grown man.

"Wouldn't do what? Threaten you, ruin your life, humiliate you in front of everyone? It's not like you hadn't done that to me before, right?" He scoffed and walked to the window, his hands fisting the curtains. "Like father, like son, I guess."

Connor threw open the curtains, revealing a row of journalists standing outside the chapel entrance, all of them staring at the door and waiting for their new headline to walk out of it.

"What is this?" Sebastian walked up to the window, pressing his shoulder against the frame so he could hide when needed.

"What? You don't like it?" Connor asked with a smirk. "Thought you were a fan of media circuses, Dad? This one's just for you. We even got you an escort."

Before Sebastian could even inquire about said escort, the last missing person entered the room. His presence — and the one of his company — took in the entire room, and I couldn't help but smile as my friend grinned at the scene in front of him.

"Got a delivery for Sebastian Dickhead Williams." Idir waltzed inside like he owned the place, accompanied by two police officers, who instantly clocked Sebastian by the window.

For a second, the world stood still. It all revolved around the staring battle Sebastian held with the police officer, a young woman with a blonde ponytail, who looked about ready to kill a man.

Not that I would've stopped her.

"Mr. Williams." Her voice boomed through the room, laced with confidence and strength. It was clear whatever she was going to say wasn't a request, but an order. "You need to come to the station with us."

"What?" Sebastian exclaimed, not getting the hint. "No way in hell am I going anywhere with you! You haven't even—"

The officer didn't let him finish. She simply rushed over to him, grabbed his hands in a motion that was swift enough to disappear from our view, and cuffed them behind his back. "In that case, I'll have to take you into custody. There's a warrant out for your arrest." She secured the cuffs, making him hiss as she held him in front of her. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used—"

"You can't do that!"

"—against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot—"

"I will sue all of you!" Sebastian cursed, struggling against the cuffs. The officer's partner joined her, both of them holding him by his arms as they continued to read his rights.

"Do that. I'm ready." Amara grinned as they escorted Sebastian out of the room.

Cameras flashed as soon as they got outside, with reporters yelling and microphones being shoved into his face.

"Sebastian, are you responsible for Jeremiah Nyx's accident?"

"Mr. Williams, is it true you sexually harassed young women?"

"Have you bribed everyone into making your career?"

"Do you even know how to drive a race car?"

Not gonna lie, that one almost made me laugh.

And as I watched Sebastian being tormented by the media, suffering the fate he'd laid upon so many others over the past decades, I clung to the realization that finally, it was over. Finally, we'd brought this asshole down.

Well, not really, since we still had a damn long trial ahead of us... But it was a start. The groundwork had been done.

"So, what did I miss?" Idir appeared by my side, arm slung over my shoulder. "I see Salim is sporting one hell of a shiner." He raised his brow while glancing down at my hand, searching for injuries. With the season restarting soon, we didn't need a broken hand.

"Oh, that?" I turned and faced Salim, who was still standing in the corner with Rafael by his side. The color around his eye seemed even more prominent now, and part of me even felt for the man. That shit had to hurt.

"Yeah, that wasn't me," I said.

Instantly, all eyes turned to Connor. He tried to hide the bandaged hand behind his back, but Florence was quick enough to catch his wrist.

"You did that?" She gasped, a concerned look at his fingers telling me she probably wanted to ‌look at the damage that'd been done.

It was barely visible, but Connor blushed a little and shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. "You didn't have to listen to him explaining himself. It was infuriating... And he's a dick."

Granted; Connor had just beaten me to it. Hearing Salim recounting all the events and how shamelessly he exploited our "friendship" for his personal gain... It was enough to make my blood boil. I only hesitated because he'd told us about Sebastian's threats to his family as well.

Thinking back to it, I was glad Connor had been the one to do it. He seemed to have enjoyed it, too.

"He's right, I am a dick," Salim responded, looking down at the ground. He hadn't dared to look at Florence since that first time when he'd stepped into the room. It was for the best — I was pretty sure she'd have a lot to say to him. In the end, I wasn't the only one he'd betrayed.

"Speaking of... What do we do with him?" Amara asked, eyebrows raised.

"I'll take the back entrance and bring him to the police. He still needs to make his official statement." Rafael glared at him, disgust written on his face. I could practically feel the itch in his fingers.

This room was drowning in unresolved testosterone.

"Alright. I'll come with you." Amara must've seen the look as well, but she acted casual as she looped her arm around Salim's and threw another glance at Florence. "See you at your place?"

Flo nodded. "Yeah. See you there."

The three walked out the door and shut it behind them, leaving the rest of the room in silence. Idir and Connor were still watching Sebastian outside, while Florence approached me, my mother walking behind her. I couldn't stand the way she hid behind Flo, probably afraid to even look me in the eye.

Even with everything being resolved, I was still hurt by everything she'd done. Granted, it was an impossible situation she'd found herself in, but that didn't change that she'd lied to me for years. Fucking years.

And so, when Florence wrapped her arms around me, I embraced her whole-heartedly, knowing I had a shit ton of explaining to do. None of the gods out there would ever understand how thankful I was for Florence's understanding nature and the empathy she'd shown me in the past months, always making sure I knew she was on my side. It was the greatest gift of all to have her with me through all of this.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, taking a deep breath and memorizing her cinnamon scent. It'd never cease to amaze me how quickly it calmed me down. Just being close to her and having her in my arms was the greatest relief of all.

She pulled back and pressed a kiss on my cheek, her concerned gaze meeting mine. "You're okay."

I nodded, though I couldn't help but glance over at my mother, who kept looking over at us, always looking away when I'd met her gaze. It was unsettling and, frankly, overwhelming. This wasn't how we were — but right now, I didn't know what to do about it. I just wasn't ready to talk to her yet.

"We don't have to do it all today," Flo said, regaining my attention. My eyes found hers, and no matter how long I searched them, I only ever found one thing.

Unconditional love.

It was the epitome of who we were, the reality I never had to doubt.

"Let's go home for today. You need to rest," she said.

And when she took my hand just then, I knew I was safe with her in the lead. I knew she'd take care of me the same way she expected me to take care of her.

It wasn't hard anymore, letting someone else be strong for me. I loved her enough to let her help me through the toughest of times, trusting she'd be by my side on whichever path I took.

She was the thunder to my lightning. The rain to my storm.

Author's Note

Hey, folks!

Alright, here it is!

I hope you all enjoyed these chapters, I know it's always a lot to process but I hope I've made it clear enough for all of you to understand.

We're nearing the end -- not quite there, of course, but it shouldn't be too long now, either. But who knows, these two do whatever they want with my storyline anyway. So all we can do is wait and see where they take us!

Stay safe!

xx Jane