|10 Years Later|

|Odette|

~~**~~

I inhaled sharply as I took one last look at my apartment. This place had been my safe haven for over six years and now I had no idea when I'd be coming back here.

"Meow."

Appa's soft meow pulled my attention back to reality. Appa was my treasured ragdoll cat, I'd named him after the beloved flying bison from my favorite show 'Avatar the Last Airbender'. He'd been a gift from my mother on my college graduation.

Appa peered up at me from his basket which I was currently holding in my arms his big ice-blue eyes blinked at me slowly.

I scratched him behind his chocolate-colored ears. "I promise I'll come and get you as soon as everything is settled," I told him softly, but even as I said those words my heart gave a painful lurch. The thought of being apart from Appa for a week was already giving me major separation anxiety but I knew I needed to figure things out and get settled on my own.

I took a deep breath and another wave of anxiousness washed over me, this time for a completely different reason. I had to drop Appa at my mother's place.

For some reason beyond my comprehension, my cat absolutely adored my mother. My best friend Aubrey once made a joke about it saying that it made sense because most super-villains had cats. Unfortunately, she'd said the joke in front of my mother. It was safe to say that the two of them didn't exactly get along.

My phone pinged signaling that the cab I had called was waiting downstairs.

With one last look at my apartment, I finally clicked the door shut.

~~**~~

"Is that what you plan on wearing to the press conference?" My mother asked as soon as I had stepped inside her house.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "Good morning to you too, Mom," I said, sarcasm lacing my voice.

Her lips pressed into a thin line but thankfully she didn't make any other comments.

Appa jumped out the second I placed his basket on the floor. He trotted towards my mother and started rubbing against her legs affectionately. Even my mother's cold demeanor seemed to thaw a little at the sight of him. I watched as her lips curled into a small smile.

"All his treats, toys, and anything else he might need is in here," I told her as I placed the black duffle bag I was carrying beside the basket. I picked up Appa from where he was lounging on the floor near my mother's feet and gave him a final goodbye kiss on his soft forehead. I could feel tears starting to prick the corner of my eyes as I put him down. "I need to get to the airport so..." I shuffled my feet awkwardly.

"You're not staying for lunch?" My mother frowned.

"The cab's already waiting, I told the driver it would just be a quick stop," I told her apologetically. "Plus my flight leaves at twelve so I need to get going," I told her. A sliver of guilt snaked its way into my chest.

"It's not too late to back away from this mistake you're making." Her voice suddenly cut in.

Any guilt I'd been feeling earlier dissipated as I was reminded why I'd chosen to spend as little time with her as I could in the first place.

"It's not a mistake," I answered, trying to keep my voice even.

She shook her head. "You have an MBA from one of the most prestigious universities in the country. You're wasting your degree and your potential for what? Pursuing some childhood fantasy? Your father wouldn't have wanted this."

I could feel my anger spike at that. "Don't pretend like you cared about what Dad wanted." My voice wavered. "And for the record, he always pushed me to go after what I was passionate about so I know I'm doing exactly what he wanted!"

"Well, your father doesn't exactly have the track record for making the best possible choices, does he?" She said coolly.

I could feel the blood turn to ice in my veins as my hands clenched into fists. "Oh, you mean when he made the choice to adopt me? You still hold that against him, choosing to have a child?"

Her eyes shone with anger. "Yes exactly, he chose to have a child and he still chose to continue racing even though he knew the risks involved and then when he died because of his choices I was stuck taking care of a child he chose to have!" The words tumbled out of her mouth and I thought I saw a flash of regret cross her features as soon as she'd said them but it vanished as soon as it had appeared.

I tried to not let her words affect me but I felt them cut deep.

"Bye, mom." I muttered as I pushed the door open and stepped outside not waiting for her response. I blinked away the tears that threatened to spill.

~~**~~

"With just one month till the start of this year's F1 season, it has been confirmed that there will be a joint press conference held in Charlotte, North Carolina to announce this year's driver lineup. All eyes will be on team Amaterasu who've kept the identity of their new driver pretty hush-hush after announcing the retirement of their star driver Peter Alonzo at the beginning of this year.

On the other end, Khai Sylvan, who joined the Tsai team in 2021, has decided to renew his contract with Tsai Racing for the third time this year which begs the question, will the 'Angel of Death' secure his tenth World Championship and cement a decade-long reign —an achievement even the legendary Dean Rhodes could not reach?"

I took my headphones off and frowned at my phone screen. They'd been calling Khai Sylvan the 'Angel of Death' for ten years now and I still felt a wave of revulsion whenever I heard it.

The plane's intercom suddenly beeped. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your pilot speaking. I apologize for the delay, but we are now ready for takeoff. Please fasten your seatbelts. We expect to arrive in Charlotte, North Carolina, in two hours. I wish you all a safe and comfortable flight. Thank you."

I leaned back against my seat and closed my eyes.

There was no going back now. In just two hours my fate would be sealed.

I just hoped I didn't live to regret it.

~~**~~

My heart thumped wildly in my chest as I stood in front of the daunting glass building of the Amaterasu Headquarters.

I took a deep breath and straightened my shoulders before walking inside. I strode towards the reception.

"Hi." I told the pretty brunette receptionist brightly, "I'm looking for Mei Komatsu."

She gave me a skeptical look. "Do you have an appointment?"

"Odette Rhodes! Just in time!" Mei's familiar voice suddenly called out from behind me making me turn around.

I smiled at the sight of her. She was definitely a force to be reckoned with. Mei Komatsu was the Team Principal of Amaterasu Racing. She'd taken up the position three years ago when Haru had retired. Even in her four-inch pencil heels, she was still a little shorter than me but she had an authoritative air about her that made it feel like she was always the biggest person in the room. Her dark hair was silky and cut into a neat long bob and she wore wire-rimmed glasses.

"I've told everyone to gather in the common room. I wanted to make the announcement to the team before we break the news at the press conference today."

She led the way to the common room which was large and spacious there was already a huge crowd gathered, all of them wearing the signature red polo shirt with the golden Amaterasu logo constituting a crown encased within a shining sun.

"Hey there kiddo!"

My lips split into a grin when I saw Peter Alonzo walking towards me. Peter had raced with Amaterasu for over 15 years, which meant that he'd actually been my father's teammate. The two of them had been fierce competitors on track and off it they had been close friends. They'd known each other since their go-karting days as children and had grown up together in the world of automobile racing. When my father had died Peter had made it a point to take me under his wing, he'd mentored me and been almost like a second dad to me.

"Hey, Pete." I greeted him as he squeezed my shoulder affectionately.

"Big day, huh?" He spoke in a hushed tone. "Don't worry Odette, you got this." His eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled down at me. Peter was one of the very few people who knew about the current situation.

A couple of people who recognized me because of my father greeted me, some gave me confused looks. I just forced my lips into a polite smile.

"Sorry, I'm late everyone." A familiar masculine voice called out. My heart gave an excited thump in my chest.

Axel Reinhardt

I watched as Axel's tall frame came into view. With his deep blue eyes, silky blonde hair and charming smile Axel was the known sweetheart of Formula One.

He was also a damn good driver. One of the best. He was the one who'd taken my dad's place in the Amaterasu team after the accident and so far he hadn't disappointed. Last year he'd lost the world championship only by a couple of points securing a position as the runner-up.

I blushed when I recalled having a signed poster of him hung up in my room a couple of years ago. Peter had given it to me for my birthday.

As if he'd read my mind Axel's gaze suddenly pinned on me. His eyebrows drew together in contemplation for a split second like he was trying to figure out who I was and then his face lit up.

"Oh, I know you! You're Dean's daughter." He walked up to me. "Your father was a legend." His expression grew somber. "It's a tragedy what happened to him. It's disgusting how Sylvan..." He cut himself off and shook his head, making the better judgment to not finish the sentence.

Some of the excitement I'd been feeling earlier seemed to simmer down.

"Axel Reinhardt, it's very nice to meet you." He extended his hand to me, which I shook. "What's your name?" He asked putting on that dazzling smile of his.

"Now that we're all here I would like to have everyone's attention!" Mei's voice suddenly boomed across the room. She stood in front of the room speaking into a microphone. When her eyes met mine she motioned for me to come to her.

"You'll find out soon enough." I gave Axel a small smile before turning to walk towards the front of the room. Peter gave me a thumbs-up.

She continued speaking as I found a place to stand behind her. "I know you've all been desperately waiting for this year's driver's lineup to be announced." Mei grinned. "For the first driver's seat this season as most of you already know, I'm pleased to announce that Axel Reinhart has agreed to extend his contract with us for another year." There were a series of cheers and whistles of excitement from the crowd but they quickly died down as they all waited for the actual announcement, who was the driver replacing Peter.

Mei took a deep breath, even though she seemed poised on the outside I knew she must have been feeling an insane amount of pressure as the team Principal.

She spoke with clear conviction, her voice unwavering. "Regarding our second driver's seat for this season, we are thrilled to announce that the position will be filled by Odette Rhodes."

There was stone-cold silence.

"I'd had my eye on Odette for some time. She'd been driving for the Summit Racing Team in Formula 2 for three years now and she's won the championship titles three years in a row. She was also considered the best driver during her four years racing in Formula 3 and broke various records including her father's for the fastest lap!"

Mei turned to me and gave me an encouraging nod. "Odette will now speak to you all. I expect you to make her feel welcome here at Amaterasu Racing because not only is she driving for us but she is also the daughter of our most honored driver Dean Rhodes."

My hands shook as I took the mic from Mei.

"Hello, everyone," I spoke into the mic, trying to keep my voice as steady as possible. "I just wanted to tell you all how grateful I am for this opportunity and what an honor it is to be racing for the same team my father did for almost the entirety of his career." I looked around at the sea of faces all focused on me, "I know this must come as a shock to some of you, I know this situation is a little out of the ordinary but I just wanted to let you all know that if you give me the opportunity I will work hard and I will prove myself to you." I smiled. "I look forward to working with you and doing everything in my power to win the Constructor's as well as the Driver's Championship this year."

There was a beat of silence after I finished speaking.

And then everything erupted into chaos.

"This must be some kind of joke!" Someone shouted.

"We might as well kiss goodbye to the Championship title this year." I heard someone else say.

"We didn't bust our asses all these years to become part of some woke propaganda!"

"This isn't right!"

All the shouts of protest seemed to merge into a mesh of unintelligible angry voices.

I could feel my entire body seize up in panic as dread and mortification threatened to consume me.

I'd known I'd encounter some resistance but I hadn't imagined it would be of this level.

Shame and anger churned in my gut.

How could all these people judge me this way without even knowing me? How could they make these assumptions without even bothering to see what I had to offer?

"Silence!" Peter's livid voice boomed across the room, forcing everyone to go silent.

"This is absolutely pathetic behavior." Peter seethed, as he walked up to where I was standing. "In all the fifteen years I have been here this is the first time I've ever felt ashamed to be a part of this team." His eyes flashed in anger as he addressed his teammates. "You should know that I was the first person Mei consulted regarding this decision and I couldn't have been more ecstatic to know that one of the currently best-known talents in motorsport would be taking my seat." He turned me his mouth set. "Before drawing conclusions without doing any research you should also know that Dean Rhodes the man responsible for most of our Championships and the man responsible for singlehandedly making the team what it is today also believed in her and pushed her to stand where she's standing today." He crossed his arms over his chest. "So how about you all show her some fucking respect!"

Pete was one of the gentlest kindest souls I knew. This was the first time I'd actually seen him angry and even though it was a little scary it warmed my heart to know that he was willing to go against his team to stand up for me.

"Peter is absolutely right." Mei's voice broke in as she stepped forward. "If anyone has any questions they are welcome to come to my office and talk but this type of disrespect will not be tolerated! Is that clear?"

Thankfully no one dared to speak after that. Slowly, the crowd dissipated as people headed over to finish their assigned tasks.

~~**~~

After wandering aimlessly through the building and coming to the conclusion that no one was really willing to talk to me I decided it was better to just go back to the hotel and rest for a while before the press conference.

I made my way to Mei's office so I could tell her I was leaving and to thank her once again for putting her trust in me.

Just as I was about to knock on the door the sound of arguing voices inside caught my attention.

The female voice I immediately recognized as Mei and when he spoke I realized that the other person was actually Axel Reinhardt.

"How could you deceive me like this?" Axel demanded.

My heart thudded wildly in my chest and even though I knew I shouldn't, I leaned closer to the door.

"I did no such thing." Came Mei's clipped response.

"Oh, yeah?" Axel countered. "Then how come you waited for me to extend my contract for another year before announcing that my teammate was a woman? Was it because you knew I would leave if I'd known earlier?"

I could my heart drop to the pit of my stomach.

I heard Mei's laugh of disbelief. "You have to be kidding me right now Axel. I told no one except Peter because I didn't want the news to get out beforehand and initiate a media frenzy till it was absolutely necessary."

"Bullshit!" Axel spat out. There was so much venom in his voice that it was hard to fathom that this was the same man who'd been speaking to me so sweetly a while ago.

"Watch your tongue." Mei's voice was quiet but unyielding. "I'm the team Principal so keep in mind you not only have a teammate who's a woman you're also working under one."

"Mei-" Axel started but she cut him off.

"You extended your contract because you trusted we would provide you with a great car, who your teammate is doesn't change that. So why don't you focus on what's really important, which is winning the championship."

I could hear him scoff, "That is what I'm trying to tell you, Mei. With her driving for our team the Championship is as good as lost. She might have done well in Formula 2 and 3 but those are completely different cars and stakes, you know that." He paused his voice becoming weary. "And I'm not being a sexist when I say this, it's just facts. It's basic biology." He paused before continuing,

"A woman cannot be a Formula 1 driver."

I walked away. I couldn't bring myself to listen any further.

My hands curled into fists.

So much for working as a team.