I had a few errands to run before my race in the evening. With only two weeks left for the face-off, I wanted to be completely prepared. 

Though with the words that were exchanged between Ashley and me the other day, I was sure she was going for the kill. I wanted to give a tough fight before she could call me dead.

So, last week I had asked Calvin to set me up for a few basic illegal races. I knew there was a lot at stake now, but I also wanted to know what I was getting into when I signed that contract. It was all discrete and no one knew about that except for my team. 

My hidden face had an upper hand since no one recognized me. I only had to make sure that I wasn't attending their parties and I was more than happy to oblige that rule.

Dad didn't know about this change of racing style and I wanted to keep that way. I had limited my talks with him and I was sure he was noticing it too. I took him to the hospitals and cleared all the previous bills from the race money, but it still wasn't enough. Along with the old tests, he was recommended with the physical therapy as well as a psychiatrist meeting every week. With the extras, the bill never met the zero balance.

But more than money now, I was worried about Dad. He was being detached and I couldn't read him like before. If I looked close enough, I could tell that there was something that he was hiding from me and I was determined to find it out. But mostly, he look scared of me. It was as if he was walking on egg shells when he spoke with me. I had never seen Dad lose confidence like that ever before.

There was only one way to find out. I was going to that damned psychiatrist and get to the bottom of it once and for all.

I was living in the darkness and I was hunting for the light. With the words that Ashley had so casually thrown at me and with Dan's uncertainty, Dad's behavior seemed a little odd. I had considered that fact that I was not their own daughter. If that was the case, then it would solve most of my queries. It even answered why Dad had abandoned me all my life.

I quickly took a bath and ran a brush over my hair as I put on a causal jean and a khaki tee-shirt. I took the aviators from the table and hooked it to the shirt, pulling my phone from the charger as I made my way downstairs to meet him.

"Do you want a lift?" I asked Dad as I pulled a water bottle from the fridge. As I waited for the response, I emptied half the bottle and stared at him. "To the flower shop?"

"No, honey." He said, folding the paper and looking at me with a smile. "Paul called it an off day for me. They are all going to do the decorations and I thought it had been high time I stayed at home."

I nodded my head and refilled the bottle and put it in the fridge. "Okay, I'm going out now. I'll see you tonight." I said, walking over to grab the car keys. "There's morning's left over in the fridge for afternoon. I'll probably be here for dinner. If I'm not I'll call you, order something."

To my own ears I felt like a stranger, dressed up in classy old cloths, giving instructions to a new comer to the family. With the circumstances, I didn't know who I was anymore. Though I had a fair idea of the things that might have ran down, I wanted to know the truth about my existence. For that, I had to turn my heart into stone, just to protect myself.

"I was hoping I could spend some time with you." Dad said, hesitantly. I looked at him, for the first time ever since our conversation started. "You seem busy these days. Everything okay, sweetheart?"

It was not okay and he knew it. But he pretended that everything was going on great, which I couldn't tolerate. That was the reason why I left early in the morning and came back late in the night.

I took a deep breath. I wanted to try one more time with him before I took drastic steps. I closed my eyes, trying to get the courage to ask him things that I wanted to. When I opened my eyes and looked at him, Dad was confused.

"I met Ashley." I said looking directly in his eyes. I didn't dare to blink, afraid that I might miss the emotions that would so quickly pass in them. "You know the one against whom I'm racing." I added before he pretended that he didn't know who that was. "I have signed a contract according to her needs."

"What?" Dad asked, shock and betrayal spread all over his face. "Why didn't you tell me? Does anyone know at all?"

"Ever since you gambled, everyone knows it, Dad." I said. A look of hurt passed in his eyes and I resolve backed down. "I'm sorry. But yeah, another two weeks, she might set a date for the race."

"God!" He put his head in his hands. "I'm responsible for all that. What was I thinking that day? It was Friday-night-drink-night and I couldn't concentrate on anything. Before I knew it, I had put everything at stake."

"But you said you had hardly met Ashley." I asked, my eyebrows furrowed together in curiousness. "Only at parties and only a few words were exchanged?"

"Oh, she's cunning, alright?" He said, a wave of anger passed through him. "She wasn't there when we started. She probably joined in later. I don't remember."

That means, he knew whom I was addressing each time I mentioned her name. And why was I getting to know all these now instead of few months earlier? Hadn't I asked him enough about it? Or did I have to give him a cold shoulder to get things out of him?

"She told me everything." I said, looking away.

"What... she... she told you?" Dad asked and I knew I had caught him. "Oh, honey... I don't know how to explain all that..." Tears rolled down his face and I had never seen my Dad cry like that. "Your mother and I... things weren't... weren't going good."

That meant he had actually killed her in that race. I should have understood when Dan was stammering that night. Even if he had a fight with her, was my Dad strong enough to kill his own loving wife?

I hated him now. All the things that I had endured for him, seemed like pouring a bottle of water to the sea. It made no difference to him. He was a murderer. And I was his daughter. What did that make me?

Anger, hate and grievances took over me and I got out of the house without another word. I put on the glasses and went ahead, not wanting to let others know that I was having a hard time controlling my emotions. I had been hard trained, especially by Robert to keep on a poker face, but still I hadn't excelled that.

As I took deep breaths, making sure that my tears didn't fall, I knew I had to go to the doctor now. With the recent information, I was sure he would have put those words in the doctor to lessen his burden. Perhaps that was the reason why he wanted to stay in his wheelchair rather than take the therapy sessions... as a punishment.

I took a deep breath and started the car to reach the destination I had in mind.

One way or the other, I was getting answers today.

---

Doctor Alan was surprised to see me on the hospital grounds when I made my way towards him. My aviators was still masking my eyes from him and I let it be that way. He smiled at me and asked me if Dad was doing fine.

I nodded my head. "Could I have a word with you?" I asked, getting straight to the point. "I had a few questions about Dad's mental heath. If you are free can we go through it?"

"Yeah, sure." He said, a little taken aback. It was probably the sane me he had seen for the first time in his life. "I'm getting a sandwich for breakfast anyway. If you don't mind, we can have a chat in the cafeteria."

I told him it was fine and we both went to the cafeteria silently. I was pondering all the while about the things I should be asking, without being too obvious. If whatever Dad told was true, I also had to consider the consequences of the actions. Though it was years back, I had to consider the fact that it was a crime and if the records existed, Dad would probably be arrested for that.

"You okay?" Alan asked me as I stuck my glasses away and closed my eyes to steady myself. We had taken a corner seat and sat opposite to each other. "You sure you don't want anything to eat? You look pale? Did you have your breakfast?"

"Yes, yes." I said with a faint smile. "I'm really fine."

After a minute of consideration, he let me go. "Okay, Scarlet. What was it you wanted to discuss with me?"

I asked him about the questions that circulated in my head. Though I didn't ask him if he knew Dad had killed anyone, I told him if there was something he thought Dad was hiding.

"I don't know, Scarlet." He said. "We only talk about the physical pains. You should probably talk to his psychiatrist about it, though I'm not sure if she can reveal anything."

"It's worth a try." I said and got the psychiatrist number.

Dr. Rose Claire, was in the same hospital but on a different wing. I bid my farewell to the old doc and made my way to the new one, seeking answers. Though I wasn't sure if Dad would have revealed anything to her, considering how I got to know it only this morning, I thought it was worth a shot.

When I knocked on her door, her sweet voice welcomed me in. I took a deep breath before I entered. She was in her late thirties and looked very happy for someone who was working on a Saturday and with a patient she had nothing to do with. Her smile alone settled most of my nerves as she asked me to take a seat in front of her.

"Thank you." I said, looking at her. I was a little intimidated considering how she would read into my body language and take it back on me, yet I smiled back at her. "I hope I'm not disturbing your other patients."

"No," She waved her hand in the air, as if that was irrelevant. "No one comes this early on Saturdays anyway." She folded her hands on the table and gave me a neutral smile. "So, Dr. Alan says you want to talk to me about Edward Stone."

"Um... yes. My name is Scarlet." I said, tucking my hair behind my ears. "He's my father."

"Yes, I've seen you with him every weekend." She said. "It's very rare to see children take care of their parents these days. You are doing good, Scarlet."

"I had a few questions about him though." I said. Suddenly, I felt like a parent asking the teachers how their kids were doing in school during one of those parent teacher meetings. "How is he here? Has he told anything personal? Like our lives, my mother?"

"Scarlet, being a therapist here, I'm not supposed to reveal anything that I converse with my patients." She said. "Those things are confidential. If I were to reveal anything, then I could lose the job here."

I bent my head low, not knowing how else to deal with the subject. "Okay, how about only yes or no questions?"

Dr. Rose laughed at my horrendous requests. "Well, if I'm only telling that, then I guess that's okay." My face brightened about that. "Though, I should already tell you that there's nothing much that needs to be revealed. He doesn't open up much."

"I'll take my chances then." I smiled, the first time ever since the whole morning.

"I'll get my notes for you." She said, pulling out a few sheets from the drawer. I hoped she could just give that to me and be done with it, but I was okay if she was answering all my questions. "But you won't be having a peek at it."

I nodded my head. "Does my father talk about mom?"

"Yes." She said, smiling. "I really feel like we have changed our positions here. I usually ask the yes or no questions to the patients."

I ignored her sense of humor and went in for the next one. "Did he love her?"

"Yes." She said.

"He told you that?" I asked perplexed.

"No, but the way he talks about her, I know he loved her." She said, waving her hands in the air, as if it was the most obvious thing to ask her.

"Okay," I nodded my head. "Does he talk about someone called Ashley?"

"Only once." She said looking at the sheets. "Something about a race."

"Is there anything else with it?" I asked hopefully.

"There was a name though." She said. "Though he didn't tell me how, he feels deeply for her. Like he destroyed her life."

Another person whose life he had destroyed? I was confused and taken in by surprise. "Did... have you caught the name?"

"This is all off records, Scarlet." She winked.

I smiled at her. "I appreciate it."

"The name was Camilla."

---

Though I had got a few answers that I was looking for, I was not satisfied with them. The answers that I was seeking left me with nothing but a series of doubt behind. I had entered the hospital with handful of questions but returned back with a bag full of them.

With a new name in the mix, I was confused and lost with the new information. I walked frantically around the tent to put my mind to a stop. Going to the doc to find things just before the illegal race was not a good idea. I couldn't stop thinking about the things that the doctor had said, let alone think straight about the race I was about to face.

My hands shook and my stomach rumbled thinking about the possibilities. My breathing was staggered and a drop of perspiration trickled down my forehead. I released a shaky breath, wiping the sweat away from the back of my hand.

"You ready?" Dan asked, peeping in. "Another fifteen minutes to go."

"Hey, can you call Rob in?" I asked, hoping that his presence might calm me down. His flirts and random jokes might have to do the trick for now. "I want a pep talk."

"Sure." He said smiling back at me. The next second he was gone and I sat there waiting for my coach to show up. My tight bun made my head ache ten times more than what I was already struggling through. Not able to resist any longer, I went to the door to look if Rob was coming.

At a distance I saw Robert talking with Ashley and my stomach flipped. My hands clutched the edge of the tent, thinking what he was talking with her. He had bent his head and was kicking at pebble at his feet while Ashley was saying something to him. Though I couldn't hear a thing, I was sure that he was not liking how things were turning out. After a tight nod, Rob went the other way while Ashley came my way.

I closed the tent and sat on the stool, wondering what was going to happen. My breathing became shallower, anticipating her next move. My knees bounced up and down the floor as I ran my hands over my hair, pulling it slightly out of frustration.

She had purposely sent Rob away to have a private talk with me and I knew it. It would have been the best if someone else was there with me to make sure that I was doing okay.

I had told Calvin to make sure that she wasn't there in my races taking to me just before I was to race. Though my words were followed for the past few races, this time she had sauntered her way in, making me curse Calvin for making this happen. But then again, this was an illegal race and there was nothing we could do here. After all, it was her territory.

Slowly, the tent opened and a confident woman came in. Ashley was dressed elegantly for the occasion. Her high waist pants were white which was matched with a turtle neck shirt that was tucked in. With the outside heat, I didn't know how she was pulling it off. Her smile widened when she saw me sitting on the edge waiting for her move.

"Hey, Scarlet." She waved at me. "Long time no see."

"What do you want?" I said standing up. I crossed my hands and looked at her, wanting her to leave me alone. "Why are you here?"

"I was thinking of participating." She said looking away as my eyes enlarged in shock. I was not prepared for that yet. "Then it wouldn't leave much surprise for you at the finals, right?"

She was testing me, intimidating me and cornering me, like she always did. With her words, now I didn't know what I should be trusting.

"Then you should go." I said holding on to my ground. "I need to be alone before I race."

"Oh, you have those superstitions?" She asked, raising one brow at me.

"That's not superstition, it's called personal space." I said, my voice leveled with hers.

"But you don't know everything about your personal space, do you?" She asked, a wicked grin on her face. She had caught me red handed and though I could do nothing about it, I had to agree to her. I had been kept in the dark all this time and now that I knew about it, I wanted to know more now. "I heard you were asking around."

My breath hitched at that. She knew that, but how had she...?

"The cars and the tyres have ears, you see." She smiled, probably thinking about the ways she had got her hands on it. "So, did you find anything?"

I looked away. Though I had found something, it left me more with questions than with answers.

"Yes, my Dad is a great racer and he didn't kill my mother."

She laughed at my words. "Oh, a killer will never admit that, does he?"

"Shut up!" I almost screamed to silence her. I took deep breaths to calm myself down.

She smiled as she walked towards me slowly. It was weird that I was seeing her alone without any of her bodyguards near her. She placed her hand on my shoulder and I swear that she could feel my heartbeat.

"Why are you so tensed, darling?" She asked cocking her head to one side. "It's okay if your Dad is a criminal, you can't help it. Some are just born to wrong parents."

I pushed her hands away for which she only laughed, putting her head back and closing her perfect teeth. After hearing all that I only felt like pulling her hairs from the trendy bun she had on and pluck it out of her head. Though I was sad and confused, I didn't want her to add fuel to the already burning flames. Yes, I had questions but asking her would only mean that I was agreeing to everything she mouthed back.

"I've signed all your bloody contracts, what else do you need from me?" I asked, trying my best to hold my fingers steady. I was surprised to hear my own voice which was filled with malice just as the scene in front of me was asking for. "If you are done with your peppy talks, just get out."

"You shouldn't be the one kicking out, Scarlet." She said, resting her elbow on her folded hand. "I think you are just forgetting to know why all this started."

"I don't care!" I shouted, losing my nerve. It was high time that I did something to shut her mouth rather than ask her politely to leave. "Get out."

"It's a shame that you are fighting a dead battle with me, Scarlet." She said as a matter of faculty, ignoring all my words. "I thought you should know the reason behind your battles." She turned her back to me and took a step closer to the exit. "You are dying." She shrugged her shoulder. "After all, what's it going to hurt if you know some more?"

"There is no more." I muttered looking away. Those words alone seemed like a lie to my ears. The devil which had moved towards the exit turned back to me and smiled.

"Just because you didn't find anything on your hunt, doesn't mean that there is no more." She said and for a second I thought she was being nice to me. All her hatred was lost and I could only see another girl helping me out. Her smile was genuine as if she really cared for my feelings. "It only means that your Dad has hid things well." She turned around before I could read more from her features. The malice in her voice was back now. "If you start again... you should try with the name Camilla."

---

A/N: So, what do you think? Who is this mystery woman revolving around the heroine's life?