Chapter 734
“Charlotte, are your hands okay?”
Adonis gripped the steering wheel tighter, eyes locked on the truck speeding away up ahead. His jaw was clenched, voice tense.
“I’m fine,” Charlotte answered, her tone flat. She glanced at her wrists, already swelling, her eyes cold and dangerous.
Both her hands were hurt. Whoever did this hadn’t held back.
Before anyone could say more, there was a sharp crack as Charlotte popped the bone back into place herself.
Jackson and Adonis exchanged a look, both wincing. Sometimes, Charlotte was almost scary, even to them.
“Charlotte, let me get the antiseptic and some bandages,” Jackson offered, already pulling out the first-aid kit.
Even though the bone was back where it belonged, the soft tissue would take a while to heal.
Charlotte held out her hands so Jackson could start wrapping them up.
“Our trail was covered, and the race hasn’t gone live yet. No one should have known we were with N Organization,” Adonis said, his face dark. “Who would be bold enough to pull this right under Solenia’s nose?”
Solenia had plenty of power players, but N Organization was one of the biggest forces around. Even messing with one of their low-level members would make most people think twice, let alone targeting their leader.
“Normally, no other group would be this gutsy,” Jackson agreed. “Charlotte, what do you want to do about this? Can you still race with your hands like that?”
Both hands were injured.
Charlotte snipped the gauze and flexed her wrists, a mocking smile tugging at her lips. “It’s not a big deal.” She paused, her eyes sharp. “As for who did this, I’ve got a pretty good idea. Tell our people to look into it quietly. Nobody makes a move yet. Wait until after the race, then bring me everything they find.”
“Got it,” Jackson replied right away.
“And one more thing,” Charlotte said, leaning back and closing her eyes for a moment. Her voice came out low and rough. “Don’t let Anthony find out I got hurt.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
***
At the convention center, Lydia stood by the window in a white doctor’s coat, nervously puffing on a cigarette. She stared out at the city, lost in thought.
Suddenly, her phone rang. She jumped, burning her finger on the cigarette. Swearing softly, she put it out and checked the empty room behind her before sliding her finger to answer.
“Hello,” she said, keeping her voice low.
“The driver was good. Didn’t kill her, but her hands should be useless now,” came a man’s voice from the other end.
Everyone knew that for a doctor, losing their hands was basically the end of everything.
“When I drove off, they didn’t even chase me,” the man added, sounding pleased with himself.
Around here, if you didn’t have connections, you just had to swallow your losses.
“Nice work Lydia said, a satisfied smile curling her lips. “I’ll send you the money soort Charlotte’s new here, has no one on her side. Don’t worry, even if she ends up dead, nothing will trace back to you.”
Crippled… sometimes that was worse than dying.
After hanging up, Lydia set her phone down and glanced at the broadcast
equipment set up for the competition. The look on her face was nothing short of triumphant.
Charlotte was doomed to lose this
time. Once Letty took the
championship, she’d be able to join the International Medical Alliance
and work alongside Lydia in a couple of years, when the board
elections came around, Letty would be a powerful ally.
As Lydia drifted off, imagining her bright future, her phone rang again.