He ignored her attitude, cutting straight to it. “Is Lyra… Vesper?”
Poppy let out a sharp, icy laugh. “Don’t tell me you just figured out Lyra is Vesper.”
Joel frowned. “She never mentioned it.”
Poppy almost laughed out of pure rage. “Seriously? Your whole world revolved around Renee Slutz. When did you ever actually care about Lyra?”
The line went dead. Joel stared at his phone, panic flickering in his eyes.
1/2
Chapter &
+25 BONUS
Eleven years ago, Renee had sworn she was the Vesper who saved his life on the racetrack. She’d dropped all the right details, and since they’d known each other since they were kids, he never doubted her.
When Lyra came into his life later, he knew she was into cars but never bothered to find out if she actually raced. He remembered the day the doctors said his legs were finally healed after years of being stuck in a wheelchair.
He’d slowly gotten to his feet, pulled Lyra into a hug, voice shaky. “Lyra, thanks for saving my life.”
If it hadn’t been for her sticking by him, he probably wouldn’t have made it that far.
Lyra had just shot him a sly grin. “Counting this one, I’ve saved your life twice.”
He’d wanted to ask what she meant, but Renee’s call had yanked him right out of the moment.
Realizing he’d been played for eleven years, Joel was so mad he could barely see straight.
He stormed into the guest room, yanked Renee awake, and slammed the photo of Vesper in her face, his hand wrapping around her neck.
“How dare you lie to me!”
Still half–asleep, Renee squinted at the photo scattered on the bed. Jealousy flashed in her watery eyes, too raw to
hide.
“No way! That worthless woman–how could she be Vesper?”
Back then, even at sixteen, Vesper was already a racing legend in Lindale.
Joel leaned in, eyes burning.
“I’ve confirmed it. Lyra is Vesper. Vesper is Lyra