Chapter 7 - The Crash
The Mustang hurtled toward the cliff edge at eighty miles per hour.
"The brakes are gone!" Asher yelled over the roaring engine.
Panic surged through Chloe as the guardrail rushed up to meet them.
Asher didn't freeze.
He aggressively downshifted the transmission, the engine screaming in protest as it forcefully slowed the car.
He yanked the emergency brake and jerked the steering wheel hard to the left.
The Mustang spun violently, the rear bumper smashing into the heavy steel guardrail.
Sparks showered the darkness as the metal groaned.
The car teetered on the edge for a terrifying second before finally coming to a halt.
Chloe sat completely paralyzed, her breathing shallow and ragged.
Preston's Porsche zoomed past them, securing the victory.
"Are you hurt?" Asher asked urgently, unbuckling his harness and turning to her.
Chloe shook her head, tears of pure adrenaline spilling down her cheeks.
"He cut the lines," Asher growled, slamming his fists against the steering wheel.
"Preston tried to kill us."
They climbed out of the wrecked Mustang, standing on the cold mountain road.
The crowd of students began to gather, murmuring in shock at the damage.
Preston stepped out of his car, a smug, victorious smile on his face.
"Looks like you couldn't handle the pressure, Hayes," Preston mocked.
Before Asher could lunge at him, the sound of approaching sirens echoed through the valley.
Red and blue lights flashed around the bend.
The illegal street race was instantly broken up as teenagers scrambled into their cars to flee.
Preston didn't run.
He simply stood there, waiting for the police cruisers to pull up.
Two officers stepped out, but they didn't look at the damaged cars.
They walked straight toward Asher.
"Asher Hayes, you are under arrest for grand larceny and corporate espionage," the lead officer stated.
Chloe watched in horror as they snapped handcuffs onto Asher's wrists.
"What are you talking about?" Chloe demanded, stepping in front of the officers.
"He hasn't done anything!"
Preston chuckled softly, pulling out his phone.
"Actually, the security cameras at Kensington Global caught him breaking into the main servers last night," Preston said.
He showed the officers a video on his phone.
It clearly showed someone wearing Asher's signature leather jacket bypassing the security mainframe.
"It's a deepfake!" Asher shouted as they pushed him into the cruiser.
"Chloe, don't trust him!"
The police car sped away, leaving Chloe alone with Preston in the cold night air.
Preston stepped closer to her, his smile vanishing into a look of pure malice.
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"Now that the trash is taken care of," Preston whispered.
"We need to talk about that ledger."
