The events of Ansel's funeral had left Luca so shaken that he found himself replaying the whole thing in his mind again and again. The kind of treatment he received from Laura needed some sort of explanation. It was even for this very explanation that he had risen to his feet back then, taking a step forward to approach her.
But in response to his attempt, Laura—alongside Emma's mother—quickly gathered themselves and yanked Emma away, hurrying off from the column where they had once stood.
Luca was further humiliated by that second act, leaving him stranded in a whirlpool of thoughts. A part of him had initially assumed Laura had only called Emma's name in that sharp, alert tone simply because she had just spotted her and reacted out of instinct. But it was Emma's words that followed that flipped everything on its head, and Laura's urgency to distance herself from him made her feelings painfully unambiguous.
She had precisely told Emma to never speak with Mr. Luca ever again if she happened to encounter him—an adult order with anger and spitefulness imposed on a child.
The anger and venom blossomed out of nowhere when Laura began to make a list of life, a list of people she could lean on for help now her fiancé and father of her unborn child was dead.
While thinking of family, friends, and all the influential contacts she could possibly turn to, her mind compass eventually landed on one of the most influential contacts she had: Luca.
However, Laura did not let her mind stay at a place because she began to wander off and remembered how Luca had been doing all he had in his power to reject Ansel's proposal of peace and brotherhood, and to clear the air between them with amity instead.
From there, she developed a conviction that Luca didn't even deserve to be at the funeral. But with the FIA co-organizing the event, she had no say in who was permitted to attend.
Yes, Luca might be the wealthiest person she personally knew. But Laura had already dug her heels in. She swore never to go to him for help, and if he ever came offering assistance, she would reject it. She still had Ansel's sister, and a few other family and friends, and she believed that with their help, she could raise this unborn child… without a father.
What truly tore Luca apart was the fact that Laura seemed to have no clue that he and Ansel had patched things up before the tragedy. Hadn't Ansel told her anything? They'd had a phone call. They cleared the air, forgave one another, and had even made plans to meet up, just like old times. When Luca jumped out of his car and ran toward that raging inferno, it was that hangout that flashed through his mind. S~eaʀᴄh the NovelZone.fun website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
Luca kept wondering if Laura had even watched the race at all. She was never the type to follow Ansel's races, or any race in general. And if she had watched it, if she'd truly seen everything unfold, he was convinced she wouldn't be reacting in this manner.
Regardless, Luca had made up his mind. He was still going to help, forcefully if he had to. Maybe not directly through Laura, but through two or more of her family members. He didn't care if he never received any credit because he didn't want it. All that mattered was being able to do something. Because deep in his heart, it genuinely pained him to see Laura becoming a single mother, and Lukas… growing up without a father.
Just right after the news of Rodnick's scrutiny, Luca's preparations to Switzerland were complete, as if he had been waiting since forever to get the news. Truthfully, it was satisfying to hear, and Luca strongly admitted his satisfaction.
He had received many condolences for his burnt state from almost everyone in Jackson, but Rodnick's was yet to come, not like as if he and Luca had ever actually shared a true conversation on the phone.
Luca knew how this story would go, so he didn't bother. He just packed his belongings for an indefinite stay in Switzerland.
As usual, his mother was against the idea of him abruptly traveling to a strange country like Switzerland when he wasn't fully healed. Mrs. Rennick acted as if she wanted to keep her eyes on Luca and for him to always remain very close to her physically, from this moment up until her death bed of old age.
But Luca, at the peak of his youth, with testosterone divulging his very body system, couldn't succumb to her pleas. He had to clear his own path, not out of defiance, but from a quiet push inside: a need to think, to breathe, to be away from all the noise. He knew he couldn't just sit around hoping things would fix themselves. Somewhere, somehow, he had to figure out how to bounce back. Even if his next step wasn't clear yet, staying behind wasn't going to help.
Furthermore, he also needed space to think about his future and his career, since it was confirmed now that these burns wouldn't take his career from him.
What should be the next step for Luca?
Jackson Racing had just arranged, filed, and proposed a new contract deal that would keep him in the team for five more years. They had initially held a meeting concerning how Luca's injuries might affect his driving, but since they factored in how he broke his ribs last year and still did fine, burns—no matter how deep—don't essentially affect steering, maybe just slightly g-force endurance.
So, they went for it, and the proposal was currently sitting in Mallow's office. Jackson Racing definitely didn't want it taking this much time... the year's gradually coming to an end.
On the other hand, during the days of Ansel's funeral, Luca spoke to Mr. Lemaître, whom he believed was practically stalking him now. The man had lodged in the same grand hotel Luca and the rest were comfortably in.
So, even though Luca had a brief chitchat with him on the burial grounds, he was shocked to see that they even had more time together when Lemaître's car came rolling into the hotel's premises.
As we know, Mr. Lemaître's intentions were clear as day. Since Mallow was present, they had an official discussion about it.
At the end of it all, everything depended on Luca because it was his signature and it was his career.
He practically left everything on read, even the ongoing French Grand Prix arrangements, and traveled to Switzerland with his dutiful personal team. No depressed mother and no bratish sister to look out for.
The Hawthorne 3's white hull blended with the snow peaks as it descended on the frosted valleys of southeastern Switzerland. It appeared like a quiet white arrow, slicing through the sky toward the Samedan airport.
The plane kissed the runway and the tires touched the tarmac, wardens waving their hands to guide the pilot to a safe stop.
The airport was surprisingly empty, as if it was privately owned, and the atmosphere was tremendously cold. Luca's breath was icy as he returned greetings from the airport workers who glared at him with interest and awe.
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