Like betraying me and destroying my privacy so he could control every aspect of my life, on and off the track.
My mind raced, pieces clicking together fast and brutal.
What else had he controlled?
Was the timing of Jesse’s custody push purely coincidental?
It started right after Singapore. Was it a coincidence that he suddenly had a lawyer, and one that Julian had tried to palm off on me a month before?
That didn’t make sense.
Unless someone put him up to it. Someone who needed leverage to keep me focused where he wanted me.
“Cormac Steele,” I said.
Julian’s expression flickered. A crack in the ice.
“What about him?”
“Did you give his number to Callaghan?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
But his jaw tightened, and he stiffened.
“Yes, you do. You gave Callaghan his number.” I stepped closer. “Put him up to the custody fight. Told him exactly what to say, what to threaten.”
“You’re being paranoid.”
I laughed, but nothing about it was funny. “You just admitted to blackmailing your own daughter and you think I’m the one who’s lost the plot?”
“Watch your tone, Griffin. You’re still my driver.”
“Not for long. You orchestrated a custody battle using my daughter as leverage. A baby. You threatened an infant to manipulate me into performing better on the track.”
“If I hadn’t stepped in, you’d have burned your own career to the ground. You can barely keep yourself together. I was protecting the team.”
I snorted.
Julian’s eyes narrowed. “I created the right environment for you to succeed. That’s my job.”
“Your job is managing a racing team. Not playing puppet master with people’s lives just because you bought the shares.” My voice was getting louder. I didn’t care anymore. Let the journalists hear. Let the cameras pick it up. “How much did you pay him?”
Silence stretched across the garage. Nobody moved. Nobody breathed.
Julian’s jaw worked. “Everything I do is for the success of this team. For the championship. You were getting distracted and someone had to refocus you.”
“By threatening to take Hazel away from me? That’s your idea of motivation?”
“It worked, didn’t it? Austin was brilliant. You drove like the champion you’re supposed to be.”
He wasn’t even trying to deny it or deflect it anymore. He was just standing there admitting he’d weaponized my daughter against me.
“You never take responsibility for anything, do you? If something goes wrong, it’s my fault. If Callaghan acts like a psychopath, it’s because I provoked him. If the team implodes, it’s because I distracted myself. You ever stop to think that maybe you’re the problem? Or is that not in your vocabulary?”
He scoffed. “I keep this team running. I protect you from yourself. You think you’re clever, but you never saw the bigger picture. You never even noticed the eyes on you.”
The truth was, I hadn’t noticed. I’d been so wrapped up in her that I’d been completely blind to it.
