Two years ago
Alaric
"Mum is going to scream all night if we get there late," Bastien, my little brother, groaned from the passenger seat, tapping his phone screen impatiently. "Catherine, our grandparents, the whole damn lineage are all waiting for us, Alaric. Just step on it, would you?"
I glanced at him before catching my father's reflection in the rearview mirror.
Our father was lounging in the back, staring at his phone, and I knew that he was texting our mother to explain that we were running late.
"I already texted your mother," he announced lazily. "Let those who want to complain go ahead. A De Villier arrives when he chooses. There's no need to rush perfection, especially on a road like this."
I grinned, tightening my grip on the wheel as the car hummed beneath my hands.
"You are right, Dad, but the road is free and no cars move here around this time, so the road is clear as glass," I told him, but my father just snorted, completely uninterested.
"Come on, Dad, you were the king of the grid once. Don't tell me you are getting cold feet now that you are in the passenger seat?"
Bastien leaned forward between the seats, clapping his hands in agreement with the same boyish enthusiasm he had always had since he was little.
"He's right, Dad! Soon enough, I'll be the one out here on race weekends. I'm going to be a racer, Alaric! Just like you, like Dad, and the long line of racers in our family."
I looked at my brother and felt a surge of pride swell in my chest at the excitement in his voice.
"I'll be right there in the paddock to support you always, kid," I promised, my voice softening slightly. "We'll make you a champion. A real one, because your brother is the best F1 player in the world."
"Then prove it!" Bastien cheered, clapping his hands again as if he were already watching me on a podium somewhere.
"Hold on tight, Bastien. Dad!" I yelled as I shifted into a lower gear.
The car engine screamed in protest as the RPM needle climbed toward red, the powerful machine responding instantly beneath my control as it surged forward along the empty road.
The highway stretched ahead of us in a long winding path between the dark trees, the headlights cutting through the night while the tires gripped the asphalt smoothly.
For a moment, everything felt perfect.
The speed, the control, the familiar thrill of pushing a machine to its limits—it was the same feeling I chased every time I stepped into a race car.
Then the sky rumbled softly above us.
A few drops of rain struck the windshield, light at first, like scattered taps of fingers against the glass.
Bastien groaned loudly beside me. "Seriously? Rain now?"
"It's just rain, Bastien. It will be over in a few minutes."
But it didn't.
More drops followed, the light tapping quickly turning into a downpour as the road began to glisten beneath the headlights.
I reached forward and turned on the wipers, watching them drag across the glass as they pushed the rain aside in slow rhythmic motions.
"Relax," I said easily, keeping my eyes on the road ahead. "I've driven through worse conditions during races."
From the back seat, my father shifted slightly but still didn't look up from his phone.
"Just don't be reckless," he muttered.
I smirked faintly.
"Since when have I ever been reckless?"
The road curved gently ahead through the forest, slick now with fresh rain, and I adjusted my grip on the wheel as the tires moved across the wet road.
Suddenly, a pair of headlights appeared ahead.
It was bright, blinding, and far too close to avoid.
A massive truck burst out from the curve ahead of us, its horn blasting loudly through the rain as it barreled down the road toward us.
"ALARIC!" Bastien shouted in sudden panic.
My instinct took over, and I immediately jerked the wheel sharply to the side, trying to avoid the truck as the tires lost their grip on the road.
The car swerved violently beneath us, the back end sliding as the engine roared and the wheels screamed against the asphalt.
The truck went past us in a blur, but I had already lost control of the car.
The guardrail rushed toward us, and metal shrieked as the car slammed into it, the impact sending sparks flying before the barrier gave way beneath the force.
The vehicle lurched forward violently as it broke through and plunged off the edge of the road, sliding down into the dark forest below.
Everything happened in seconds.
The world spun around us, trees flashing past the windows while Bastien's terrified shout and the crushing sound of metal filled the air.
Then the car slammed violently into something solid, the force of the collision throwing everything forward.
For a few seconds there was nothing but the ringing in my ears.
I couldn't tell if my eyes were open or closed. Everything felt heavy, like my body had been buried beneath layers of stone, and the air inside the car smelled sharply of burning metal and gasoline.
Rain continued to fall, drumming against the shattered windshield as cold droplets slipped through the cracks and landed against my face.
The pain arrived slowly. First in my chest, then in my arms, then everywhere at once.
I tried to move my fingers, but they barely twitched even though they were still on the steering wheel.
"Bastien…?" I groaned as I forced the words out.
There was no answer.
My heart lurched painfully as I forced my head to turn toward the passenger seat.
Bastien was slumped beside me, his body unnaturally still, his phone lying shattered on the floor between us. Blood trickled down from somewhere near his temple, disappearing into the collar of his shirt.
"Bastien…" I rasped again, panic creeping into my chest. "Bastien!"
From the back seat came a low groan.
It was from my father.
Relief surged through me, glad that my father was still alive.
"Dad?" I called weakly, trying to turn further in my seat, but a stabbing pain shot through my ribs the moment I moved.
"Alaric…" my father's voice came faintly from behind me.
I had never heard him sound like that before.
Weak.
"Stay… awake…"
My vision blurred, but I blinked, remembering what my father had said.
I had to stay awake.
The rain grew louder, mixing with the distant wail of something I couldn't quite place. Maybe it was a siren, or maybe it was just the wind moving through the trees.
"Father," I murmured, though I wasn't sure if he could hear me.
My hands trembled against the steering wheel as darkness slowly crept in from the edges of my vision.
I couldn't keep my eyes open for long.
The last thing I saw before everything faded was Bastien's motionless figure beside me and the rain falling endlessly through the shattered windshield.
And somewhere in the distance, someone was screaming.
It took me a long time to realize the voice was mine.
That night was the last time the De Villier family would ever be whole.