My Formula 1 System

'Could it be...?'

Luca had asked himself after witnessing the encounter between Mrs. Hawthorne and Daniel Kingston.

Luca was certain he could see little Harry's features in Dan's face, starting from the manner and shape of his concave jawline, his monolid eyes, and his smirk. Although there was a fierce drag of resemblance with Adrian too, he was still sure that Harry looked a bit like Daniel Kingston, even without considering the conspicuous hair type.

Yes, such a clue might easily tempt one into suspecting that Mrs. Hawthorne had once carried on an affair with a man decades her junior, resulting in Harry's birth, but Luca's mind was far from dwelling on scandal. His intelligence was grinding in overdrive, piecing together implications and connections that went far beyond this kind of gossip.

Yes, the thought of an affair lingered as a possible explanation, but when Luca pressed it under the lens of reason, it quickly crumbled.

From what he understood, Daniel Kingston was only twenty-three or twenty-four at best. So, for him to be the father of a six-year-old would mean he had been barely sixteen or seventeen at the time.

The idea of Mrs. Hawthorne engaging with someone that young was implausible, and Luca recoiled from it because he wouldn't allow himself to believe it of her.

Charles Kingston.

Father to Daniel Kingston and Genevieve Kingston, husband to the late Madeline Kingston, head of the Kingston empire—holder of expansive stock portfolios, owner of multinational businesses, co-owner of luxury hotel chains, silent partner in two European football clubs, sponsor of all polo clubs, owner of a horse racing team, and major shareholder in F1 by the team Bueseno Velocita and the manufacturers, Red Bull.

Charles Kingston.

Billionaire investor with ties in international real estate and majority shareholder in tech and pharmaceutical ventures. The man was more than wealthy; he was the pinnacle of financial success.

Sadly, all that wealth and legacy had trickled down into the hands of his scumbag of a son, Daniel Kingston, who wasn't afraid to squander it shamelessly. Lavish cars, penthouses, and a parade of vices marked his days. Slowly, he was just chipping away at the empire his father had built with grit and backbone.

At least his elder sister, Genevieve, was different from him. She had discipline and an industrious mind, ensuring her share of the inheritance multiplied instead of dwindling. Many in the family and the empire had hope in Genevieve because she had proved to be the leader, unlike the first son, who was supposed to be, by general societal expectation.

Other families and empires were steadily on the rise, and it would be a disastrous look for the once unassailable Kingston empire to sink beneath the weight of its own heir's recklessness. Rivals circled like sharks, ready to take advantage of even the smallest stumble, rivals like… Hawthorne.

A decade or two ago, the rivalry between the Kingstons and the Hawthornes was something well known, but it never developed into a volatile competition. This was because other families and empires crowded the field too, every single one vying for their slice of influence.

But the Hawthornes back then were like the rising underdogs, as Trampos were to the grid now. They were only just beginning to catch real recognition, steadily building a name but not yet commanding the dominance they sought. What they did command, however, was the attention of the biggest, baddest dog: the Kingstons.

What made the tension unique was that the true rivalry was never entirely about empire logistics or market control. The rivalry was personal.

Charles Kingston and Benedict Hawthorne had personal scores to settle, and it was all because of this woman: Margot Hawthorne.

Luca figured this out so far just with his brain and a day's peace. He knew Daniel couldn't possibly be Harry's father, so that meant it was Charles, no doubt.

If Charles Kingston had taken Margot Hawthorne into an affair barely a year after her husband's death, it spoke volumes—not of impulse, but of long-harbored desire.

Men of stature, nobles especially, did not pursue women lightly, not unless they truly felt entitled to them or genuinely wanted them. This was proof that Charles coveted Mrs. Hawthorne even while his rival still breathed.

Luca shrugged at such stubbornness and resilience. By the time of the affair, Mrs. Hawthorne had just entered her forties. What kind of beauty or charm did she carry that Charles could not let go, move on, and bury his obsession with his rival's widow?

How Mrs. Hawthorne managed to entangle both men remained a mystery in itself. Was she Charles's first love back in their school days, and then slipped away into Benedict's arms? Was she betrothed to Charles first and then later to Benedict? Who was the playboy, and who was the nice guy?

Luca couldn't fathom why Mrs. Hawthorne would choose to conceive a child so soon after Benedict's death, scarcely a year gone. The only reason he could think of was that Charles must've promised her a merger of both empires, so as to secure the Hawthorne legacy from collapse.

Maybe Mrs. Hawthorne herself was also moved by desire. It was even possible that the intercourse that conceived Harry wasn't even the first.

And all that just for Charles to die three years later from an unspecified cause.

No DNA data, no scientific claim, but Luca was still 100% certain of his instincts and reason. Every detail lined up too neatly to be ignored, and his gut told him the truth long before any test could.

Mrs. Hawthorne had also agreed to tell him why Kim had confronted them with guns in London, and this only reinforced his conviction.

With filters and pity baiting, she explained that she was stuck in the middle of a power tussle for a "business venture," where both groups did not tolerate neutrality, but a clear opposition to either side.

The first group—the one the Asian man, Kim, belonged to—wanted her to do nothing really, but to keep her shares in Trampos, cut ties where they demanded, and continue her quiet devotion to Ferrari.

The other group, however, demanded something far more absolute: that she sever herself entirely from Trampos, withdraw sponsorship from Luca Rennick, and cut all ties without leaving a trace.

She had come here, to the prince's palace, to hear what that second group had to offer, or perhaps to see if their demands carried more weight than threats alone.