THE PADDOCK CONTRACT PRINCESS

CHAPTER 14

The Sponsor’s Dinner

Henri’s request forced Sofia and Lucien into another family confrontation before the race. They arrived at the private residence after sunset, accompanied by security, and found Caterina waiting in the library. Henri was resting upstairs under medical supervision, but Caterina told them he had insisted on speaking with Sofia before the following morning. Elias was already there, standing beside the fireplace with a glass in his hand and the expression of a man enjoying a game whose rules everyone else had forgotten.

Sofia immediately distrusted the atmosphere. She asked why Henri wanted her there, but Caterina said he was too weak to explain himself through anyone else. Elias interrupted and suggested that Sofia was becoming too involved in family matters. Lucien stepped forward and told his uncle that Sofia was his fiancée and therefore had every right to know what concerned her father.

Elias smiled. “Fiancée,” he repeated, as though testing the word. He asked Sofia whether she truly believed Lucien had chosen her because he cared about her, or because she happened to be useful. Sofia answered that she did not need Elias to explain her own relationship.

Caterina looked at her with approval. Lucien told Elias to leave, but the older man refused. He said the family board had concerns about the engagement and that several directors believed Sofia had gained access to confidential racing information. Sofia laughed because the accusation was absurd.

She told Elias that if she wanted confidential information, she would not need to steal it because Lucien had voluntarily shown her the engineering data. Elias looked at Lucien and said that was precisely the problem. He warned that personal attachments had already compromised Lucien’s judgment once before.

Sofia noticed Lucien tense. She asked what Elias meant, but he smiled and said that some family histories were better left buried. Before Sofia could press him, Caterina ordered Elias to stop.

The confrontation ended when a staff member informed them that Henri had fallen asleep and could not receive visitors. Caterina apologized and asked Sofia to return the next day. Sofia agreed, but she noticed Elias watching her as she left.

The next evening, Vantari hosted a private sponsor dinner. Chase Bennett had flown in from Texas specifically for the event, bringing several investors who controlled major commercial agreements. Sofia attended beside Lucien, dressed in a simple black gown chosen by Margaux because she refused to wear anything that made her feel like a decorative accessory.

Chase greeted her warmly. He asked about her aerospace work and appeared genuinely interested until she mentioned her father. His expression changed for only a second, but Sofia noticed. She asked whether he had known Mateo, and Chase replied that he knew of him.

Sofia pressed further. Chase said Mateo had once been considered a visionary but had become involved in a controversial technology project that created problems for several investors. She asked whether he believed Mateo stole anything. Chase said, “I believe your father understood the value of something powerful people wanted to control.”

Lucien immediately intervened. He told Chase that the conversation was over. Chase smiled and said he was only answering Sofia’s questions. Then he turned toward Lucien and said, “You should answer them yourself.”

The words created tension around the table. Sofia asked Lucien what Chase knew that he did not. Lucien said Chase had invested in Vantari long before he became team principal and had access to historical financial records. Chase leaned back and said there were records that even Lucien had never seen.

Sofia asked whether those records concerned Project Sovereign. Chase did not answer directly. Instead, he told her that the project had once represented a technology race between aerospace companies and Formula One teams, and that whoever controlled the final design could have gained enormous commercial power.

Lucien’s expression hardened. He asked Chase why he was discussing the project now. Chase answered that he was concerned because Vantari’s current financial future depended on the technology, whether Lucien knew it or not.

The dinner ended abruptly. Lucien took Sofia outside, where the Monaco air had cooled. He apologized for Chase’s behavior, but Sofia said the problem was not Chase. She told Lucien that every person around him seemed to know something about her father that he did not.

Lucien admitted that his family had kept him deliberately uninformed. Sofia asked whether he could live with that anymore. He said no.

Then he told her that he intended to confront Henri after the race. Sofia asked why they should wait. Lucien said because the Monaco Grand Prix represented a financial turning point for Vantari, and if the team failed, the board could move against him immediately.

Sofia looked toward the lights of the harbor. She understood now that the race was not merely about trophies. It was about control of the team, the family shares, and perhaps the technology her father had created.

Lucien stepped beside her. Their shoulders almost touched. Sofia looked at him and said, “If we survive this, I want the truth.”

Lucien answered, “If we survive this, you will have it.”

The next morning, Sofia entered the Vantari garage before sunrise. The car was ready, the mechanics were in position, and the entire team waited for the race that could determine Lucien’s future. As she studied the telemetry, she noticed a strange pattern in the car’s temperature data.

It looked exactly like the thermal behavior described in Mateo’s Sovereign notes.

Sofia looked toward Lucien. He saw her expression and immediately understood that something was wrong. Before either could speak, the race engineer announced that the car had developed an unexpected overheating issue.

The Monaco Grand Prix was about to begin.