Chapter 2 - THE CAR THAT WAS NEVER FOR SALE
Victor stepped between Nathan and the black sports car.
“There must be an error in the inventory system.”
Nathan pointed toward the sales card.
“The car has been detailed.”
“Priced.”
“Photographed.”
“And listed for private purchase.”
“That is more than a computer error.”
Several customers began recording with their phones.
Victor looked toward the security team.
“Clear the showroom.”
Nathan stopped him.
“No.”
“Everyone can stay.”
Victor lowered his voice.
“Young Master, company matters should be handled privately.”
“The shove happened publicly.”
“The explanation can happen the same way.”
Grant stood beside the security desk.
His face had become gray.
Nathan approached the driver’s side of the Ares X.
The door handle recognized his fingerprint.
The car unlocked with a soft mechanical click.
Victor flinched.
Only members of the Sterling family and archive engineers had access to the prototype security system.
Nathan opened the door.
The interior smelled of new leather.
His father’s initials remained stitched into the steering wheel.
D.S.
Daniel Sterling had called the car his final argument against ordinary design.
He wanted a machine that felt powerful without becoming wasteful.
The Ares X used a hybrid engine and an experimental regenerative braking system.
Daniel died before the car entered production.
The prototype was placed in a private warehouse under trust protection.
Nathan had visited it only once after the funeral.
Now it was sitting beneath showroom lights with a price tag.
He opened the glove compartment.
Empty.
A small rectangular indentation remained in the velvet lining.
Something had been removed.
Nathan looked at Victor.
“Where is the data module?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“My father kept an encrypted drive inside this compartment.”
“It contained the Ares engineering files.”
Victor shook his head.
“The car arrived without a drive.”
“Who authorized the transfer from the archive?”
“Our regional office.”
“Name.”
Victor hesitated.
“Derek Sloan.”
Derek was regional president for the western dealerships.
He reported directly to Marcus Sterling, Nathan’s uncle and the company’s acting chief executive.
Nathan took out his phone.
He called Marcus.
His uncle answered immediately.
“Happy birthday.”
“Where are you?”
“At headquarters.”
“Why is Dad’s prototype inside the Crown City showroom?”
Silence followed.
Then Marcus laughed.
“You went there dressed like that?”
Nathan looked at his torn gray shirt.
“That is your first question?”
“I told Victor you might visit.”
“He apparently failed to prepare.”
“Did you authorize the car’s sale?”
“We need to discuss this in person.”
“It is a yes-or-no question.”
Marcus lowered his voice.
“The prototype is a company asset.”
“No.”
“It belongs to the Daniel Sterling Design Trust.”
“You control that trust now.”
“Exactly.”
“You are eighteen, Nathan.”
“You need experienced executives making decisions until you understand the business.”
Nathan looked through the showroom windows.
A large silver sign carried his family’s name.
He had spent most of his childhood believing his uncle was protecting that name.
Now Marcus sounded less like a guardian.
He sounded like a man who had forgotten the guardianship ended at midnight.
“Cancel the listing,” Nathan said.
Marcus sighed.
“Do not create drama on your first day as a shareholder.”
“I’m not creating it.”
“I found it.”
Nathan ended the call.
Behind him, Grant spoke quietly to one of the security officers.
“I told Victor we should not put that car out front.”
Nathan turned.
“What did you say?”
Grant looked toward Victor.
Victor shook his head slightly.
Nathan noticed.
“You were fired because you shoved me.”
“That has not changed.”
“But you know something about this car.”
Grant’s arrogance had disappeared.
He looked frightened now.
“Victor told us not to let anyone inspect the wheels.”
Nathan stared at him.
“The wheels?”
Grant nodded.
“Especially the front left tire.”
Nathan crouched beside it.
The tire looked perfect.
Then he noticed the brake caliper behind the rim.
It carried a small red manufacturer’s mark.
The original Ares components had silver marks.
May you like
Someone had replaced the experimental braking system.
Nathan’s father had died when the brakes in his vehicle failed on a mountain road.
