"And if I can't?"
Victor smiled.
"You admit Garrett's garage isn't as good as you think."
Garrett laughed.
"You came here for a show?"
"I came here to test talent."
Owen looked at Garrett.
Garrett shook his head.
"You don't have to."
Owen looked back at Victor.
"One hour?"
"One hour."
"Deal."
Victor smiled.
The timer began.
Owen walked around the motorcycle.
He didn't touch it.
He listened.
He smelled the exhaust.
He checked the dashboard.
He looked underneath.
Ten minutes passed.
Then twenty.
The bikers grew impatient.
Victor watched with satisfaction.
Garrett remained silent.
At thirty-two minutes, Owen opened the side panel.
At forty minutes, he removed a connector.
At forty-five minutes, he looked at Victor.
"You sabotaged it."
The garage exploded into whispers.
Victor's smile vanished.
"What?"
Owen held up a small component.
"This sensor was deliberately disconnected."
Victor laughed.
"That's ridiculous."
Owen looked at Garrett.
"Start it."
Garrett walked over.
He pressed the ignition.
The engine roared.
Silence.
Owen turned toward Victor.
"You knew it wasn't broken."
Victor's face hardened.
"I wanted to see if you could tell."
Owen shook his head.
"No."
He placed the sensor on the table.
"You wanted to embarrass me."
Victor stared at him.
Owen continued.
"But now you owe me ten thousand dollars."
Someone laughed.
Victor looked furious.
"You think this is funny?"
"No."
Owen picked up the envelope.
"I think a bet is a bet."
Garrett smiled.
The bikers erupted.
Victor turned and walked away.
At the door he stopped.
He looked back at Owen.
"This isn't over."
Owen answered quietly.
"I know."
The File
The following week, strange things started happening.
Customers canceled appointments.
Suppliers suddenly demanded immediate payment.
The landlord received complaints about Iron Rail.
An anonymous report accused the garage of environmental violations.
Garrett knew it wasn't coincidence.
Victor Kane was applying pressure.
Owen started documenting everything.
Every phone call.
Every letter.
Every inspection.
Every date.
Garrett noticed.
"You think we're going to war?"
Owen shook his head.
"No."
"What then?"
"We're going to court."
Garrett laughed.
"You eighteen-year-olds are terrifying."
Owen smiled.
But then something unexpected happened.
One evening, Owen found an old envelope in the garage office.
It belonged to his father.
Inside was a photograph.
Daniel Carter standing beside a motorcycle.
Next to him was a younger Victor Kane.
Owen froze.
He stared at the picture.
On the back was a handwritten note.
Victor promised he would make things right. He never did.
Owen's heart began pounding.
He ran to Garrett.
"Look."
Garrett studied the photograph.
"Who's that?"
"My father."
"And Kane."
Garrett looked at the note.
"What does it mean?"
"I don't know."
They searched the old files.
Eventually they found a faded contract.
Daniel had once worked with Victor Kane on a motorcycle manufacturing project.
The project had failed.
But the documents suggested Daniel had been cheated.
Money had disappeared.
Intellectual property had been transferred.
Garrett stared at the paperwork.
"Your father didn't just work for him."
"No."
Owen's voice was quiet.
"He trusted him."
Garrett looked at him.
"Then maybe this isn't just about Iron Rail."
Owen shook his head.
"No."
"It started before I was born."
The Hidden Design
Owen spent days studying his father's documents.
There were technical drawings.
Engine designs.
Prototype schematics.
And one file labeled:
Project Atlas.
Owen opened it.
His hands began shaking.
The design was brilliant.
It described a new engine-control system capable of improving fuel efficiency while reducing emissions.
His father had designed it.
But the patent belonged to Kane Automotive.
Owen looked at Garrett.
"My dad invented this."
Garrett studied the documents.
"Are you sure?"
Owen nodded.
"I've seen his handwriting."
"Why didn't he have the patent?"
"I don't know."
They searched deeper.
A lawyer's letter from fifteen years earlier explained everything.
Daniel had challenged the patent transfer.
Then he had withdrawn the lawsuit.
There was no explanation.
Owen couldn't understand it.
Garrett could.
"Someone pressured him."
"But who?"
Garrett didn't answer.
Then Owen found a bank record.
A large payment.
Made to an account controlled by Daniel Carter.
The payment had occurred two weeks before Daniel's death.
Owen stared at the number.
"That's impossible."
Garrett read it.
"What?"
"My father never had this kind of money."
They investigated the account.
It had been closed immediately after Daniel's death.
Someone had tried to erase the trail.
Owen sat back.
His father's death suddenly felt different.
Not because the accident had been fake.
But because someone might have had a reason to silence him before it happened.
Garrett put a hand on Owen's shoulder.
"Don't jump to conclusions."
"I know."
"We need evidence."
"I know."
"Real evidence."
Owen looked at him.
"I know."
Then he opened another folder.
And stopped breathing.
Inside was a handwritten letter from Daniel.
It had never been sent.
The first line read:
If anything happens to me, look at Victor Kane.
The Accident
Owen couldn't sleep.
He read the letter again and again.
His father had written about pressure.
Threats.
Money.