Dumping The Ice King His Mini-Tyrant novel Chapter 482

The countdown buzzer blared, and as the clock hit zero, both go-karts shot off the starting line in perfect sync.

Quentin rose up on his toes, craning his neck for a better view of the track. He and Simon kept their eyes glued to the streaks of color zipping along the circuit.

But within seconds, Annalise Johnston was already trailing behind, and the excitement in Simon and Quentin’s eyes fizzled out almost instantly.

Quentin raked a hand through his hair. “I thought Annalise Johnston would be leading from the get-go.”

As Annalise fell further back, Simon’s anxiety grew. He muttered, “Let’s give it a minute.”

He’d barely finished speaking when the gap between Annalise and the kart ahead of her started to widen even more, right before their eyes.

“Whoa!” Quentin blurted, turning to Adrian with a teasing grin. “Mr. Shaw, your friend is pretty darn good!”

That’s when Quentin finally noticed Daph and Altair standing at Adrian’s side. He laughed, ribbing Adrian, “Mr. Shaw, didn’t realize you’re on babysitting duty today.”

He figured Selene must still be busy somewhere, and Adrian had stepped in to watch the kids for her.

Adrian didn’t bother to respond.

Daph puffed up her chest, beaming with pride. “My mommy’s amazing!”

“Uh-huh,” Quentin nodded absently, but a second later, her words sank in and he whipped around.

“Wait—what did you just say?”

“Selene’s racing Annalise Johnston?”

Quentin and Simon blurted out at the same time.

But Daph was already too caught up in the action, bouncing on her toes and waving her arms, shouting, “Go, Mommy! You can do it, Mommy!”

Quentin and Simon turned back to the track, trying to make sense of what they’d just heard.

Daph and Altair were waiting for her, right at the end of the track.

“Mommy, you’re incredible!” Daph cheered, while Altair clapped enthusiastically.

Annalise pulled off her helmet and walked toward them, doing her best to compose herself.

“Well played,” she managed, taking a deep breath and reminding herself to keep things civil. After all, this was Adrian’s friend. She offered her hand politely to the driver still sitting in the kart.

Selene climbed out, removed her helmet, and said with a calm smile, “Director Johnston, you got a little too eager on that last turn.”

When Annalise finally saw Selene’s face, her eyes widened in shock.

“You?!”

If she hadn’t seen it herself—Selene pulling off the helmet right in front of her—she never would have believed that the person who’d just beaten her so thoroughly was Selene.