From Bullets To Billions novel Chapter 117

Chapter 117: The Scum Of The Stern Family

The words echoed in Max’s head.

Chad Stern doesn’t have a single cent to his name.

It sounded ridiculous, impossible to believe from any angle. From the outside, the Sterns were untouchable. Their wealth was public, their companies thriving. They’d liquidated assets years ago and still had more than enough to burn.

And from the inside?

Max knew for a fact that each member of the Stern family had been given a billion dollars. Personally. Independently. That kind of money wasn’t just hard to spend in one lifetime, it was nearly impossible.

So how could Chad be broke?

Then, small flashes of memory started resurfacing.

At the fundraising event... he didn’t bid on a single item, Max thought. Every other Stern there did.

And when he introduced himself to the Curts... he said he forgot to bring a gift.

It hadn’t seemed important at the time. But now?

Could it be true? Could he really be out of money?

Across the glass, Dipter let out a dry grunt.

"From the look on your face, you didn’t know either," he said. "Hard to believe, right? But Chad dug himself into something deep, and it was pretty clear the Stern family wasn’t planning to bail him out."

He leaned back in his seat, bruises visible even in the dim light.

"I started asking around. Pushed for answers. Went back to the people who told me to cut Chad out. Figured maybe they had more to say."

He paused.

"And they did."

Dipter looked at Max carefully.

"You know anything about gang tiers?" he asked, clearly expecting Max to be clueless.

"I know the three," Max replied calmly. "Street gangs, organized groups, and syndicates."

Dipter paused.

He hadn’t expected Max to answer so fast, let alone accurately. He remembered Max working with a street gang to bring him down, but this? It felt like Max was more involved than before.

Maybe way more.

"There’s a syndicate in this city," Dipter continued. "A big one. They call themselves the Gilt Rats. Never met them, but they’re known for smuggling rare tech, forging IDs, and dealing synthetic drugs."

He leaned in slightly, lowering his voice.

"Most of the packages we moved? I found out they came from them. But everything was through layers, I never dealt with them face-to-face."

Max had heard the name before. The Gilt Rats were newer, but growing fast. He’d never crossed paths with them during his time leading the White Tigers.

But now he was starting to piece things together.

"They don’t handle things directly," Dipter said. "They work through a group one tier down, an organized crew called the Black Hounds."

"And that’s where Chad gets involved," Dipter said. "The Black Hounds push the substances. They run illegal gambling rings too. I don’t know how Chad first got tied in, maybe he was buying from them, maybe he got hooked. But eventually..."

He sighed.

"He started gambling. Hard."

Dipter looked at Max, voice low and steady now.

"He lost a lot of money. A lot. Enough to end up owing the Black Hounds."

Max sat back, eyes narrowing. If Dipter knew the full amount, he’d probably choke on the words. And that’s what made it worse.

If a crime syndicate had access to even a fraction of Chad’s Stern inheritance...

They’d be expanding. Making moves. Buying favors. Buying power.

It wouldn’t be the full billion, not with it funneled through intermediaries. But still... they’d be operating with more capital than most groups in the country.

I bet they forced his hand. Or tricked him into thinking he could win it back, Max thought, shaking his head.

That stupid, reckless fool.

"As for who was watching over him... it was a group called The Rejected Corps. A street gang made up of ex-military types. Real discipline. Real training. They do whatever needs to be done, no questions asked."

He leaned back in his seat, letting the silence hang before adding, "But what I never figured out... was why he cared so much about you and that girl. Abby."

"I still don’t know why Chad has a vendetta against you. But honestly? I never cared. Not my business."

Then it made sense. He’d target Max. Try to manipulate him. Use the school to get close. Use Abby as leverage. Maybe even work on getting Aron out of the picture to get access to Max’s finances.

Control the heir. Access the fortune. It was smart. Twisted. Desperate.