From Bullets To Billions novel Chapter 255

Chapter 255: Truth That Burns

It was as clear as day, so obvious, in fact, that even someone like Joe could’ve figured it out. Dud wasn’t just taunting Max. He was all but admitting it now. He was the one behind the hit-and-run incident.

The same hit-and-run that had been meant to take Max’s life.

The same hit-and-run that had ended up taking Jay’s instead.

Instantly, a flood of emotions surged through Max, starting deep down in the pit of his stomach, then rushing up like a roaring wave that crashed against the inside of his skull.

Fury. A rage that burned through every nerve ending in his body. It built from the tips of his toes, rising like a firestorm through his legs, his chest, his arms, right to his clenched jaw and narrowed eyes.

’He’s the one... the one who targeted Jay. The one who was supposed to take him out... This guy, this guy I’m standing across from, he’s the reason Jay died. A person I fought beside. A person I once believed was a brother-in-arms?’

Max’s teeth gritted tightly.

"Why?" he finally managed to ask, forcing the word through clenched teeth like it hurt just to say it.

He knew it was a risky move. Dangerous even. Asking that question could play right into Dud’s hands. Max had read enough, lived enough, to know what this was. It could all be part of the plan, to provoke him, to bait him into fighting with blind fury.

Because fighting with anger... it wasn’t like what they showed on TV. There was no magic strength hidden in rage, no second wind unlocked just by shouting louder. In real life, anger made you reckless. It made you easy to read.

And Dud, he already knew about Jay. He knew about the hit-and-run. That alone made Max question the entire situation. Was all of this just a game to him? A way to pull Max’s strings?

But then Dud answered.

"Why?" he repeated, and then shrugged casually, as if it didn’t even matter. "The reason’s simple."

His tone was too relaxed. Too smug.

"I guess you’ve done some digging of your own. If so, then you probably already know. The vehicle? It belonged to the Chalk Line boys."

Max’s heart pounded like a drum in his chest, louder with every word that came out of Dud’s mouth. These weren’t just guesses. These were details, real ones. Details that only a few people knew. Details Aron had uncovered... but hadn’t shared publicly. Aron had dug up the truth about the vehicle involved, but that information had stayed close to the chest.

Sure, it was possible that the Rejected Corps had conducted their own investigation, but would they really dig so deeply into the death of someone who wasn’t one of their own?

Unlikely.

Max had only told Chrono the identity of those responsible, so they could strike back. There was no way this had spread widely within the Rejected Corps. And yet... Dud knew. That meant something.

"When I joined them," Dud continued, "I was given a task, get rid of someone troublesome to the group."

He gave a shrug, as if it was just another job.

"There were plenty of targets, sure. But I could see it, you were going to be a problem. A big one. You had that kind of future written all over you. So, I figured, why not deal with you early? It was the easiest option. The cleanest."

His voice dropped lower, almost as if he were reliving the moment.

"It was all down to a single pin. If only that big friend of yours hadn’t thrown you out of the way... then it would’ve been you instead of him. Or maybe, just maybe, I could’ve taken out both of you."

Max’s breath hitched.

That was it. The final confirmation. He’d always known deep down, but now he was hearing it with his own ears. Jay had saved his life. Max had told the others in Bloodline that. He’d admitted that Jay had taken the hit meant for him.

But never, not once, had he shared the exact details with the Rejected Corps.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify