From Bullets To Billions novel Chapter 292

Chapter 292: What I Owe Her

Right now, Max was living a double life.

One life as Max Stern, the heir to the Stern family’s empire, constantly tangled in the web of his family members’ affairs, burdens, and dangerous troubles. Whenever a difficult situation needed handling, whenever a storm in the Stern world threatened to spiral out of control, Max had Aron to step in and quietly make it disappear.

Then there was his other life. The one at school, where he was Max Smith, the untouchable leader of the Bloodline Group. The so-called delinquents who held influence not only in one school, but across several in the entire Brinehurst area.

Before, it had been Jay who acted as his right hand in this world, the one who would help him settle disputes and keep the group together. But now that role had shifted to Joe, who was doing a surprisingly solid job of keeping everything in order, making sure the Bloodline’s hold on their territory didn’t weaken.

During lunch, Max had decided to skip the usual noise and clear his head. He wandered through the school halls at an unhurried pace, his thoughts a restless tide. He weighed scenarios in his mind, how events might play out, how he could use both sides of his life to his advantage, how each mask he wore could push him closer to what he ultimately wanted.

The corridor was unusually quiet. Nobody approached him. Nobody even tried. Most people were keeping their distance, fully aware of what had happened, aware that Abby was gone.

Rumors had spread like wildfire in the days before. Many believed Abby and Max had been together. Their arrival at school together on multiple mornings had been enough to set tongues wagging. Now, with her absence, whispers seemed to follow Max everywhere he went.

It was peaceful enough, until it wasn’t.

A sudden grip closed around his wrist. Someone yanked him into an empty classroom.

This again... Max thought as the door shut behind them. Not the first time... and I’m willing to bet it’s the same person.

Sure enough, it was. Sheri.

She all but shoved him backwards until his shoulders hit the wall. Her hands braced against him as she stood close, her eyes locked on his face. For a moment, she didn’t speak, just stared, searching for words she couldn’t seem to find.

"You’re looking at me like you want to kill me or something," Max said evenly. "And yet, you’re just standing there."

"Argh!" Sheri finally broke, stepping back and pulling her hands away from him. "Why do you have to be such an arsehole when I was actually worried about you?"

Her voice was sharp but her eyes betrayed something softer.

"I wanted to check on you... you know, after what happened with Abby." Her voice dipped lower. "She was... she was a good person. Better than I realised."

Max exhaled heavily, a sigh that carried more weight than he cared to show. He’d already cried enough in the days after. Abby wasn’t someone he could just erase from his mind, no matter how much he tried to bury the ache.

"I’m not doing fine," he admitted quietly. "But I have my own ways of dealing with it. You don’t have to worry about me."

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify