From Bullets To Billions novel Chapter 303

Chapter 303: The Deal Interrupted

Inside the venue, on the grand ground floor of the mountain-top restaurant, Montez and Chrono still sat opposite one another at the long rectangular table. The heavy air between them was thick with unspoken history , years of turf wars, grudges, and bloodshed reduced to pen strokes and paper.

Stacks of contracts were spread neatly across the polished surface, the ink still drying on some of the earlier pages. In the underworld, such matters were never handled remotely. Deals of this magnitude , especially those involving organized gangs , were signed face-to-face, in rooms like this, where every nod and every glance carried weight.

Chrono leaned back in his chair, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. "You know," he said, voice dripping with casual confidence, "I have to admit, I’m surprised this is going through so smoothly. After how long you fought back, I expected today to be a fight-to-the-end kind of day. Maybe even a last stand."

He expected the Chalk Line Boys to pull one final trick , one desperate swing before surrendering their empire. Yet here they were, quiet, compliant, and prepared to hand over everything without resistance.

What Chrono didn’t know was that they had already tried that last swing.

Montez had wagered heavily on one man , Dud. They’d paid him an obscene sum to turn his back on the Rejected Corps, to slip a knife into their side and take out one of their key figures. It was supposed to be the move that tipped the war. But nothing came of it.

Dud had vanished. No strike, no betrayal. Just gone.

Montez’s jaw tightened at the memory.

Dud was one of the strongest in the Rejected Corps. If he’d at least taken out that man who never leaves Chrono’s side, maybe we’d have kept fighting. With Dud on our side, we could’ve turned it around. But no... Dud deserted us entirely. This is the price I pay for my own stupidity , for relying on a snake like him.

He scrawled his name across the final page, the scratch of pen against paper echoing faintly in the wide hall. Sliding the stack across the table, he left his hand resting on top, almost reluctant to let go.

Chrono’s smile widened as he reached for the pile. "What’s this? Cold feet? We’ve been over this again and again, Montez. Both sides agreed."

He leaned forward slightly, voice dropping just enough to add a taunting edge. "Unless... you want to do this a different way? Your best man against my best man. Winner takes all. It’d save us from an all-out brawl."

It was a tempting offer , in theory. But Montez knew the truth. The Chalk Line Boys had no fighter who could stand toe-to-toe with Chrono’s elite. Their strength lay in numbers, in weapons, in intimidation... but not in champions. It would be suicide.

Without a word, Montez removed his hand.

"I thought as much," Chrono said, lifting the pen.

"HELP!"

The shout cut through the hall, sharp and urgent. The heavy double doors burst open, and one of the Chalk Line guards stumbled in, breathless and wide-eyed. Behind him came the other three, all of them pale, panting, and visibly rattled.

The sight made a few of the Rejected Corps members chuckle under their breath , seeing their rivals so shaken was amusing in its own right.

"...He wouldn’t come here. Not today," Chrono muttered, the confidence in his tone wavering ever so slightly. "And if it is him... then the real question is, who the hell did he bring with him?"

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