From Bullets To Billions novel Chapter 508

Chapter 508: The Last Change (Part 2)

Later on, Stephen returned to the hospital where Chris was being treated. The moment he stepped inside, it was clear that he wasn’t the only one who had suffered injuries recently. The nurses noticed his hands almost immediately. His knuckles were swollen, split open in several places, the skin torn and raw. Dried blood clung to his fingers, and there was a stiffness to the way he moved them that suggested more than just surface wounds.

One of the nurses gently took his hands, turning them slightly under the light.

"You’ve done quite a number on these," she said. "There’s a good chance you’ve fractured something."

Stephen barely reacted to her words. Pain was something he had grown used to over the years. Broken bones, cracked knuckles, torn skin, these were all familiar companions to him. His hands had broken many times before, and over time they had grown stronger, tougher. Still, fighting bare-handed wasn’t the same as being in the ring. There were no gloves, no wraps, no rules. What he had done wasn’t something his body was built to endure repeatedly, and now the damage was clear.

The nurses cleaned his wounds carefully, wrapping his hands and giving him basic treatment. They warned him not to strain them, to rest, to come back if the pain worsened. Stephen nodded along, barely listening. His mind wasn’t on his injuries.

It was already the day after he had caused chaos at Game Changer Promotions.

His hands hurt more now than they had the night before. The adrenaline had worn off, leaving behind a dull, persistent ache that pulsed with every heartbeat. The swelling had become more pronounced, and the stiffness made even small movements uncomfortable. But that wasn’t why he had come back to the hospital.

Part of him had expected something else to happen by now.

Kreg was the type of man who didn’t let things go. Stephen knew that better than anyone. After everything that had happened, after what he had done, it wouldn’t have surprised him if men were waiting for him outside, or if someone had already made a move against the gym. That fear lingered in the back of his mind as he walked through the hospital corridors.

Yet there was nothing.

No one followed him. No suspicious figures hovered nearby. No phone calls, no threats, no retaliation. The gym was still standing. No one had been hurt.

Once he realized that, at least for now, it seemed safe, Stephen finally headed toward Chris’s room.

When he entered, the sight in front of him made his chest tighten instantly.

Chris was no longer lying in bed.

Instead, he was sitting in a wheelchair.

His legs were heavily bandaged and casted, completely immobilized. Tubes and medical equipment surrounded him, and the chair itself looked too large, too foreign for someone Stephen had always known as strong and immovable. Seeing him like that shattered something inside Stephen.

His knees buckled.

Stephen dropped to the floor in front of him, the sound of his knees hitting the tiles echoing softly through the room.

"I’m... I’m sorry," Stephen said, his voice breaking. Tears spilled freely down his face. "I’m so sorry. I couldn’t help you."

The words poured out of him, heavy and uncontrollable. He didn’t know which moment he was apologizing for, ignoring him, hesitating back then, or everything that had followed. Maybe all of it.

Chris stared at him for a moment before scoffing.

"What the heck are you crying about, you idiot?" Chris said sharply. "Judging by your hands, I think you’ve figured out exactly what happened. You shouldn’t have done that... you really shouldn’t have done that."

Even as he scolded him, there was no real anger in his voice. It sounded tired, worn down.

Stephen continued to sob, wiping his face with the back of his wrist, smearing tears across his skin. He kept repeating the same words, again and again, even though he didn’t fully understand what he was apologizing for anymore.

"I’m sorry... I’m sorry..."

Chris sighed.

"If you really want to say sorry," Chris said, his tone softening, "then you should say sorry for ignoring me all this time."

Stephen froze.

"And I should be the one apologizing," Chris continued, forcing a small smile. "Back then... I should have stopped you from taking that deal. I should have done something, anything, to make sure Kreg couldn’t get involved. I should have protected you and let you become world champion, just like I always said you would."

His voice wavered slightly.

"I’m sorry for breaking your dream."

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify