From Bullets To Billions novel Chapter 636

Chapter 636: Getting A Loan (Part 2)

Max stood in the shadowed corner of the arena, his heart hammering against his ribs in a rhythm that matched the ticking of the sixty-second clock. He felt trapped, backed into a corner where he had no choice but to reach out to Dennis Stern. The problem, however, was the nature of the request itself. How was one even supposed to ask a man like Dennis for such a staggering sum of money?

Even if there was no cutthroat race to become the primary heir, or the intense competition Max was currently mired in, Dennis was not the type of person to just hand out capital for no reason. He was a man of cold logic and colder ledgers. What reason could Max possibly come up with that sounded sane? He couldn’t exactly explain that his superpowers were directly reliant on his bank balance, and that he just needed to hold the money for a few moments to gain a temporary boost before giving it back.

That clearly wouldn’t work. Beyond the immediate crisis, Max knew that asking for money this way would be a one-time gambit. He couldn’t continually rely on Dennis to bail him out whenever a fight got too difficult. This was all assuming he could even convince the patriarch to authorize the transfer in the first place.

"This is the first time you have called me directly in how many years, and the first thing you ask for is money?" Dennis’s voice came through the receiver, sounding calm yet dangerously sharp. "I’m rather hurt."

"A busy man like you, you didn’t expect me to just call you to say I love you," Max replied. He knew he had to tiptoe through this conversation. He was trying to mind-read Dennis through his actions and his tone, knowing that if he said a single wrong word, the situation would be over just like that. Ramon would close the distance, and the Stern family’s most promising "heir" would be a memory.

"Just to add, I do love you," Max said, feeling a wave of nausea at the words. It felt incredibly weird saying this since Dennis wasn’t his real grandfather, but he had to maintain the act to survive. "But rather than just empty words, I think it’s better to show you. I know what would make you more proud than ever, and that’s why I’ve been working quite hard on my businesses."

There was a pause for a long, agonizing moment, followed by a low chuckle from the other end of the line. In the board room thousands of miles away, Marsha Stern watched in shock as a large smile spread across Dennis’s face—a smile she rarely saw. It made her wonder even more who was on the other end of that phone call.

"The amount you are asking for... I can send it off," Dennis replied, his tone shifting back to business. "But you know what the deal is. Right now, all of you are competing against each other. If I sent it over, it would be playing favorites and giving you an unfair advantage, don’t you think?"

"Alright, fine," Dennis said, his voice decisive. "I’ll send over the money, but this is a one-time thing. And you should be careful, Max. If this turns out to be a bad deal for myself, you will learn what happens to my business partners that don’t perform."

Max gulped, a cold sweat breaking out on his neck. He wondered for a split second if Dennis even realized he wasn’t talking to his actual grandson, but to a complete stranger inhabiting his life.

"Alright, sounds good," Max said, checking the time. "But can you send it to my account right now? Like, right now. I’m in a bit of a rush, you see."

Max stood there, his thumb hovering over the refresh button on his banking app. He could hear Ramon’s exoskeleton beginning to whir as the scientist prepared to move again. He needed the 330 million to hit, and he needed it before the sixty seconds were up. This wasn’t just a loan; it was a lifeline, the final piece of the puzzle that would allow him to step beyond the limits of a regular person and finally face the machine head-on.