From Bullets To Billions

Chapter 129: A Day Of Regret (Part 2)

A storm of thoughts crashed through Max’s mind the moment he heard the word taken. Was this Chad making a move? Trying to force Max into a corner, to squeeze him for his wealth?

Only Chad and Dipter really knew that people were a kind of weakness for Max, or at least for the version of Max he let most people see.

But then Max noticed something else.

When he heard the news... his heart had jumped. Not in fear, not even in anger, just sharp. Immediate. Real.

Aron continued, voice clipped and professional. ”The security team you hired was keeping an eye on her. They kept their distance since the situation wasn’t clear and didn’t want to escalate too early. But it appears Abby, and two other students, Cindy and Sheri, were taken by individuals from Seaton Academy.”

Seaton Academy.

Max’s brow furrowed.

Isn’t that the school we just formed an alliance with? What’s going on over there? Could it really just be a coincidence?

”Do you want the security team to intervene?” Aron asked. ”I can head over personally if needed.”

Max paused.

”No,” he said firmly. ”Just send me the location. I think I’ve got a way to handle this. Keep the team close, on standby. Only move in if things look like they’re about to get seriously dangerous.”

He didn’t expect high school students to go as far as murder. Not in broad daylight. Not in a semi-public place. That would bring way more heat than they could handle, especially with who the girls were.

None of them were troublemakers. They weren’t fighters, weren’t from gangs or street crews. But they had connections. Sheri, in particular, had people who would raise hell to find her.

They must’ve gone out today after everything that happened...

Max clenched his fist lightly at his side.

I know I’m not exactly to blame... but I still feel responsible. So I’ll take care of this. And maybe find out just how useful this ”alliance” with Seaton really is.

Right after ending the call with Aron, Max didn’t waste a second. He dialed another number. The phone didn’t even ring twice before someone picked up.

”I’ve got a situation,” Max said simply.

Inside the glass-walled party room of the bowling alley, the atmosphere was suffocating.

The three girls, Abby, Cindy, and Sheri, had been forced to sit shoulder to shoulder on one side of the long party table. Standing directly behind them were the three Seaton Academy girls and the rough-looking guys who had shown up earlier. Kira, Nightly, and Susan sat across from them, their eyes practically glowing with satisfaction.

”First things first,” Kira said coldly. ”I need to pay you back for what you did to me.”

She snapped her fingers. ”Synthia, slap the black-haired b*tch.”

Without hesitation, one of the Seaton girls grabbed Abby roughly by the back of her hair.

”What are you doing?!” Cindy shouted, pushing herself up from the seat.

But before she could take a step, one of the Seaton girls shoved her back down, hard, and dug her sharp nails into Cindy’s shoulder. Cindy cried out, biting back another scream as the pain shot through her.

”No one can hear you in here,” Nightly said with a chilling giggle. ”This room’s soundproof, built for loud birthday parties. So go ahead. Scream all you want.”

With no one stopping her, Synthia yanked Abby’s head to the side by her hair and swung her hand across her face.

CRACK.

The slap echoed through the room. Abby’s cheek flared red instantly, the sting blooming across her skin. She could taste iron in her mouth, blood.

”Hahaha, what did I tell you?” Kira said, grinning viciously. ”You should’ve stayed away from Max. Who do you think you are, huh? You said it yourself, you’re not part of his world. And now? Look at you.”

She waved a hand at all three girls.

”The fact that you can’t even handle this? Proves everything I said. Again.”

CRACK.

Another slap, this time to the other side of Abby’s face. Synthia didn’t hold back.

Sheri finally snapped.

”What do you want?!” she shouted. ”Money? An apology? Just say what it is, I’ll give it to you!”

Kira turned her attention to Sheri, who’d interrupted her fun. But she wasn’t mad, far from it. The situation was still going exactly how she wanted, and that alone had her in a good mood.

”Didn’t you say I had no idea who I was messing with?” Kira sneered. ”That if I touched Abby, I’d regret it?”

She leaned in slightly, eyes locked on Sheri.

”Well? Where’s that regret now?”

Kira laughed, shaking her head. ”You three are the ones getting punished. Not me. Like I said, you should’ve listened. Don’t get involved in this world if you don’t already belong to it.”

She broke into full-blown laughter, and Synthia raised her hand again, winding up for another slap across Abby’s already-swollen cheek,

Click.

The door opened.

Kira snapped her head toward the sound. ”Who the hell is coming in here now?”

The laughter died in her throat.

Three girls entered, each with bright, strikingly dyed hair. Their presence filled the room instantly, the tension shifting in an instant. Synthia immediately dropped Abby’s hair, backing off like she’d just touched fire. The other two Seaton girls froze, visibly nervous.

Aki stepped forward.

Her voice was calm. Cold. Dangerous.

”What’s going on here?” she asked.

”Boss!” the three Seaton girls said in unison, bowing their heads.

Sheri’s eyes widened.

That’s her? The boss of Seaton Academy? I’ve heard rumors... but I don’t even have connections to someone like her. What’s she doing here?

Aki walked forward without hesitation. The moment she reached Synthia, she didn’t waste a second. With a sudden, brutal kick, she drove the heel of her boot straight into Synthia’s stomach.

Synthia doubled over with a sharp gasp, collapsing to her knees.

”Who gave you permission to lay a hand on them?!” Aki shouted.

”Aki... wait, please,” one of the Seaton girls stammered, her voice trembling. ”We only did this as a favor. We go way back with Kira, from middle school. We didn’t think it was a big deal. We’ve done stuff like this before. Other people have too. We thought it was just... you know, nothing major.”

CRACK.

Aki’s hand lashed out, slapping the girl across the face so hard she nearly hit the floor. The smack echoed off the glass walls, silencing the entire room.

”You idiots!” Aki shouted. Her voice thundered with fury. ”You have no idea what you’ve done. You don’t know who these girls are. You don’t understand the people you just dragged into this.”

Her chest rose and fell as she tried to rein herself in, but the rage was clear.

”Do you know how badly this affects all of us? After everything I’ve done, everything, to protect our school’s name, to build stability... you just burned it in five minutes.”

Then, she turned her gaze on Kira.

Aki’s voice dropped, but it was more dangerous than before.

”It was you, wasn’t it?” she said, stepping forward. ”You were the one who asked my girls to pull this stunt?”

Kira didn’t answer. She couldn’t.

The look in Aki’s eyes burned straight through her.

And for the first time since this all started... Kira actually felt fear.