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."
Sheri’s gaze lingered on him, her expression unreadable before she asked, "Was it Chad?"
Sheri was the only person who knew the truth of what had happened in the past, that Max’s hands had been tied because of Abby.
That he hadn’t been able to spend his money because of Abby.
She had thought everything was fine before, but with Abby gone... this was the only conclusion she could reach.
"I found out how Abby died," Sheri said, her voice tight. "They told me it was with a gun. And there aren’t many people in this country who can even get their hands on one. It had to be someone like Chad! But when you say you’re going to deal with it... you’re not planning on going up against your own family, are you?"
Max turned toward the door. This wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have, not here, not now.
"It wasn’t Chad," he said, his tone flat but heavy. "Abby’s death... that one was completely my fault. I’ll deal with the Stern Family one day. But before that, I need to deal with what happened to her."
Sheri didn’t have the full picture. She didn’t know that Max was the one pulling the strings behind the Bloodline Group, the network of delinquents that had spread beyond just their school.
She had no idea about the connection between the group and the clothing company, the same company whose brand the school delinquents wore so proudly.
All she knew was that, with Abby gone, there was nothing stopping Max from using the money he had. And in her mind, that could only mean one thing, he was going to use it for payback.
That thought made her uneasy.
The Stern Family had some dangerous people in it. The kind you didn’t cross lightly. And as far as she knew, Max was facing this war almost entirely on his own.
It’s not the time now, she thought, but maybe at some point, I should talk to Mother, about getting a relationship back with the Sterns, and maybe back with Max as well.
Her mother had become strangely fixated lately, constantly talking about meeting the head of the Billion Bloodline Group, the mysterious figure who had saved their company. It was almost an obsession.
By the time the day ended, the others were heading toward the Bloodline Gym, Joe leading the way as always. They had a few other stops to make after the gym, keeping their usual routine.
But Max didn’t go with them.
Instead, waiting just around the corner from the school, leaning casually against a car, was Aron.
"You’re sure you want to do this?" Aron asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"I’m positive," Max replied without hesitation. "I need to see him."