When Max placed his hands on his mask and slowly began to lift it from his face, only one thought ran through his mind.
He was done with this saga.
This would be the final nail in the coffin against Karen, and he had been waiting for this moment for a long time. Although Max had never cared about becoming heir, circumstances had forced him into the race. He hadn’t pursued it out of ambition, but survival.
Someone from within his own family had been targeting his life.
It might have been one person.
It might have been several.
For a long time, one of his suspicions had been Karen.
But throughout this entire journey, Max had learned something important.
It was impossible for it to be her.
She didn’t possess the strength to deal with the Gilt Rats. She didn’t have the connections or power to attempt something as extreme as drowning Max Stern in a river. The level of coordination and brutality required was beyond her.
Which meant this Chapter could end.
This reveal could finally happen.
Ever since she had slapped Aron at that party, Max had been waiting for the right opportunity. Waiting for the moment when the balance of power would shift completely in his favor.
Now it had.
The mask came off.
He shook his red hair from side to side and smiled directly at Karen.
He watched as her entire world seemed to collapse in that instant. She didn’t blink. Her mouth hung open, frozen. It was as if she had forgotten how to breathe.
The joy she had been carrying only moments ago drained from her face.
This was the timing he had wanted. After taking a significant portion of her finances, after watching her smile in relief at the thought of reclaiming her business, Max wanted her to know exactly who had orchestrated it.
"You surprised?" Max asked calmly. "I bet you believed the runt of the Stern family would never be in this position. But here I am. And thank you so much for doing business with me."
The words seemed to snap her back into reality. Air finally entered her lungs.
"How... how... why are you here? Is this some type of joke?" Karen asked, her voice trembling.
Without responding verbally at first, Max turned his phone toward her, displaying the funds he had just received.
"If it’s some type of joke, it would be a pretty bad one, right?" Max replied. "It looks like you’re no longer in the race to become the heir."
He tilted his head slightly.
"I have to thank you for this opportunity. Because of you, I get to kill two birds with one stone."
He wasn’t just referring to the financial gain. The money strengthened him, gave him additional leverage and power, especially with the looming confrontation against the Gilt Rats. At the same time, it removed Karen from being a constant thorn in his side.
As Karen stared at the screen, her legs gave out beneath her.
She fell to her knees.
"I’ve been tricked... this whole thing... it was a massive ploy by the useless fool of the Stern family. Then what does that make me?" she whispered.
"It was no ploy," Max said evenly. "Everything fell into place. I didn’t go after you, if that’s what you’re thinking. Because of the business we’re in, our paths crossed naturally."
He took a step closer.
"You have to remember, we were both given the same amount. We’re both part of the same world. It just never crossed your mind that I would be the one behind the mask."
Karen shook her head in disbelief.
How had Max even built a reputable company in the first place?
And then it clicked.
The Curts family.
It had started there. Max had been closely linked to the Curts family through Sheri. Even though their relationship had seemed strained, at least the last she had heard, that connection alone had been enough to open doors.
She had never bothered to truly follow Max’s progress. He had never been a threat in her eyes. Just someone to look down on during family gatherings. Someone to mock quietly when he ranked lower than her in performance.
She had underestimated him.
"Feel free to tell the rest of the family," Max said. "Although I doubt you will. Just so you know, I won’t be gloating about this to anyone. That’s not my style."
It wasn’t in his best interest to announce it publicly anyway.
There was another reason he revealed himself so confidently.
He knew she wouldn’t say a word.
Admitting she had lost money to Max? Admitting that the so-called weakest member of the Stern family had outmaneuvered her? That humiliation would be something she would bury rather than broadcast.
Which meant the others wouldn’t know.
They wouldn’t know that Max was the head of the Billion Bloodline Group.
They wouldn’t know what he was building.
Max stood up from his chair and walked over to Karen slowly.
"I want to tell you something, Karen. I will still honor the contract we just signed," Max declared firmly. "But I want you to understand that everything that happened was your own doing. The way you acted. The way you treated things."
He looked down at her.
"When you were in trouble, there wasn’t a single person who would help or stand by your side. So you tried to use money to solve the problem. And when money wouldn’t work, you gave up."
His voice didn’t rise. It remained controlled.
"And I have one more thing to show you."
As soon as he finished speaking, the doors opened again.
Chad walked in.
***
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