The basketball hall was filled with people paralyzed by surprise, each for vastly different reasons. Donto himself stood in a state of amused disbelief. He had never expected the "Max Smith" who had been causing ripples of trouble across the department to actually be Max Stern—a relative he had long since written off as a parasitic footnote in the family tree.
In Donto’s memory, Max was nothing more than the useless member of the family, a weak-willed boy who lacked the grit to amount to anything. He was completely unaware of the metamorphosis that had taken place in the shadows of the city, largely because Donto’s world began and ended with his own reflection. To him, anyone not currently in the spotlight was irrelevant.
As for the others at the observation table, including Rick and Aki, they were hearing the name "Stern" attached to Max for the very first time. The weight of that revelation hit the freshmen like a physical blow.
"Wait a second," Yovan whispered, her voice trembling as she tried to process the information. "Based on that name... are these two actually related? Donto is from that family, right? The Billionaire Sterns who own half the city?"
Due to Donto’s high-profile status as an athlete and socialite, there wasn’t a soul at the university who didn’t know his background. Hearing that the quiet, brooding Max shared that bloodline was like finding out a common house cat was actually a dormant lion.
"Are you talking about the family of billionaires?" Steve asked, his eyes wide. "Wait, but that makes no sense. If they’re related, how did it ever come to this? Why is Donto treating his own family like a common enemy?"
"Who knows," Yovan muttered, her cynicism returning. "Maybe the two of them were in on it together from the beginning. Maybe this whole ’hero’ act was just a play for power."
For Aki and Rick, however, the pieces of the puzzle were finally clicking into place with terrifying speed. They began to realize how the Billion Bloodline group had been funded, where the capital for the high-end gyms had come from, and how Max had possessed the resources to unify the high schools. It wasn’t just the grit of the underworld; it was backed by the bottomless pockets of a dynasty. What interested them more, however, was still the "how"—how a scion of such wealth had turned into the cold, lethal commander they knew.
"Crap, now I know what probably happened," Yovan hissed, her voice filled with a desperate need to rationalize the impossible. "This rich kid... he was probably bullied in high school or something. So he used his daddy’s money to hire everyone to make up rumors about how strong he was. He probably paid off the gangs, or even paid people to look weak in a fight against him. And all of you idiots fell for it."
The others didn’t bother replying to Yovan. Their eyes were fixed on the center of the court, wondering just what kind of explosion was about to occur.
"I never thought we would be meeting like this, and certainly not so soon," Max said, his voice carrying with a cold, absolute confidence as he walked into the center of the court.
As he moved, he noted the tactical positioning of the seniors. They were shifting closer to the table, staying within reaching distance of Talia, Jono, and the others. Several athletes had moved to stand between Max and the hostages, creating a human barrier.
’Even with my strength, I can’t just leap and clear them all at once,’ Max thought, his mind running through a hundred violent simulations. ’There is a significant chance someone gets hurt in the crossfire. I can’t let people bleed again while they’re standing right in front of me.’
"Tell me, Max, you had to have known I was at this university?" Donto asked, stepping forward with a swagger. "So why didn’t you let me know you were here? If you had reached out, I would have treated you reasonably well. The fact that you stayed in the shadows... it makes it feel like you were up to something. So tell me, cousin, why are you here? Why choose this place out of all the others you could have bought your way into?"
Max’s shoulders started to move up and down before a low, jagged laughter escaped his throat.
"I’m here because I’m trying to do some investigating into your father," Max said, his eyes locking onto Donto’s. "I thought you might have some useful information, or that you were involved in the actual family business. But it seems I was wrong. You’re just doing some stupid kid stuff."
Max took a step forward, his gaze sweeping over the seniors. "Selling illegal substances? Pushing ADHD pills on students mixed with addictive additives? Did your father actually put you up to this petty drug-running, or was this the ’genius’ idea you came up with to feel important?"
Donto’s posture stiffened instantly. This wasn’t the reaction he had anticipated. When he had summoned Max to a room filled with a dozen trained athletes, he had expected the boy to fall to his knees, pleading and begging for the Stern family’s mercy. Instead, he was being mocked. Where was this confidence coming from?
He realized then that perhaps things weren’t as straightforward as he’d thought. After all, Sono and Sylan had claimed this boy had bested them with ease.
"Very brave, Max. Very brave for someone who is digging around into things that don’t concern him," Donto said, his voice dropping into a snarl. "But you won’t even be able to reach my feet. Whether you’re a Stern or not doesn’t matter to me anymore. You have entered my world."
Donto signaled to the seniors standing behind the chairs. In a synchronized, brutal motion, the athletes reached out and grabbed the freshmen by their hair, jerking their heads back. Talia let out a sharp cry of pain, and Steve winced as his scalp was pulled tight.
"Max, you are going to take the beating of your life, and you are going to do absolutely nothing about it," Donto claimed, his eyes dancing with a sadistic light. "You can’t fight back. If you even try to raise a hand, these students will start to experience a living hell right in front of your eyes. Now, let’s see just how much of a ’hero’ you really are."