Chapter 82: The One Behind it!
It was clear that the fight was over for Dipter and his crew of delinquents he had managed to build up, but this wasn’t just some sort of revenge that Max was aiming to seek. There was a true reason why he had done this, to find out the truth.
"Dipter, you’ve lost this. Now answer me!" Max said as he pulled on Dipter’s shirt even higher, lifting him just a bit more off the ground.
Dipter could tell by the condition of his ankle that he couldn’t fight anymore. He wasn’t even sure if he would be able to walk himself out of here if he tried. And yet, he still had a smile on his face, even now, even after everything.
"Haha... and if I tell you, what would be the point? You’re just going to hit me again, right?" Dipter said, letting out a shaky breath.
Max then dropped Dipter back onto the ground and lifted up his hand. He gripped his entire finger tightly in that moment, his eyes fixed with a cold stare.
"You’re right..." Max said, and then pulled down hard, breaking and cracking it in a single motion. "It’s easy for you right now. All you have to do is give me a name, and you don’t have to suffer anymore."
"Do you think whoever hired you to do all of this would go through all of this for you? Your loyalty is not rewarded."
Max was already going for another finger, until he heard Dipter shout.
"Wait!" Dipter said, managing to just pull his arm out to stop him. "It’s not loyalty, I couldn’t give a crap about that guy. But do you think knowing who it was would make a difference? If I told you, you’d feel helpless... like there’s nothing you could do. You don’t know the kind of backing this person has."
Currently, Max had no idea that Dipter had already decided to turn against his client. What Dipter was trying to do now was hold something over Max, to shake him, to make him feel fear. There was a reason, after all, why Dipter had felt like he could act the way he did, without consequences.
But in this situation, Max had already done what he believed he needed to do, to get the answers he came here for. He lifted Dipter by his shirt once more and leaned in close, his voice low as he whispered in his ear.
"Is it a member of the Stern family?" Max asked.
Dipter’s eyes lit up instantly. If Max had known this the whole time, then why had he gone through all of this? How... how did he even know in the first place? What was Max’s relationship to the Stern family for things to go this far?
"Your reaction says it all to me. Dipter, you are the one who has no clue what’s going on here. You think you’re a leader, but the whole time, you were just being used as a pawn," Max stated.
Dipter made a scowl, he clearly didn’t like that. Max could tell the kind of person he was. Not a follower, but someone who wanted to build his own empire. That’s how he had climbed to the position he was in now.
"You’re lucky I don’t like the man. Otherwise, even if you broke all my fingers, I wouldn’t say anything... The man’s name... is Chad Stern."
Immediately, Max let go of Dipter, dropping him to the ground. Flashes of images raced through his mind. Out of all the Sterns, there was one who had already angered him the most, and it was Chad Stern.
He had acted up at the party, ordering Max around the whole time, showing off in flashy clothes, full of arrogance, treating both Max and Aron like loyal dogs.
Is that why he acted like that at the party? Because he already knew everything that was going on at the school?
The truth wasn’t so surprising to Max, he had suspected it was a family member. He also knew Dipter wouldn’t understand the real reason for Chad’s actions. But that’s when another thought suddenly hit him.
"Was it you?" Max asked, locking eyes with Dipter again. "Was it you who took me to the lake? To Notting Hill? To Cure Lake?!"
Wolf was still paying close attention to everyone in the area. Out of all the students, Jay was down on his knees, he was still able to fight, technically, but it was clear there was no will left in him. What really caught Wolf’s attention, though, was the way Aron’s entire body tensed up when he heard the mention of the lake.
Just what is going on with these people? This is getting more interesting by the second, Wolf giggled to himself.
"Lake? Notting Hill? I have no idea what you’re talking about," Dipter said, shaking his head.
Max stepped forward, about to lift Dipter off the ground again, until Dipter spoke next.
"We never touched you outside of school. Those were his orders," Dipter said, voice low.
"That’s a lie. You attacked me just the other day," Max replied sharply.
"Right... that was the first time. And those were my orders," Dipter admitted with a shrug.
It wasn’t making sense to Max. He had thought if he found out who was behind the bullying at school, it would lead him to the person who had tried to drown him. The money being ignored. The targeting of those close to him. All of it.
Wait... unless, are the two events unrelated?
Maybe... there’s more than one person in this family targeting me. If that’s the case, then Dipter might actually be telling the truth... and that just made the situation a whole lot more annoying.
"Ow! You’re hurting me!" a voice cried out from behind.
When Max turned his head, he was surprised to see that the Pit member, Sandra, had another girl restrained by the arms.
"I caught her sneaking around just behind that wall over there," Sandra said, dragging the girl forward. "And she had her phone out as well."
"Abby?!" Joe called out, his head tilting in disbelief.
Everyone was surprised to see her, including Jay and Dipter. Because they all knew... she was the one being used against Max.
"What are you doing here?" Max asked, his voice sharp.
"I’m sorry, Max! I didn’t mean to!" Abby replied quickly. "I went to your house, I wanted to talk to you about what we said the other day. And then I saw you, I just happened to follow you and saw you getting into this whole mess. I didn’t know what to do. I panicked."
Sandra, still holding Abby’s phone, had been scrolling through something. She suddenly stopped, her expression tightening. She turned the phone around and showed the others the screen.
"Guys... the situation’s not looking good. Looks like she called the police about five minutes ago," Sandra said, frowning.
That meant the police could show up at any second, and with the state everything was in, the chaos, the injuries, the damage, it was going to be incredibly difficult for any of them to walk away from this clean.
"HAHAHA! HAHAHA!" Dipter suddenly burst into laughter, sounding like a complete maniac. "Haha! Looks like I’ve got the last laugh after all!"
His eyes gleamed with twisted satisfaction.
"When they come, do you really think it’s going to be me , us , who get in trouble?"
"No, Max. You’ve been through this before. It’s going to be the same story, just like with Sam. All of us? We’ll walk out of this clean. And all of you? You adults who laid your hands on poor, innocent minors you’ll be the ones behind bars!"
He grinned, teeth bloody, eyes wide with madness. "I win in the end!"
And just then, the sharp, wailing sound of sirens filled the air.
They were close.