With the chaos finally over, the six Seaton Academy girls made their way to one of their usual spots, a place that always felt like neutral ground.
Aki's aunt, Coco, owned a nearby hair salon. She was a hairstylist with a loyal clientele, and more importantly, she gave Seaton girls a standing discount. It was always packed in the afternoons, but the girls didn't mind. It was close to school, in their territory, and surrounded by people who knew better than to ss with them.
This ti, it wasn't just Aki and her two closest friends. Synthia and the others, still shaken from what had happened, tagged along too.
The mont they stepped into the salon, Coco looked up from her workstation, eyeing them like she could sll trouble before it walked in the door.
"You girls always up to your dangerous business," Coco muttered, not even pausing as she brushed dye through a custor's hair. "I've turned a blind eye 'cause none of you have co back broken. But that luck runs out. One day it will."
"We're trying to be more careful," Aki said, holding her voice steady. "I'm trying to get everyone away from that stuff. We're fine… right?"
"Most of you," Coco replied dryly, her eyes landing on Synthia's face, still red and bruised from earlier. She didn't know Aki was the one who left the mark, but the concern was clear.
"What even happened back there?" Synthia asked quietly. "Those guys… the ones who saved us. I really thought it was over. I thought we were done."
The Seaton girls had always relied on control, blackmail, recordings, information leverage. It had been enough to keep people in check. People didn't fight back when there were consequences waiting on cara.
But this ti… this ti was different.
Aki leaned back in her seat, her eyes trailing over the tile floor.
She rembered the words. Her aunt's warnings. And Max's voice too, echoing in her head:
"Sooner or later, you'll run into soone who doesn't care about consequences."
Today felt like they'd co way too close to that.
"Didn't those guys say they helped us because we were wearing Bloodline Gym stuff or sothing?" one of the girls said, her brow furrowed in confusion.
"Wait, seriously?" another girl, one who hadn't been there for the whole scene, spoke up. "You an these clothes?" she tugged at the branded hoodie. "The gym you dragged us to join, that's why we got saved? What are you even talking about?"
The group went quiet for a beat before Synthia and the others started explaining everything.
They told them about how their boyfriends, guys they trusted, turned on them in the middle of the bowling alley. How things had spiraled fast, and no one knew what would happen next. And then, just as it got bad, three adult n had walked in and taken control, saying they'd been instructed to protect anyone affiliated with Bloodline Gym.
By the ti they finished, there were more than a few raised eyebrows.
"Didn't we only join the gym because of that alliance Max made?" one girl asked. "So… are those n part of the alliance too? Maybe this group is way bigger than we thought. Maybe it's not just about school."
Aki sat back, arms crossed, thinking.
That actually made the most sense.
Why bother clinging to a school na, she thought, when we could operate under sothing bigger… sothing with real reach.
Because the truth was, they hadn't been saved because of luck. The only reason they were protected, really protected, was because of the alliance. And even more than that… because of who made the alliance.
What confird it for Aki was simple: she hadn't shown up on her own. She'd gotten a call.
From Max.
He had asked her to step in. To help his people.
And now, it all clicked.
"I think you're right," Aki said aloud. "How else would Max have even known those girls were in trouble? He must've been watching the whole ti."
She looked around at the others.
"He could've stepped in himself, but he didn't. I think he was testing us, testing this," she said, motioning vaguely to the Bloodline logo on her jacket. "Testing to see if we could handle sothing on our own. If this alliance… actually ans anything."
"So Max has those kinds of connections?" Synthia asked, eyes wide.
Her voice was low, thoughtful. The words of the man who'd saved her still echoed in her mind:
'Looks like you've made friends with the right people.'
Aki stood up from her seat and clapped her hands together with sudden energy.
"Alright, Auntie Coco!" she called. "Today, I need you working overti! Every girl here, head to toe, needs to look their absolute best. I'm talking hair, makeup, everything. And dig up as much Bloodline Gym rch as you can find!"
So of the girls imdiately snapped to attention, already rummaging through bags and pulling off jackets to prep. Coco raised an eyebrow but didn't protest. If Aki was serious, she was in.
"Well, alright… but what are you up to now?" Coco asked, chuckling as she reached for her comb and dye kit. "You starting a gang fashion show or sothing?"
Aki grinned. "I'm making sure he knows we're useful."
"I didn't think it was important at first," she admitted, "but now I see it differently. He asked us to model the rch. I thought it was just for show, but maybe it's way more important than I realized."
She paused, her eyes sharp with determination.
"He gave us a chance. So now we're going to make sure he doesn't regret that alliance."
She said the na like it ant more than just a deal. Like it was a promise.
****
anwhile, across the city…
Max stepped into his apartnt just as Aron stood waiting in the entryway, his usual calm expression in place.
"So, the situation played out exactly the way you expected," Aron said. "Good thing you kept the security team on her."
Max nodded slowly, sliding off his jacket. "Yeah. I didn't think Sheri would end up getting caught in it too. Now all three, Abby, Cindy, Sheri, they're connected to Billion Bloodline… whether they know it or not."
He stepped deeper into the room, his voice steady.
"And it's in our best interest to make sure they stay safe."
Aron gave a subtle nod.
"You handled it well," Max continued. "Keep tracking the family movents. If anything shifts, I want to know right away. As for … I'll deal with my own ss for now."
There was a mont of silence.
Aron's eyes flickered downward, a trace of disappointnt on his face. It was clear he wanted to be involved in everything, not just the external threats, but Max's personal world too.
But Max turned his back before Aron could say anything else.
Just as Max stepped into his apartnt and tossed his bag onto the couch, his phone started pinging.
Once.
Twice.
Then nonstop.
He pulled it from his pocket and glanced at the screen. Notifications were flooding in, specifically from his Binstagram account.
It was the page he'd set up for Bloodline Gym, mostly as a test. He hadn't expected much from it yet.
But what he saw made him pause.
He was tagged in several new posts.
Tapping through, his eyes narrowed, then a smirk started forming.
Photos. Dozens of them. Posed shots. Candid group pics. Styled outfits with the Bloodline logo front and center. Aki and the Seaton girls were showing off their gear like they were models on a mission.
"Huh," Max muttered, raising an eyebrow. "Those girls are really putting in work…"
The photos were actually good. Clean, eye-catching, confident. The kind of stuff that made people stop scrolling.
Then the next wave of pings hit his screen.
[You've received an order]
[You've received an order]
[You've received an order]
His feed lit up with sales notifications, one after another, coming faster than he could check them.
The more he watched, the more the numbers rolled in.
And the bigger his smile grew.
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