Love's Redemption (Chris and Maddie)

Chapter 555

"Steve's safe for now," Jace said, leaving me puzzled.

He explained, "Quartz Cue pretends to be just a cue sports club, but they're deep in illegal betting. Their original plan was to take down Steve to keep their championship status and rake in the gambling profits."

I'd heard rumors about underground betting, but snooker? Really?

"When they couldn't get to Steve directly," Jace went on, "they switched it up. They're betting big on him, shifting the odds in his favor. If he wins, it looks like they lose-except they're making secret deals to make way more on the back end." I shivered. Something as simple as Steve's snooker career had turned into this dark web of schemes and shady money moves.

Steve once told me he started playing because he loved it-like, genuinely loved it. He wanted to prove that someone from our country could go global. Knowing he was just a pawn now... I couldn't imagine

how crushed he'd feel.

"Does Steve have any clue about this?" I asked, feeling a weight in my chest.

"No. If he knew, he'd probably refuse to play," Jace said, eyes darkening. "But if he doesn't play... he could lose a lot more than just a match."

Jace's voice turned grim. "Rea, just because Hayden saved him once doesn't mean Steve's

did a nervous flip. Hayden hadn't said anything about this. Did

to keep everything smooth, they might come after you.

against Hayden. You're also

but I..." I stammered, totally thrown. "Hayden and I aren't even

expression before letting out

baffled. "What's so

naive," Jace replied, though his words felt more like a

supposed to mean? Just

if he's 'just a friend,' Steve would never abandon you if you were in real

mouth to argue but stopped. He had a point. Jace was warning me: this was serious, and I'd somehow become a target. Whether it was Bruno's fans or Quartz Cue, if they got to me, it

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Chapter 555

me-it'd drag Hayden and