Chapter 145: Chapter 145 Unexpected Turn

The dart flew through the air like a bullet.

People’s eyes widened. A few gasped. Everyone knew—it wasn’t going to hit the apple.

It was heading straight for Zoe’s left eye.

And in that one split second—where panic froze the room—Liam moved.

He dashed forward with inhuman reflexes, his body faster than thought. Before anyone could even scream, he stepped right in front of Zoe, hand lifted.

Thock!

The dart pierced deep into his palm.

A sharp, sickening silence dropped like a hammer across the room.

Blood trickled from Liam’s hand, thick red drops pattering on the cold floor below. Zoe, standing just behind him, gasped in shock—her body frozen.

Ray furrowed his brows. Confused.

He was still blindfolded.

The usual cheer didn’t come.

His head tilted, clearly expecting the familiar roar of approval.

But nothing came.

Ray slowly lifted the blindfold from his face—and what he saw made him stiffen.

Liam stood with one hand bleeding, a dart embedded in his palm.

Zoe, unharmed, stared up at him with wide eyes, her face pale. It was so obvious what had just happened. The dart had been inches from her face.

If Liam hadn’t stepped in—

Her eye would’ve been gone.

And it wouldn’t be Liam’s blood soaking into the floor right now. It would’ve been hers.

Ray’s mouth opened slightly, but no words came out.

Then—

Chaos.

“WHAT THE FUCK, RAY?!”

“BRO YOU COULD’VE BLINDED HER!!!”

“HE IS SO ASS BRO, ACTUAL TRASH!”

“Zoe’s whole modeling career would’ve been over!”

“Liam saved her life, holy shit!”

“Liam is so handsome, even bleeding, goddamn!”

“Shut up, bitch—you were cheering for Ray five minutes ago!”

The crowd turned.

The energy shifted in an instant. Every cheer Ray had received earlier was gone—replaced by scorn, disbelief, and mockery.

Even his own guys were quiet.

Then—

Lana.

She stepped forward, face tight with worry. Her eyes locked onto Liam’s hand—and without saying a word, she reached out and grabbed it gently, holding it steady as more blood dripped between his fingers.

Liam didn’t even flinch.

Not because it didn’t hurt—but because he couldn’t stop looking at her.

Lana didn’t yell. Didn’t speak. She just stared at the wound, her brows furrowed with deep concern, like it physically pained her to see him like this.

Then—just for a second—her cold eyes turned to Ray.

And she stared.

It was brief.

But even Ray stepped back slightly.

She looked back to Liam and whispered softly, “This is gonna hurt.”

Before he could say a word—she yanked the dart out.

Liam sucked in a sharp breath. Not from the pain, but from her.

That face.

The raw emotion. The trembling of her lips. The way her brows were still furrowed like she had been stabbed instead of him.

He was stunned.

That concern on her face wasn’t fake. It wasn’t performative. It wasn’t just because people were watching.

It was real.

And it was all for him.

Someone in the crowd whispered, “Dude… have you ever seen this side of Lana before?”

Another replied, “Never. She always acts untouchable. Like she’s too good for anyone.”

“Who the fuck is this Liam guy?”

“I didn’t even know he existed until he got arrested three days ago.”

“Wait—that’s him?!”

“Are you fucking blind, girl?”

“Yo, chill. No need to be harsh on a girl.”

“She ain’t giving you the pussy, bro. Shut the fuck up.”

Lana ignored all of them.

She pulled a tissue from her pocket and pressed it to Liam’s palm, trying to stop the bleeding. Her fingers were shaking slightly.

Liam just stared at her.

He couldn’t help it.

In that moment, nothing else existed. Not the crowd. Not the chaos. Not even the pain.

Only her.

And the strange feeling growing in his chest.

A dangerous feeling.

Zoe stepped forward quietly, her eyes still wide from everything that had just happened. She reached into her small designer bag and pulled out a rolled bandage. Without saying much, she handed it over to Lana.

Lana didn’t even look at her. Her full focus was on Liam’s hand, her brows furrowed in worry as she gently accepted the bandage. Without a word, she began wrapping the cloth around his bleeding palm, her fingers working carefully, precisely, like she was trying not to hurt him more than he already was.

Zoe finally broke the silence with a soft, sincere voice. “Thank you, Liam.”

Liam just gave her a small smile, as if it was nothing. In truth, he didn’t blame Zoe. She didn’t know better—she just backed the wrong person. Then Liam looked past her, his sharp gaze finding Ray, and a cocky grin spread across his lips.

“I hope you haven’t forgotten the stakes,” Liam said coolly, his tone laced with amusement.

Ray’s jaw tensed. His face was a mixture of disbelief and regret. He never thought, not in a million years, that Liam would actually win. Hell, he didn’t even think Liam would accept the challenge in the first place. So when he threw out that hundred-thousand-dollar bet, it was just supposed to be intimidation. A bluff.

Now? That bluff was about to bankrupt his ass.

“You got the money?” Ray suddenly said, trying to sound cocky, but the strain in his voice cracked through. “Show me your own hundred K.”

He was hoping—praying—that Liam was just fronting. That maybe he was some broke hotshot trying to play tough. If Liam didn’t have it, then the bet would be null and void. Ray could walk away with his pride.

Liam’s grin widened. He casually pulled out his phone, swiped the screen, and leaned over to show it to Zoe.

Her mouth parted slightly, her eyes glued to the screen for a full five seconds before she even blinked. She turned her head slowly, her voice hushed in shock.

“He has… over five hundred grand…”

The color drained from Ray’s face. He looked like someone just sucker-punched him right in the gut. His heart stuttered as the weight of the loss finally settled in his bones. Five hundred grand? Who the hell even was this guy?

Zoe turned to Ray and nodded, confirming what they all now knew—Liam wasn’t bluffing. He had the money. More than enough.

Ray’s shoulders slumped. All the fake confidence drained out of him. He looked around, all eyes on him, all judgmental. He was cornered.

Grinding his teeth, he pulled out his own phone, then with a glare of absolute defeat, he tossed it toward Liam. “Put in your account.”

Liam caught it smoothly with his uninjured hand, punched in some numbers with that same confident smirk, then tossed it right back.

Ray stared at the screen for a second… then hesitated. But with everyone watching—expecting—he tapped the screen.

Click.

Sent.

“Pleasure doing business with you.”

Ray nearly choked. That tone. That smug, cool tone. Liam made it sound like they just finished a boardroom deal. He just lost a hundred thousand dollars. His dad was going to murder him. This wasn’t just a loss—it was financial suicide. And Liam… that smug bastard… was just casually throwing out lines like it was nothing.

Then Lana’s phone vibrated.

She didn’t think much of it, casually sliding it out to check. But the moment she read the screen, her whole body froze. Her breath caught. Her hand shot up to her mouth.

There, clear as daylight, was a message:

$100,000.00 credit alert from: Ray D.

Recipient: Lana Roberts.

She looked at Liam slowly, stunned. “You… You put my account?”

Liam just gave a soft shrug and a half smile. “You trusted me. You deserved it.”

The words hit harder than the money itself.

Lana couldn’t even process it. She had never received that much money in her entire life. Not even close. Her legs felt weak. Her heart was pounding. It wasn’t just the money—it was what it meant. The faith. The gratitude. The fact that out of everyone, he gave it all to her.

The realization spread through the crowd like wildfire.

“Oh my God! He gave everything to Lana?”

“I swear, I wanna be her so bad right now.”

“Then why didn’t you step out when he asked for a volunteer, dumbass?”

“Facts! She was the only one that actually trusted him. She earned it.”

“She’s so damn lucky…”

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