Chapter 160

160 A Gentleman’s Exit
Even though the Nolans had turned their backs on Alice, she was still under Byron’s protection.
And that meant something
No one dared to mess with her
So if someone wanted her to fall from grace, the only option was to make Byron think Alice had stirred up drama on purpose.
If he believed that, he’d cast her aside completely.
And once that happened, Alice would be nothing more than a pariah–someone everyone avoided.
Just thinking about it gave Linda a twisted sense of satisfaction.
Linda took a deep breath and gently knocked on Byron’s office door.
It wasn’t Byron who answered, but a young man..
Linda said sweetly, “Hi, I’m here to see Mr. Reese.
She kept her tone soft and her demeanor shy, maintaining her usual delicate–girl persona when speaking
The man’s eyes lit up. “He’s tied up at the moment. I’m his son. If there’s anything I can help with, just let me know.”
Linda hesitated–she hadn’t expected Byron to be out–but if this was his son, then he was certainly a
valuable connection.
A prime catch for the future, so to speak
To make the most of the opportunity, she even dropped a few hints about her identity–and the not–so- friendly relationship she had with Alice.
Meanwhile, the final round of the chess tournament was reaching its climax.
Venom, playing white, had a clear upper hand.
But Gary wasn’t fazed in the slightest. Calmly, he placed a black piece on the board.
Venom made a few moves to respond but stuck to his usual strategy.
“Look! Gary’s black pieces are surrounding him!”
A murmur rippled through the crowd. All eyes fixed on the board.
Gary had turned the tables!
1.3
08:37 Mon, 28 Jul MT
160 A Gentleman’s Exit
NGO
And he wasn’t done–he kept pressing the attack, capturing piece after piece. The momentum had shifted completely.
Venom, who had been bragging earlier, now seemed on the verge of a humiliating loss. The audience was fired up.
But then , everything changed again.
Venom made a stunning counterattack–rising from the brink of defeat.
With just a few remaining pieces, he launched a fierce assault on Gary’s wide–open defenses
By his third move, Gary was already cornered.
If he kept playing, he’d lose–badly. Just like Linda had earlier.
Gary paused, his hand hovering over the board. He furrowed his brow, clearly debating whether to admit
defeat..
Then, he smiled and stood up.
“I’ve been studying chess for years. My love for it has never faded,” he began, addressing the crowd with
grace.
This entire tournament was hosted by me. And I’m honored that so many of you came to compete. It means a lot to my family.
“At first, I didn’t plan on joining the preliminaries,” he said with a chuckle. “But when the finals rolled around, I couldn’t resist everyone’s enthusiasm–so I stepped in for a match with the younger generation
“And now that everyone’s had their fun, I think it’s time I stepped back.”
“I also noticed the other matches have all wrapped up. Ours is the only one left.
“So, I’ll forfeit.”
Forfeit
The crowd blinked, stunned.
It was clearly a polite way of saying he admitted defeat.
But coming from Gary, it sounded like he was doing Venom a favor.
Like Venom was about to lose, and Gary was letting him off the hook out of kindness
The cameras zoomed in on Venom .
He didn’t say anything –but his eyes were red.
Clearly, he was wronged and holding back his tears.
And the livestream chat went wild.
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160 A Gentleman’s Exit
“What, you think we don’t understand chess? You were about to lose , and now you’re acting all noble? Get over yourself”
“Exactly! Venom just came here to see his sister, and now he has to deal with this? How is he supposed to explain this mess to his sister?”
“This isn’t a forfeit. It’s a humiliation.”
“Classic move–pretend to be generous instead of admitting you got beat.”
“Can’t believe the Spencers are this petty.”
“Still, a forfeit is a forfeit. The game’s not technically over yet.”
“Ugh, how much are the bots getting paid to defend this nonsense? How much per comment? I want in.”
“Poor Venom”
“TeamVenom +1”
“TeamVenom +10086”
The backlash spread like wildfire.
Within minutes, “#ProtectVenom” was trending at the top of social media.
But inside the hall, Gary remained oblivious. He still looked like the perfect gentleman. He had no idea what was blowing up online.
He simply turned to the host and said , Tm stepping out. You can go ahead and announce the results.”
But just then, Venom raised his hand.
“I hope you
you can finish the game
e with me.
“I know you want me to go further in the competition, but I don’t want to take advantage of you.
“Mr. Spencer, you’re a
Pected figure in Mapleford. You wouldn’t want people saying you look down on ordinary folks or that you don’t even have the decency to finish a full match.”
The announcer, who had been brought in by the Spencers, tried to back Gary.
“Venom, Mr. Spencer has been going easy on you this whole time. He even knew you might try to humiliate him with a harsh win. And yet he played along.
“Everyone’s waiting on you two to wrap this up.
“If you keep dragging this out, you’ll irritate the audience.”
Venom gave a cold chuckle. “Fine. If that’s what you want, I accept.”
His expression said it all. I have no power here, so I’ll just go along with it.