Chapter 501 - Stephen's Past (Part 1)

When Stephen had been asked to lose the match, it wasn't as if the request came with no benefit to him. In fact, the amount offered had been shockingly high, $50,000 in cash, handed over quietly and without questions. For a fighter like Stephen, who made barely twelve thousand dollars every three months per bout, the amount was enough to make even the most determined athlete hesitate. It was more money than he had ever seen laid out in front of him at once. Enough to live on for a while. Enough to solve the immediate pressures of rent, food, and survival. But not enough to build a life. Not enough to secure a future. And certainly not enough to give up the one dream he had been chasing since he first laced up gloves.