Chapter 3

We returned to the top floor, to the presidential suite never open to outsiders, my father's private domain.

He personally poured me a glass of hot milk.

"I told you long ago-that boy was never worthy of you," he said.

His voice carried a trace of sorrow and tenderness.

"It's my fault. I never should've let you have your way back then."

Cradling the warm glass in my hands, I shook my head.

"It's not your fault, Dad. I was the one who was blind."

Two years ago, after graduating from college, I didn't want to step into the family business so soon, or live under my father's shadow.

I longed to experience an ordinary life, to fall in love without money being part of the equation.

So I took the name Luna, concealed my identity, and worked as a clerk in a small company.

And then, I met Smith.

He was a penniless painter, carrying that melancholy, captivating aura unique to artists.

He told me I was his muse, his sunshine.

And I believed him.

After we got together, his earnings from painting were nowhere near enough to support the comfortable life he desired.

He began to complain, his anxiety growing by the day.

Until one day, he told me excitedly that he had discovered his true gift-gambling.

On his very first visit to the casino, he won ten thousand dollars.

He was ecstatic, declaring himself a born gambling god.

I only smiled faintly, saying nothing.

Later, his winnings grew-tens of thousands, then hundreds of thousands, and eventually millions.

He stopped painting altogether and spent every day buried in the casino.

I tried to talk him into quitting, but he always said, "Luna, once I make a hundred million, we'll stop and travel the world."

What he never knew was that, to keep him happy and help him reach "financial freedom" sooner so he could leave the casino, I had begged my father.

I pleaded with my father to let him win a little, just enough to give him confidence.

My father gave me a long, searching look.

"Luna, you're playing with fire."

But I was too blinded by love.

In the end, my father agreed.

He arranged for Hansen, and for his most loyal dealer, Alice.

Everything unfolded exactly according to Smith's favorite script.

An overlooked genius discovered his so-called talent in the casino, fought his way through every round, and eventually became a millionaire.

What a flawless tale of a rise against the odds.

The cruel joke was that the so-called hero never realized, from beginning to end, that he was nothing more than a puppet on strings.

And I-the fool who loved him-had, in a way, delivered another woman right into his arms.

My father watched me sit in silence and let out a sigh.

"I've already had Hansen handle it," he said.

"Smith and Alice were caught colluding to cheat and defraud the casino. The evidence is undeniable. For the rest of their lives, they won't set foot in any legitimate casino again. And every cent of their illegal winnings has been clawed back."

Their little tricks at the table had never been secrets in front of my father.

"As for the money he owed to the loan sharks..."

Julian paused.

"I'll make sure they understand whose money is off-limits."

I knew the kind of methods my father used.

Those loan sharks would probably spend the rest of their lives living in fear.

"Thank you, Dad."

"Silly girl, there's no need to thank me."

My father gently patted my head.

"From now on, don't be so reckless. If you want to experience life, you'll do it under my watch."

I nodded.

By the next day, news of Smith and Alice had spread through every circle in Las Verdan.

The so-called "casino legend" collapsed overnight, and he became a scammer everyone spat on.

I thought that was the end of it.

Until a week later, when I received a call from an unknown number.

On the other end was Smith's voice-weak, yet dripping with venom.

"Luna... you think you've won? You ruined me, and I'll make sure you don't get away unscathed. I've got something of yours. Something you'd never want your father to see."

My heart sank hard.