My first night in Vegas, fresh off the plane, I thought I’d flex a little, being the former King of Gambling and all. Just a few quick rounds. But as I was leaving, some jerk insisted I cover his massive losses. “One hundred ninety-nine million, not a penny less!” The front desk girl looked up at me, startled. I quickly shook my head, saying I didn’t know him. That only made him bolder. “You know Stella Vance, right? She owns the casino next door, and she’s my wife! We’re all outsiders here, so helping me out is a compliment. Don’t push your luck!” I paused for a few seconds, then pulled out my phone and called Stella. “Heard you’ve got a gambling addict husband here in America?” … Seeing me dial, the guy probably thought I was calling the cops. He immediately yelled for his goons to snatch my phone. “Damn it, you dare call the cops? Believe me, even if they show up, you’ll still pay me, nice and easy!” I looked at him, puzzled. Did he really have connections at the precinct? Just a few days ago, I’d had dinner with the Governor. Could his connections really be higher than the Governor’s? While I was lost in thought, his crew had already surrounded me. Every one of them was in a sharp suit, dark shades, looking like a bunch of bodyguards. Before I could speak, Liam Sterling, who’d come with me, couldn’t hold back. “You’ve got some balls, huh? Do you even know this place belongs to the Sterling family? You dare mess with Mr. Sterling’s son?” Liam was the casino owner’s son, but this guy didn’t even flinch. “So what if he’s Mr. Sterling? I’m Stella’s damn assistant! Go ask around, who in this town dares disrespect me, Mick Reilly?” “Me asking you to pay is a chance for you to get on my good side. Can’t believe you two morons didn’t know a good thing when it smacked you in the face. Less than two hundred million to get in my good graces? You missed out on such a golden opportunity.” I actually laughed. “Randomly get blocked by a gambling addict, who then demands I pay hundreds of millions for his losses? Here, you can have that opportunity, you want it?” “Ignore him, Liam. Call Stella right now. I want to see how she explains this to me.” Stella had made a fortune over the years, all riding on my name. So many gamblers traveled from afar to her casino, just to catch a glimpse of me, the youngest King of Gambling in history. It brought in a ton of silent profit. But now, she was secretly shacked up with this lowlife gambling addict of an assistant, and it absolutely infuriated me. But just as Liam pulled out his phone, one of the bodyguards stepped up and slapped him! Then, they snatched his phone, quickly threw it to the ground, and stomped on it repeatedly until it was utterly smashed. “What are you doing?!” Liam never dreamed anyone would be so arrogant on his own father’s turf. But Mick Reilly just smirked, a cruel glint in his eyes. “Still trying to call for help? I already told you, if you don’t cough up the money today, you won’t see tomorrow’s sun!” “Since you two are so disobedient, let’s teach you a lesson.” He gave a signal to his bodyguards. They immediately grabbed us, forcing us to the ground, and started mercilessly beating us, aiming for our vital spots. I’d been through a lot, traveling the world, so I could take it better. Liam, being a rich kid, nearly passed out on the spot. “Stop it! How much do you want? I’ll pay!” Seeing him about to be beaten to death, I grit my teeth and yelled for them to stop. After so many years of friendship, I couldn’t let him get beaten to death by a few thugs here. Mick Reilly, thinking I’d caved, swaggered over, knelt down, and viciously slapped me twice across the face. “See? If you were just cooperative from the start, you wouldn’t have had to suffer all this.” “Three hundred million. Not a single cent less.” My eyes widened instantly: “How did it become three hundred million? It’s only been a few minutes!” He roughly grabbed my hair, then punched my already bleeding left eye. He looked at his blood-stained fist, disgusted, and shook it off. “See that? Just because I had to teach you two idiots a lesson, now I’m hurt.” “This extra cash? One, it’s for my boys, their hard work educating you. Two, it’s for my medical bill.” “What, you got a problem with that? Too bad, swallow it. In this city, I, Mick Reilly, am the law. Go on, try and find someone who dares to say a word.” He glanced around casually. The gawking gamblers quickly lowered their heads. “Those two are out of luck. Of all people to cross, they had to cross this absolute tyrant.” “Mick Reilly is notorious for preying on people he sees as vulnerable, especially those new to the city, easy marks. If you run into him, you just have to accept your fate.” “Keep it down. His wife is Stella Vance, the casino owner. It’d be nothing for her to deal with a couple of tourists. Blame these two for being blind. They’re lucky if they walk out of here alive, let alone in one piece.” But three hundred million was something I couldn’t just pull out right away. I had no choice but to temporarily suppress my anger. “Mick Reilly, I advise you to know when to stop.” “I’m Stella Vance’s legal husband. We’re officially married. I’m also the World King of Gambling. Treating me like this won’t end well for you.” “Liam Sterling’s father is the owner of this casino. I suggest you take him to the hospital now. Otherwise, when Mr. Sterling comes back and sees his son this badly hurt, you won’t be able to escape.” I thought Mick Reilly would listen to reason, but instead, he burst out laughing, grabbed my neck again, and slammed my face into the floor, grinding it hard! “What are you, some nobody, daring to even *think* about my wife?” “And this punk kid, he looks like a broke loser. You two together can’t even cough up three hundred million, and you dare impersonate the owner’s son?” The casino floor wasn’t smooth. The rough surface had already carved several deep, bloody gashes into the side of my face. It was a bloody mess. Liam, enraged, yelled, “My dad really is Arthur Sterling! If you don’t believe me, call the casino manager, he knows me!” Chloe, the front desk girl, froze for a moment. Liam’s expression didn’t look fake. Better safe than sorry, she quickly dialed the manager’s number. A few minutes later, the portly manager, Frankie Costello, appeared at the entrance, hurried and flustered. Liam finally breathed a sigh of relief. “You still have time to let me go. Otherwise, when my dad actually gets here…” “Forget three hundred million, not even three *billion* will save you!” Liam’s attitude was so firm that Mick Reilly seemed momentarily flustered. His head bodyguard cautiously approached. “Mr. Reilly, I just did a quick search. Arthur Sterling does seem to have a son back home, who rarely shows up here.” “The kid’s age matches too. Could he actually be his son?” Mick Reilly looked at Liam, who was beaten beyond recognition. The more he thought about it, the more scared he got. He quickly told his bodyguards to release us. “That’s more like it.” Liam scoffed, struggling to his feet. Frankie Costello had already walked up to them. Recognizing the manager, Liam forced a smile. “Uncle Frankie, I didn’t expect you to be on duty today.” “It’s these guys. Not only did they block our way and rob us, they also beat me and Mr. Thorne here for no reason. How do you plan to handle this?” Mick Reilly watched, growing increasingly alarmed, silently cursing his luck. Who would have thought this bleached-blond punk was actually the owner’s son? He was absolutely doomed. The gamblers who had been keeping their heads down now craned their necks. “Looks like a twist! That kid is really Arthur Sterling’s son?” “Then Mick Reilly is completely finished. He’s Stella Vance’s assistant, sure, but Mr. Sterling’s son is way higher up. Beating him up like this? Money won’t solve it.” “Exactly. There’s no way he’s walking out of here in one piece. Knowing these guys, a broken arm or leg would be getting off easy.” Mick Reilly listened, growing more and more terrified, even starting to consider apologizing proactively. Liam glanced back at him, his eyes filled with undisguised contempt. But when Frankie Costello actually reached them, the first thing he said left Liam completely stunned. “Who are you? How dare you impersonate our boss’s son?” Liam froze, immediately pointing at his own face. “Uncle Frankie, did you not recognize me for a second? It’s me, Liam Sterling! I even hosted you a year ago when you went back home to visit relatives.” Frankie Costello, however, maintained a cold expression, walked straight past Liam, and came to Mick Reilly’s side, instantly plastering on a fawning smile. “Mr. Reilly, don’t listen to this kid’s nonsense. Our Mr. Sterling’s son is still studying back home. How could he suddenly appear at the casino?” “This guy is probably just impersonating Liam to swindle people here. Don’t pay him any mind.” Liam watched them converse, fuming with rage, shouting about how his dad would punish them when he returned. My face darkened. Seeing Liam’s outburst, I instantly understood what was going on. Liam’s father was busy setting up his fifth casino branch and wouldn’t be back here anytime soon. Liam’s phone was also destroyed, so he couldn’t contact his father. Naturally, Frankie Costello would choose to side with Mick Reilly, who was more beneficial to the casino’s immediate development. This meant we were in serious trouble. As expected, Mick Reilly let out a sigh of relief. The anger in his heart surged, and he kicked Liam squarely in the knee, actually causing his leg bone to visibly deform! “You pathetic dog! You almost tricked me!” “What Sterling heir? I knew you, you bleached-blond punk, couldn’t be some rich kid. Begging from the wrong side of the tracks is more like it.” After cursing at Liam, he turned back to me, eyes filled with malice. “I did hear that my wife has a useless ex-husband back home. She said you kept hounding her, always finding ways to extort money. Is that true?” I froze. “I never divorced Stella back home. She…” My response was met with Mick Reilly’s merciless slap. “Don’t keep saying Stella, Stella! My wife’s name isn’t for the likes of you to utter!” I could only smile bitterly to myself. The legendary King of Gambling, brought low by his own wife’s side piece, and humiliated like this in public. But Mick Reilly still didn’t seem satisfied. Hitting me didn’t seem to vent all his anger. The next second, my head was forcibly yanked back, and a dog leash was brutally snapped around my neck. I struggled fiercely but only earned myself a more severe beating. Finally, I was forced to my knees, coughing up blood. Mick Reilly leaned in, grinning, close to my ear. “Your wife just used this dog leash last night.” “Now it’s on your neck, consider yourself lucky, Jax Thorne.” “Oh, right, one more thing.” He pulled out several round, spherical glass beads from his pocket, right in front of my face. I knew these things all too well. Stella had practically begged me to custom-make them last week, claiming these special round chips were needed for new slot machines to better attract gamblers. “You still don’t know what these are for, do you?” Mick Reilly smugly brought the beads closer to my nose. A foul, indescribable odor immediately assaulted my senses. “I don’t care if you’re divorced or not. Even if she’s still your wife back home, listen carefully.” “Last night, she was on her knees, just like this, practically begging me to *use* these on her.” My rage instantly hit its peak. My entire brain felt like it was about to explode. Stella was my college classmate. All these years, she had cultivated an innocent, pure-as-snow persona in front of me. Even after we got married, she was incredibly reserved in bed, always lying there like a statue, barely responsive, and would rush off afterward, never giving me a chance for intimacy. But now, she was willing to wear a dog leash for an assistant. As for what those beads were used for, any normal person could figure it out. In that moment, my heart turned to ash. I lost all will to resist, letting him tighten the leash around my neck. “Alright, since you know everything now, keeping a former husband like you around is indeed annoying.” Mick Reilly chuckled, increasing the pressure in his hand. I could feel my breath growing shallow. Death was beckoning. “Don’t even think about marrying into money in your next life. Look at you now, with that wild dog face. How could you ever be worthy of a big shot like my wife?” But just as I was about to be choked to death, a gasp suddenly came from the entrance. “Stop it right now!” In my fading consciousness, I recognized Stella’s voice. My heart, which had already died, finally flickered back to life. Good, she had finally come. Even though she’d cheated to this extent, if we could talk things through today, and Mick Reilly received his due punishment, maybe parting ways amicably wouldn’t be impossible.
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “297311”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #浪漫Romance #现实主义Realistic #魔幻Magic
Leave a Reply