Chapter 4

"Stop!"

Lily's face turned ashen. If her body was truly exposed for all to see, she would have no face left to live in this world.

"The house speaks."

Carter opened with a bet of $300,000.

They were all worth over a hundred million. $500,000 was nothing to them.

Everyone eagerly matched the bet.

Lily gritted her teeth and followed suit.

The men exchanged knowing smiles, reaching an unspoken agreement.

Without hesitation, they casually raised the stakes to $2 million.

Just as Lily was about to match the bet, Carter spoke up again.

"Lily, take a look at the scraps you have left. Do you really think you're qualified to play with us?"

Lily fidgeted anxiously in her seat.

She bit her lip and said, "I'll put up 10% of Lin Corporation's shares as collateral. Is that enough to match the bet?"

These 10% shares weren't given by our father.

They were shares I had specially bought back from minority shareholders on her 18th birthday to celebrate her coming of age.

Lily had always treasured the gifts I gave her. She even carefully preserved the bowls and chopsticks I had used in display cases.

I knew Lily didn't have much pocket money, but I never imagined she had fallen to such desperate straits.

If she wasn't pushed to the brink, she would never touch those 10% shares.

"What? How do you have shares in Lin Corporation?"

"I own 40%, my mom owns 40%, and the rest should all be held by minority shareholders."

Zoe's shrill voice was filled with disbelief.

Only after Lily produced proof were they willing to exchange the shares for chips.

I had been busy with my overseas business ventures. It wasn't until today that I learned Lin Corporation had been taken over by this vile mother-daughter pair!

Unfortunately, Lin Corporation's market value had shrunk. Plus, the casino deliberately undervalued the shares to curry favor with Carter.

Those shares were only exchanged for $10 million in chips.

To make matters worse, they maliciously raised the stakes.

The smiles tugging at their lips revealed their intentions.

"$2 million."

"$5 million."

"$10 million!"

Large beads of sweat rolled down Lily's forehead.

When it came time to show their hands, Lily's fingers trembled so much she had to flip her cards several times before revealing them.

"Straight flush."

Fortunately, Lily won this round. It was a close call, and the tension on her face eased slightly.

"It's no fun if there's no back and forth."

In the second round, Carter continued betting.

He opened with $5 million right off the bat.

There were twelve rounds in total. They didn't believe Lily could be so lucky every time.

"Lily, stop putting on airs. You're fighting a losing battle. If you insist on being stubborn, you might end up losing everything."

Zoe's fake concern didn't achieve the desired effect.

Lily truly lived up to being my sister. The more critical the moment, the calmer she became.

She stared intently at her cards, not allowing anyone to mess with her state of mind.

When the betting in the second round reached its peak, the other players all folded.

It wasn't out of pity for Lily's isolation. They simply felt it wasn't worth spending so much just to humiliate someone.

But Carter was willing to spare no expense to crush Lily.

"$20 million. Are you still in?"

His mocking gaze deeply wounded Lily, but at this point, she had no way out.

She had no more chips in front of her.

The $10 million she had just put up as collateral was all on the table.

"I know the rules here."

"I want to wager all my organs."

Lily's tone was resolute, but it made Zoe burst out laughing.

"Don't be ridiculous. Even if we chopped up all your organs and stir-fried them, they wouldn't be worth this much."

Lily parted her dry, chapped lips and revealed the physical condition that had once made her feel inferior.

"I have situs inversus. Specimens like me are extremely rare in the world. I'm willing to bet my life. If my body is used for research, it should be worth quite a bit."

The entire room was in an uproar.

"Has she gone mad? Betting her life?"

"Tsk tsk, the more they're like this, the more I like it. The contrast between a chaste woman and one begging on her knees - no matter how much the next round is, I'm definitely in!"

Murmurs of astonishment and lewd comments rang out. These people showed not a shred of compassion, only excitement at the prospect of corrupting an innocent woman.

"Alright, have it your way."

Carter pursed his lips. As Lily signed away her life to exchange for chips, he openly flirted with Zoe.

This round, only the two of them were left betting against each other.

Their lives and fortunes had all been turned into cold, hard chips.

When Carter finally grew bored and called for Lily to show her hand after using up all her chips, everyone held their breath.

All eyes were focused on the poker table.

The two of them revealed their cards almost simultaneously.

"We have a winner!"