Chapter 2

The hand on my back gave a light pat.

Feeling her quiet comfort, my heart ached.

All these years, Sarah had silently supported me from behind, the only one who truly understood my grievances and my rage.

I pulled out my debit card and placed it on the table.

"And another two hundred thousand dollars from here."

This was my hard-earned savings from all these years.

Seeing my move, Mark's face suddenly darkened.

"Don't you dare regret this."

I wouldn't regret it. Because this game, I was going to win.

Ever since I joined Mark's department, he'd done nothing, dumping every troublesome task on me.

When I was out securing projects, trying to charm those clients, I don't know how many times I'd ended up in the emergency room with severe stomach issues from drinking.

Clients loved to play poker after a good meal and a few drinks, and I had to play along with a smile.

Playing cards with clients was a skill; you couldn't win outright, but you also couldn't make it obvious you were throwing the game.

One of the company's long-term clients particularly loved Five-card stud, so to cater to his preferences, I had dedicated a lot of effort to studying it.

Seeing Mark pull out a deck of cards and declare he was going all in, a sudden realization hit me.

This might be fate's intervention, a chance for me to turn the tables.

I thought of the recording I'd kept hidden away and took a deep breath.

"I won't regret it."

But you, Mark, are you ready to lose everything?

Seeing my firm resolve, Mark gritted his teeth and tossed the deck of cards to Chloe.

"Fine, let's play then!"

At this point, his tone was far from his earlier composed demeanor.

The pretense of nonchalance had vanished the moment real hundreds of thousands of dollars were on the line.

Chloe moved her lips, knowing it was useless to argue, and lowered her head to deal the cards.

Both sides were dealt a face-down card, followed by a face-up card.

I had a Queen, and Mark had a King.

Looking at his card, his earlier tension gradually eased.

Chloe quietly asked, "Raise?"

Mark hesitated. Five-card stud involved five cards – one face-down, four face-up.

We couldn't see our own face-down cards yet, and his face-up card was currently higher than mine, but it was only the second round.

After a moment's thought, Mark called out to his mother, Patricia.

"Mom, take off your bracelet. It's solid gold, worth over $40,000."

At first, he was relatively cautious, as the remaining cards hadn't been dealt.

I didn't speak, but followed suit and raised.

Sarah opened her phone and transferred forty thousand dollars via PayPal to Chloe as my stake for this round.

All eyes were fixed on the next round.

Four rounds later.

I had a pair of Queens and a Two. He had a pair of Kings and a Ten.

Mark smirked triumphantly.

"Looks like my luck is much better than yours."

With three consecutive higher cards, his confidence soared, and he raised the stakes even more generously this time.

"My Audi A6 parked outside, which I paid over $80,000 for, is on the table!"

He looked at me with a challenging glint in his eye.

"Cousin, can you still match that? If not, just fold now. You won't lose too badly if you back out!"

I looked at the cards in front of me, my face darkening. I was confident I could beat Mark, but I'd forgotten one thing.

In Five-card stud, if one party couldn't match the bet, they would be considered to have folded, losing all their chips.

No wonder Mark had suddenly found his nerve.

It wasn't just because of his strong hand, but because he knew I didn't have the money to call.

Jessica, who had been a bit nervous, also smiled and looked at Sarah, tutting.

"Your husband has such a temper. It's just a holiday game, why did he have to get all bent out of shape? And you, you should have tried to stop him!"