When Family Became a Place I Couldn’t Return To novel Chapter 238

“If you can’t handle losing, you shouldn’t be playing.”

Nelly’s eyes flicked to the one-way mirror, her words aimed squarely at whoever was hiding behind it.

Before the last syllable left her lips, the lights flared on behind the glass. A shadowy figure appeared, just a blurred outline.

“Stop.” The voice came through the speakers, rough and low, after a long, heavy silence. “Let the game continue.”

The lights snapped off and the voice disappeared. The dealer, his back now turned, seemed to get some instructions through his earpiece. After a tense pause, he finally, and not very happily, told his guys to let them go.

He cleared his throat, voice stiff. “Since there’s no way to settle the last round, it’s void. Now it’s overtime. You’ll bet all your winnings from tonight.”

Brody and Nelly got their freedom, but everything else changed. Now, it was them against the house.

A new round kicked off, fast and sharp, but something was immediately off. The dealer dealt with uncanny precision, his style totally different. Without other players, Brody’s card counting didn’t work at all. To make matters worse, they were being watched from every possible angle. There was no way to slip anything past the house this time.

And then their luck just evaporated.

Three rounds in, their pile of chips was gone. Worse, they were now ten million in the hole.

“Looks like Lady Luck picked tonight to take a vacation,” the dealer said quietly, flashing a thin smile. “You’re out of chips. You can’t pay your debt. According to the rules, you have two options.”

Nelly’s nails dug deep into her palms.

She’d been warned about the rules before coming here. If you owed the house, you either gave up a piece of yourself, or you gambled again—this time with your life on the line.

The dealer’s voice slid across the table, cold and smooth. “You can each leave a hand and your tongue behind, settle the debt that way. Or… you can take the gamble. Only one of you will survive. The winner gets a second chance.”

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