"Underground casino?" Renee asked urgently, "Which underground casino?" "That's hard to say. You don't understand gambling addicts—they'll go to all the underground casinos once they're addicted. They won't stay put in one place." "You're lying!" Renee didn't believe Jovan. Firstly, Stefan would contact Renee immediately if he was alive—there was no way he would be lingering in underground casinos. Secondly, his properties were enough to support him for his whole life, so he didn't have to hide even if he lost money every day. Also, Renee had never seen Stefan show an interest in gambling from the time she'd first met him. It was impossible to imagine Stefan becoming addicted to gambling in the one month he went missing. There was only one possibility when she thought about it, and that was that Jovan was lying to Renee on purpose. "I know you don't trust me, so I wasn't planning on telling you." While talking, Jovan picked up a pancake and munched it slowly. "But I saw you speak
A blonde man appeared in front of Renee half an hour later. "Ms. Ren, is that you? You've changed! You're so pretty now," he said excitedly, staring at Renee like an adoring fan.Renee rolled her eyes. "So, you're saying that I wasn't pretty back then?""No, of course you were very pretty in the gang too, but you're pretty like a princess now. You look like a goddess!""And you're still glib-tongued," Renee grumbled. She had known Harvey Murray for many years. When she was handling orders from the underworld, he was her most trusted spy and always helped her with errands. Although he wasn't that capable, he was smart and worked well with Renee. After leaving that life, Renee naturally stopped contacting Harvey, but people from the underworld always valued their friendships. If there was an emergency, they would be there without any hesitation no matter how much time had passed. "Ms. Ren, you've been pretty low-key for the past few years. My buddies didn't believe me when I told th
"No, there's no way around it." Harvey shook his head. "They've got a very good security system to punish those who try to sneak in. They're very experienced in it. Plus, you can't play the games if you sneak in without an identity, so what's the point of sneaking in?" "I'm looking for someone," Renee answered vaguely, then sighed. "Fine, I'll try to get the money." She thought about her circle of friends, and out of them, there were only two people who could lend her 20 million dollars. One of them was Xavier, the young heir of Universal Entertainment, and the other was Jovan, who pestered her shamelessly every day. After some contemplation, Renee chose to seek Jovan's help. Jovan was aware of the situation, but Xavier was not. Besides, Xavier was a blabbermouth. If he went to the casino with her and exposed their whereabouts, it would be very inconvenient."Wait here. I'll transfer the money to your account soon." Renee went to a milk tea shop and ordered a cup of milk tea for Har
Harvey led the way, and both he and Renee soon arrived at a gambling table.Renee just wanted to take a look, but a tall middle-aged man came up to her and said firmly, "You can't just watch here. It's rare for us to have a female guest, so you should go play one or two rounds."Renee sized the man up. He was wearing a black suit and had a beard, and his gaze was sharp and dangerous. He looked like a gangster, but he didn't seem reckless. Renee figured he was from the administration part of the casino. "That's the manager of Osk Casino, Victor Reed. He's good at gambling but is very vicious. Be careful," Harvey whispered to Renee."It's okay, I've faced many big shots in my life. This is nothing." Renee patted Harvey's shoulder reassuringly, then faced Victor and said confidently, "Sure. I managed to get in after spending 20 million dollars, so of course I'd like to have some fun. However... you're the only one I want to play against in this casino.""You want to play against me?
"You're pretty arrogant… but I like it. Well, what's your gaming chip? Let me know, then I'll decide if I want to play against you." Victor spread his hands smugly. "After all, I'm rich. Playing house is a waste of my time." "Didn't you verify my capital when I came in? Just use the money on my account as the gaming chip then. What do you think?" Renee leaned back in her chair and suggested generously.Her words made Victor's eyes brighten. He sat up straight and asked, "Are you sure?" "Of course. You froze my cash, so I can't break my word even if I wanted to." "Yeah, you're right." After a brief contemplation, Victor asked, "What about me then? What do you want from me? It doesn't really matter because you won't win, but I need to make it clear for the sake of the rules." "If I win, I don't want money—I just want to ask you a question, and you have to answer it honestly. What do you think?" Renee calmly revealed her request."You want to… ask a question?" Victor thought tha
Renee had five cards. First, she played a card of three points, which was considered a very low card. Victor chuckled, then put down a card of seven points. Renee followed with a card of eleven points, then Victor submitted a card of thirteen points. It was clear that Victor was way ahead of Renee—his score was eight points higher than Renee's. The only way Renee could win at this point was if she had a Joker with her. If not, she would definitely lose."I'm sorry, I don't think you'll be able to break my streak this time." Victor put down a King and said wickedly, "Your 20 million dollars is only enough for one round. Do you want to continue?" Renee had only one card left with her, and it would decide the total points of her cards. Victor knew she couldn't have the Joker with her because he had modified those two cards. If Renee had any of the Jokers, he would be able to see it, and he hadn't seen them in her hand. "Don't be so sure of yourself." Renee smiled at Victor sweetly, the
Victor immediately agreed to Renee's demands. If he kept fussing about that issue, he was afraid that his shameless tricks would be exposed. "Just ask me whatever you want. I'll tell you if I know," Victor answered cooperatively. Renee nodded and fished out Stefan's photograph. "Have you seen him?""Him?" Victor looked at the man in the photograph with an admiring gaze. "Isn't that Stefan Hunt, the president of Hunt Enterprise? I'm sure everyone in Beach City knows him. Aren't you asking the obvious?" "Yeah, anyone who watches TV or plays with their phone will know who Mr. Hunt is.""This woman asked such a boring question after so much trouble. I think she's here to wreck this place!"Like Victor, the other people gathered there teased and mocked her.Renee clenched her fists and suppressed her anger, explaining, "I mean, have you seen him here for the past three days?""The past three days..." Victor hesitated briefly, then shook his head. "No, there would have been an uproa
"What are you trying to do?" Victor sneered. "Are you planning to make a scene?""Honestly, I don't want to make a big deal out of this, so I'm trying to negotiate with you. If you refuse to cooperate… then I might make a scene." Renee's eyes glittered dangerously. "I'll give you three seconds to honor your promise to me, or else there's going to be trouble... Three, two, one!" When she didn't receive any response from Victor, Renee turned over the gambling table, creating a mess. "Ladies and gentlemen, please leave. I've got something to discuss with Victor." One was not enough; Renee walked over to another gambling table and turned it over even though there were people there in the middle of a gambling game.Renee was being reckless, and Victor had no idea how to handle the situation. "Hey, do you have a death wish? Stop this right now! I don't want any bloodshed here!" Victor went to Renee and grabbed her wrist anxiously. "You brought this onto yourself, so there's no use blamin
"No, I'm not!" Liam raised his hand to swear. "Trust me. They're just best friends. They're not in that kind of messy relationship. Both of them have a guy they're madly in love with.""I see." Amber watched how Renee and Leia fooled around intimately with each other in the cell. They looked like they were about to kiss! She shook her head and said, "What a pity! They look so lovey-dovey, better than many novels I read about where the women love each other.""You're hopeless!" It was rare for Liam to see such a straightforward and cute side of Amber. Amused, he poked her forehead and sighed. "Stop reading those messy novels! It's harmful."Their actions were loud and finally attracted Renee's attention in the cell."Liam!" Renee, pressed to the chair by Leia, couldn't escape. Finally, she grabbed a chance to leap up and walk to the door.Well… It wasn't a door. Rather, they were iron bars preventing them from escaping.The decoration and facilities in the room weren't bad. Be
Liam tensed up when he heard that voice. He quickened his pace and rushed through the corridor, toward the cell where Renee and Leia were locked up. Suddenly, he became flabbergasted and his face stiffened. For a long time, he couldn't regain his wits."Hey… What are you guys doing?"On a table lay barbecue, jerky, beer, and fruit platters. Meanwhile, both Renee and Leia were playing cards. Leia ran after Renee, then pressed her on the chair and said seriously, "Hey, gorgeous. You can't run away! You got the card for kissing me, so you have to let me kiss you. If not, you're trying to disobey the rules of the game!""Help! Help me…!" Renee kept resisting, amused and befuddled. "Get away from me! I'm a desperate woman who likes men! I can't kiss you! If I kiss you, I'm going to have nightmares… Oh, just kill me! Is there anyone who can save me?" Liam wasn't the only one standing at the door. Amber was also with him since she was following him. Watching Renee and Leia's antics,
"Hurry up and explain to her, then!" Amber said hurriedly. "Matt, you're close to her. You know Ms. Everheart and Ms. Osborne would never do that on purpose. Try to persuade her to let this go, and then you can immediately set them free.""I don't have a say in this." Mateo shook his head, pretending to be helpless. "You know how much Luneth dotes on her son. Ms. Everheart pinned him to the ground and beat him up. His head got injured and started bleeding. I heard it's a large cut with a lot of stitches. We can't let it go just like that.""But you can't—" Amber wanted to say more, but Liam interrupted her. He looked at Mateo, his eyes cold and fierce. "I know you set them up. Just be frank. Why did you do that?" "See?" Mateo sighed. He pretended to be aggrieved as he looked at Amber. "The guy you like is sinister. I kindly helped him, but he didn't thank me. He even accused me of setting this up… He always sees the worst in people. He criticized me in front of you and sowed di
Liam immediately noticed something wrong. He asked Mateo fiercely, "What do you mean?""Calm down." Mateo put away his gun and placed it back around his waist. "They broke the rules and barged into the orchard. Plus, they hurt Luneth's child. So, I locked them up for the time being."He appeared calm, as if he was discussing what he had eaten for dinner. He didn't feel that he had been over the line. "Go to hell!" Liam finally failed to hold himself back. He rushed over and grabbed Mateo's neck fiercely. "You can harm me, but how dare you harm them!"At the same time, Mateo's subordinates raised their guns and aimed them at Liam. The recently eased atmosphere immediately became tense again."Hey, don't!" Amber, all tensed up, braced herself to try and stop them. Even so, she was mentally exhausted."What? You want to strangle me?" Mateo was fearless. He grinned deviously and teased, "Cool it. I just locked them up, but they didn't suffer. They're fine. If you harm me, though, I
Livid, Mateo pulled the trigger without hesitation. However, he moved the gun less than an inch. The bullet passed by Liam's ear and hit an orange behind him.The fruit immediately blew up, its juices splashing on Liam's face."Aaaah!" Amber, terrified, trembled. Her eyes turned red, and she hurriedly tried to plead with Mateo. "Matt, cool it! Aren't you and Liam friends? You guys drank and chatted together in the past. You were so close to each other. How could you do this to him? Hurry up and put the gun away! If it goes off accidentally, it'll be over!"However, Mateo ignored her. His eyes were red as he glared at Liam. "Did you see the orange behind you? Let go of her now! If not, I'll blow up your head just like I did to that orange!""Is that all you got?" Liam taunted. He refused to let Amber go. He whispered to Amber, "Watch well. If he shoots me today, promise me not to marry such a man. I can use my life to knock some sense into you.""No!" Amber shook her head. Liam
"What bad timing!" Mateo's indifferent voice came from behind Amber.Amber turned around and saw Mateo with a team of armed soldiers. Terrified, she quickly put some distance between her and Liam. She stammered an explanation. "Matt… It's not what you think. Liam and I came here to look for people. Ms. Everheart and Ms. Osborne are gone. Liam couldn't find them and guessed they might be in the orchard. He wasn't familiar with the orchard and asked me to guide him."Mateo looked livid, but still cracked a gentle smile. "Silly, you don't have to be scared. I know you're prudent. He must have forced you to come here. I don't blame you."He extended his hand and beckoned Amber toward him. "Come here. You're my fiancee. You should stand with me.""I…" Amber bit her lip—Mateo was right. She kept her head low, about to walk to him.But in the next second, Liam firmly grabbed her wrist. "You can't go!" Liam held Amber's wrist tightly and shot Mateo a challenging look."When did Amb
Liam could only see through Amber's true thoughts if she showed her true self to him. "No, I do like you. I love you the most, and I want to marry you. But you neither like me nor want to marry me. You love freedom and Ms. Everheart. You love and yearn for the kind of life ordinary people like. So, I could only choose to give you up and let you get what you want. What else do you want me to do?" Amber was generally shy and reserved, but when Liam drove her anxious, she rambled a lot."Whatever I want is my business. You don't need to sacrifice yourself to grant my wish!" Liam held Amber's shoulders, acting like a kind senior. He tried to persuade her in earnest. "Marriage isn't a joke. Think it through. Do you like and know Mateo well? You won't be happy after marrying him, given the savage culture around here. And can you divorce him easily?""Matt will be nice to me. Even if he changes his mind, he'll still be nice to me because…my father is Benjamin," Amber replied.She chose
Being a sensitive woman, Amber immediately noticed Liam's displeasure. She kept her head lower and explained carefully, "I want a chance to choose again… I want to choose another person to fall in love with. You know that Matt and I grew up together. We're childhood friends. He likes me and always protects me without asking for anything back. I feel that it's happier to marry a person who loves me instead of marrying someone far beyond my reach."For the first time, she expressed the exhaustion she felt from her relationship with Liam. She no longer wanted to be the one who kept fawning over him. She wanted to give up and relax by being the one who was loved and adored in a relationship."Tsk!" Liam snorted arrogantly. "You don't know Mateo. He's not a nice guy. He's just good at pretending. Maybe it's just his means to get what he wants, but you assume that he loves and wants to protect you."Liam hadn't made that statement to purposely put Mateo down. After standing against Mate
Liam focused on holding Amber's hand and leading her through the orange grove. At the same time, he carefully scanned the ground and trees to find any related clues left by Renee and Leia."I don't care what others say, because I didn't do anything wrong," he said indifferently. "I hope you'll feel the same. I don't think you need to stop being my friend after choosing to marry Mateo. Am I not the friend you like the most?""That's different," Amber said.She followed Liam passively. At first, she couldn't adapt to it. After walking briefly, she felt better and found it easier to do. "Although I'm not good at my studies, I know men and women should keep a polite distance. You can't take my hand and sound righteous at the same time," she mumbled."Why not?" Liam retorted firmly. "When I was young, I always held my sister's hand wherever we went. I'm holding your hand because this fog is thick and the ground is slippery. I'm afraid of being separated from you. Just walk with me. St