“Mark… run!”Mrs. Lawson’s scream echoed across the underground casino, but it was already too late. The moment Mark stepped forward, two guards grabbed him from behind and slammed him onto the marble floor.BAM!Pain shot through his ribs as his shoulder struck the ground. “What the hell is this?” one of the guards growled. “Another rat wandering into the wrong place.”Mark struggled against their grip. “Let me go! Those are my parents!”The room fell silent for a brief moment. Then laughter erupted from the group of men watching the scene. “A delivery boy?”“Is this some kind of joke?”“Ten million dollars, and their backup plan is a delivery driver!”The laughter grew louder. Mark’s face burned with humiliation, but his eyes remained fixed on his parents. His mother looked completely broken.His father’s cheek was swollen from the earlier slap. Something inside Mark snapped. “Let them go,” he said.His voice trembled, but the words were clear. “Please… they didn’t mean to borrow th

“You?”The single word rolled off Tom West’s tongue slowly, like he was tasting it. The entire underground casino erupted into laughter again. “A delivery driver wants to gamble?”“This is the funniest thing I’ve seen all year.”“Did the beating scramble his brain?”Mark stood quietly beside the gambling table, hands in his pockets, his soaked delivery jacket still clinging to his shoulders. The bruises on his face made him look even more pathetic.Which made the scene even more ridiculous. Tom leaned back in his chair, shaking his head with amusement. “You know,” he said, “people usually beg for mercy in this room.”His eyes swept over Mark. “You’re the first person who begged for a gambling seat.”Mark shrugged. “I’m not begging.”Tom raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”Mark pointed toward the deck of cards. “I’m offering to beat you.”The laughter stopped again. Kitara slowly turned her head toward Mark, studying him more carefully now. He didn’t look confident. He didn’t look arrogant either

For several seconds after Tom West spoke, the underground casino felt frozen in time. “…your parents belong to me forever.”The words echoed across the marble room like a verdict. No one laughed this time. Even the most ruthless men in the crowd understood what that meant. Slavery, Permanent.Mr. Lawson clenched his trembling hands. His voice came out hoarse. “No… no, we won’t allow that.”Mrs. Lawson shook her head violently, tears already streaming down her cheeks. “Mark, don’t! Please don’t gamble for us!”Mark stood beside the table, completely still. His mind replayed Tom’s words. One more game. All in.Across from him, Tom West leaned back in his chair again, watching calmly like a predator that had already cornered its prey. “You don’t have to accept,” Tom said lightly.“But if you walk away now…”He nodded toward Mark’s parents. “…they stay.”The threat hung in the air. Kitara suddenly stepped forward. “That’s enough.”Every head turned. She looked at Tom with a sharp glare. “

The hum of the city above seemed distant, muffled by the reinforced walls of the underground casino. Even though Tom West had left, his presence lingered in the room like a storm cloud that refused to pass.Mark stood by the gambling table, the four Kings laid neatly before him. Each card represented more than victory; it was proof that he had survived humiliation, survived fear, and for the first time, survived power. Yet, a strange chill ran down his spine.He had expected relief, maybe even celebration. Instead, he felt the weight of anticipation. Something was coming, he could feel it in the silence that followed Tom’s departure.Kitara walked slowly toward him, her heels clicking softly against the marble floor. Her sharp eyes were no longer the intimidating gaze of a billionaire CEO. They were calculating, curious, almost cautious.“You did something incredible,” she said softly, almost reverently. “I’ve seen a lot of gamblers… professionals, legends even. But none… none like yo

The night air was thick with danger, but Mark Lawson felt a strange clarity. Every chase, every threat, every shadow now had a purpose. Tom West had escalated the war, but Mark knew one thing: the delivery boy was no longer playing defensively.Kitara Vale parked the car in a dimly lit underground garage, hidden beneath one of the city’s abandoned warehouses.The space smelled of concrete, oil, and dust. A faint hum of electrical wires filled the air. It was the kind of place where secrets could hide and where Mark needed to plan his next move.“Safe for now,” Kitara said, her voice tight, scanning the perimeter. “But this is only temporary. They’ll find us if we stay too long.”Mark nodded, eyes already roaming the dark corners of the garage. “We need information. And we need allies. Tom’s reach is… unprecedented.”Kitara raised an eyebrow. “And you think you can infiltrate that?”Mark smirked faintly. “Not me. We.”Before Kitara could ask what he meant, a door at the far end of the