Aunt Ella didn’t hesitate for a single second. She pulled out the leather chair and sat down across from Pato with a triumphant, smug grin. She adjusted herself comfortably and slammed a heavy stack of chips directly onto the centre table. The dealer shuffled the fresh deck with mechanical precision, the sound of sliding cards filling the immediate space. Within minutes, the game was underway.True to her streak, Ella won the first two consecutive hands with unbelievable ease. Her chip stack soared past her wildest expectations, and the crowd surrounding their VIP ring grew larger by the minute as Whispers echoed throughout the smoky basement as casual onlookers and seasoned gamblers marvelled at the aggressive middle-aged woman wiping out every high-roller in sight.“Look at her go!” an onlooker whispered to his buddy, leaning over the rail. “She’s cleaning out the whole house without even sweating!”“She must have a god on her side today,” another gambler replied, shaking his head i

The dark back room of the casino smelled of tobacco and cold sweat. Aunt Ella sat on the chair, her hands trembling violently as two burly security guards stood over her like vultures waiting for a carcass to stop moving.Their cold gaze made her shiver, and she couldn’t utter another word out of fear of being beaten.“Five hundred thousand dollars?” Ella choked out, her voice barely a whisper as fresh tears streamed down her wrinkled cheeks. “I don’t have that kind of money. Please, let me go home. I’ll pay you back slowly, i swear on my life!”The manager walked over and slammed the heavy leather ledger onto the small desk directly in front of her face. The sharp thud made her jump out of her skin.“Pay us back slowly?” the manager scoffed, leaning down to grab her by the collar and yanking her face inches from his own. “Do you think this is a charity house, old woman? You signed every single slip. You gambled away your niece’s car, and you ran up a half-million-dollar debt with Chi

The line went dead.Everyone looked at Dennis, like he had provoked the owner of the casino.Within less than three minutes, the doors of the back room burst open, and Chief Luke himself rushed inside, flanked by four senior bodyguards.The moment Chief Luke’s eyes landed on Dennis standing casually in the center of the room, the powerful boss nearly stopped breathing. His heart hammered wildly against his ribs, and cold sweat drenched his back. Chief Luke knew with certainty that if Dennis’s true identity were ever leaked to the public or if his ordinary life were disrupted, Dennis would wipe out Chief Luke’s entire operation and family members before sunset to cover his tracks. Keeping Dennis's secret was literally a matter of life and death.Chief Luke quickly cleared his throat, forcing a stiff, authoritative mask over his terror. He turned to his casino manager and security guards with a hard glare."Everyone out," Chief Luke commanded sharply. "Take the old woman out into the

Aunt Ella lay curled up on the floor, her body shivering uncontrollably. Her face was severely swollen, her blouse torn at the collar, and dry blood mixed with grime smeared across her pale cheeks. The brutal beating from the inmates had left every joint and rib in her body throbbing with agonising pain."Hey, old woman," the scar-faced inmate, Jennifer, growled, stepping forward as she crouched down and grabbed a handful of Ella’s tangled grey hair, yanking her head backwards.Ella let out a pathetic whimper, her hands flying up to clasp the woman’s wrist. "P-Please, don't hit me anymore...""Shut your mouth and listen to me closely," Jennifer spat, her breath smelling of cheap tobacco and prison food. "When the warden comes down this hallway on his hourly rounds, you keep your eyes on the floor. If you utter a single word about what happened in this cell, or if you complain about a single bruise, we will make sure you don't survive to see tomorrow morning. Do you understand me?""I.

By 2:00 PM that afternoon, the heavy iron doors of the precinct visitation room creaked open.Aunt Ella was dragged inside by two guards. Her grey hair was wildly matted, her face severely bruised, and her left eye partially swollen shut from the beatings she had received in Cell 4B. She shuffled across the cold floor in heavy leg irons, weeping softly as she was forced down onto the metal chair across from the thick glass partition.She lifted her bruised head, expecting to see a police investigator or a public defender.Instead, sitting on the other side of the glass in a sharp, expensive suit, was Chief Luke.The same man who had arrested her.“What is he doing here?” she thought. Aunt Ella’s heart nearly stopped in tension. She gasped violently, her entire body trembling as she tried to pull back from the glass. “Y-You, the casino boss!” she wailed, her voice cracking with panic. “Please! Don’t kill me! I don’t have the money, I swear I don’t have it. Just let me call my niece,