Mysterious Trillionaire Kingpin

14: A challenge

He arrived at Gilbert's house and he was let in without delay.

Gilbert was in the living room, his phone glued to his right ear, and an angry expression on his face.

“Why didn't you give the phone to her? Did you tell her I was the one who wanted to speak with her? And I’ve been trying to get across to her since yesterday? Why the heck would she refuse to talk to anyone!” He yelled in anger, frustration edging his voice.

Noah hesitated. Was something wrong?

“Tell her it's important!” He finished and finally hung up.

Noah moved closer worriedly. “Is everything alright?”

“No, Jennifer has refused to answer her phone or do anything for three days. Instead, she isolated herself at the Il Leone casino!”

Il Leone's casino?

“Its the casino owned by your father. Though, it's being controlled by the fake Cedric currently,” he explained, then calmed down. “Don't worry, I have ordered her assistant to find a way around it. You will definitely see Jennifer today,” he reassured him.

Noah thought about it for a moment. “If Jennifer doesn't want to speak with anyone, her assistant might not even be able to communicate your message to her.”

Gilbert sighed. “It's serious that Jennifer isn't picking up my calls. It's so unlike her.”

“Alright. If Jennifer won't come here, then I will go and meet her.”

Gilbert released a sigh as if a heavy weight had just been lifted off him. “Alright then. I will drive you there.”

“There's no need for that. Just send me the address of the casino. I will handle the rest.”

Noah stepped out and ordered another Uber to the casino. Noah had heard of the casino before but he had no idea where it was located.

Il Leone casino was so popular in Casington. It was not only patronised by the mafia members but also by the citizens who just wanted to earn more money.

Noah stepped inside. He was met with a wash of light. There were crystal chandeliers spilling gold across polished marble floors. There were rows of slot machines chiming like metallic birds. 

And the air carried a mix of perfume, aged whiskey, and recycled smoke, thick enough to taste if you breathe in too deeply.

Card tables stretch across the room in orderly chaos, with players in front of them, some faces tight with hope and some with deep frowns.

Laughter bursts out suddenly, followed by groans that are quickly swallowed into clenched jaws.

Life is a gamble anyway, they say. And Noah was about to gamble his life by claiming the real Cedric.

“Come! Miss Jennifer is out! We need to go try our luck!” Someone said behind him suddenly. 

“But what if we lose? A lot of people have been losing for the past three days.”

“No, it's going to be a lot easier now since she has changed the rule from 6-5, to 3-2.”

Noah turned to the speakers, curiously. “Are you saying Jennifer is playing blackjack?”

The two men turned to him. 

“Yes! It has been going on like that for three days now. Only one person was able to win but guess what, he lost it in his next gamble.”

“Come, enough talk. Let's go!” The other speaker said with haste and pulled him along.

Noah watched them for a moment, different emotions mixed inside him. 

He remembered clearly now, things he did with Jennifer. Jennifer's favourite game was blackjack and she played a lot with Noah.

In fact, she ended up teaching him a lot about it. Jennifer was so good at blackjack that he lost to her several times.

But he trained harder. The first time he won, Jennifer got him some ice cream. And since then, he had gotten even better in the game.

He couldn't believe he would be playing the game with Jennifer again after so long.

Noah followed the crowds over to where Jennifer was. However, the lady sitting at the other side of the table doesn't look like the Jennifer he remembered.

She looked older and more mature, with a face he could only describe as beautiful. Even with the way she was seated, Noah saw her shape. She looked impeccably perfect.

The young girl he once promised to marry was now a beautiful young adult.

“Since I'm changing the casino rules for today, this will be a high-limit table!” Jennifer declared. “Which means you can only play with $100 and more per hand.”

Murmurs ensued immediately. 

“That's huge, compared to what we have been playing with.”

“Only a person was able to win. How are we certain we will win?”

“Well, it's now 3-2, think of how much we would be earning if we win.”

“I will be backing off.”

A lot of people backed out, while some moved even closer.

“I will start then!” a man said suddenly.

Almost immediately, another man sat beside him. “Let's do this. I'm betting $100 too!”

Noah didn't step forward. Instead, he watched. That was one of the lessons he learnt from Jennifer. 

Jennifer removed all the cards from the shoes and started to swirl and mix them in messy circles.

Then, she gathered the cards into stacks and started to shuffle them. She did it twice, a wide smile on her face. 

She inserted the cut card and looked up at the players.

“Let's play.”

She pulled cards from the shoe and placed two each in front of the players. Then she placed another two cards in front of herself, one faced up and one faced down.

The man on the left has a king and eight. The one on the right has a nine and seven while Jennifer's card has six.

“Hit,” the right man requested and Jennifer slid him a card. It was five. He sighed,  he barely escaped. 

The left man stayed with his eighteen. 

Jennifer turned her hole card. It was ten. That made it sixteen. So, she went for another card.  A seven!

“Bust!” The men yelled at the same time!

Both men won but the right man was happier because his chips doubled.

“Place your bets,” Jennifer announced again.

The men hesitated briefly. 

“Two games,” Jennifer reminded them.

“Well, I'm game!” The right man muttered with confidence. “I will increase it to $150,” he uttered, adding to his chips.

The cards were dealt again. The left man got ten and six, the right man got eight and eight while Jennifer's showing card was Ace.

Everyone hesitated as their gaze focused on the men now. What were they going to do?

The right man split his cards. Jennifer nodded once and dealt two separate hands. 

The first hand got ten, making it eighteen while the second hand got a three. So, he hit again and he got a king.

What! Bursted!

The left man hits with his sixteen and gets a queen. A gasp escaped him.

Jennifer smiled and revealed her second card. It was nine and that made it twenty.

The dealer won obviously.

One of the men dropped to the floor. “I lost $250 in the blink of an eye,” he lamented while the other man walked out of the place like a dead corpse.

“Is there anyone willing to challenge me further?” Jennifer announced and everyone stepped back.

People were suddenly scared of losing.

Oliver, who had been watching all this while and was already looking forward to an opportunity to talk to Jennifer alone, stepped forward.

“No one can compete with you, Miss Jennifer. You are the queen of blackjack. Everyone knows that already,” he praised her.

Jennifer scoffed. She didn't feel satisfied with the compliments. She wondered why there was no one she could play with. If Cedric were alive, just if, he would have been the best to play with.

Just as she was called the queen, Cedric would have been the king.

“Well, I'll challenge you!” A deep voice said suddenly, forcing Jennifer out of her mid thoughts.

Noah stepped forward.