The Midnight Heir

IT’S A NUMBERS GAME

Before coming to the casino, Anthony had first spent some time in a movie cinema, and towards the evening was when he arrived at the Jade Casino, walking over to one of the busy roulette tables.

He had a sack in his hand that contained all of his betting chips. He had bought $5000 worth of chips which he’s used and lost and now he only had $500 left.

There were already two very wealthy men, brothers, playing a game of roulette when he arrived at the table.

They had a stick of the most expensive cigar sold within the casino in their mouths, and even the lighter they use was more expensive than everything he had on him.

"Where do you think you're going, pig?!" One of the bodyguards of those two men blocked Anthony's path, stopping him from getting closer to the roulette table.

"I'm just trying to place my bet after this round" Anthony said, trying to act cool so that this mountain of a bodyguard doesn't hurt him for no reason.

The bodyguard took a good look at Anthony, from head to toe disgustingly, snorted, and then said "You don't belong at this table pig, keep it moving before I hurt you!"

"Come on, just one game." Anthony persisted but this guard wasn't having it, he continued to block Anthony from seeing the roulette table.

"Walter, what's going on?" Finally, the older one among the two brothers spoke out in annoyance.

"It's this monkey, Sir Tate. I've been telling him to get out of here but he refuses" Walter clenched his fist.

Because he was covering Anthony from being seen by the two men, it intrigued them just enough to want to see what he looks like and nothing more.

"Who is that clown, anyway?" The younger Tate brother asked, clipping off the end of his cigar which prompted Walter to reposition himself so that Anthony could be seen.

"??" Both brothers weren't impressed by what they saw.

"Alright, that's enough. Get that fool out of here!" The older brother instructed, rolling his eyes and going back to focus on their game

"Alright pig, you heard what the boss—" Walter was cut off by Anthony who looked desperate.

"Wait! What if I guess correctly the outcome of your game, then will you allow me to play?" Anthony proposed but Walter wasn't having any of it.

Infuriated that Anthony was still there, Walter grabbed him by the collar, wanting to start pulling him away when…

"Hold up Walter, this sounds like it'll be interesting, certainly more interesting than just watching the wheel spin. Let's give the pig a chance to prove himself!" said the younger brother while lighting the cigar.

He turned to his older brother and asked "I hope you have no issues with that brother?"

The older brother shrugged nonchalantly, showing his indifference to the situation.

"Alright, you heard the bosses!" Walter said then he pulled Anthony by the collar towards the Tate brothers, letting go abruptly which caused Anthony to almost fall but he managed to regain his balance inches away from the table.

"Alright pig, you have our attention until the ball stops so make your prediction! Oh, I forgot to mention this but if you get it wrong, Walter is going to break your jaws and take out all your teeth and fingernails, got it?!" The younger Tate brother frowned.

Anthony's heart started to beat faster. He only had one chance at this but there was no going back so he firmed his mind and said 

"Seven, the slot will be seven!" 

Everyone watched intently, wanting to see if the prediction will be correct or not, and then finally the ball landed on a number.

"Hmm!" Both brothers exclaimed and then the dealer announced the result

"It's on...SEVEN!" The dealer exclaimed.

"Woah! How did you do that?" Walter couldn’t believe his eyes.

He slapped the top of Anthony's shoulder innocently, causing him to flinch in pain.

"I was just lucky I guess… hehe" Anthony replied awkwardly meanwhile the older Tate brother glared at him through the corner of his eyes suspiciously.

He couldn't believe that it was just a simple guess that came out playing in Anthony’s favor.

"I guess a deal's a deal," the younger Tate brother said, sweeping his hand towards the roulette table and giving Anthony permission to join.

"What's wrong brother? You keep staring at the pig," the younger brother noticed his brother's glare

"It's nothing!" The older brother responded after dragging a puff on the cigar and then turning to the dealer "Do us one more spin!"

The dealer waited for all of them to drop their betting chips on the table and they did.

Both Tate brothers dropped chips equating to a sum of $10,000 and when it got to Anthony, he emptied the sack on the table too.

"Five hundred dollars? How cheap!" Walter remarked, folding his arms and shaking his head in disappointment but none of the men who were partaking in the game cared to respond.

The dealer started the game.

"What number are you choosing, Sirs?" Asked the dealer, looking disappointed at only Anthony because he had placed a bet with the least amount any customer had ever used in his entire career.

How can Anthony bet with $500 when the Tate brothers are betting with $10,000, the dealer thought and was disappointed.

"I'll go for seven" the younger Tate brother grinned.

"Mine will be eleven, like always," the older Tate brother said before turning to Anthony by his left side.

"To make this game a little more interesting, why don't the both of us make a bet of our own, right now!" he said and everyone's ears twitched with excitement.

"What type of bet?" Anthony smirked, wondering where this could be going.

"If you guess correctly this time around then not only do you win this game but I'll also wire a million dollars straight into your account and have a spot in one of my companies open to hiring you straight away!" he said and Walter's jaw dropped. "So, what'll your answer be?"

Anthony thought about it for a short time before chuckling "Do me in for two, please!" He said to the dealer.

"I'll take that as you accepting my challenge, great!" The older Tate brother grinned then they all watched the wheel and he said "just curious, but why two? Is it your lucky number?"

The wheel started slowing down and everyone waited anxiously to see if Anthony was going to get it right a second time.

Almost at the point where the ball would land on a number, Anthony finally answered "Honestly, I hate the number two. However, my favorite number is THREE!" 

The ball finally stopped on a number.

"???" Everyone's eyebrows creased.

Their confused eyes couldn't stop looking at the number the ball stopped on when the dealer exclaimed "And it's three!"

"What the hell! I don't know if that was just unlucky or planned" the younger Tate brother scoffed in disbelief.

Even though Anthony had lost and couldn't bet anymore, they all found it concerning that he didn't seem bothered by his loss. Rather he brought out his phone and was replying to a message.

"Did you lose the bet on purpose? You could have won and I would have changed your life if only you went with your gut number, three. That wasn't a coincidence, was it?" The older Tate brother asked Anthony, looking disappointed.

Anthony wanted to leave but had to respond to what the older Tate brother had asked. He said "It's not that I didn't want to win the bet but the thing is I'm not allowed to, not if I don't want to open up more problems for myself"

Anthony left and they were all dumbfounded. The older Tate brother looked even more surprised than all of them, saying “It can’t be him, can it?”

The younger brothers noticed his expression and asked "What's on your mind, brother? Looks like you're trying to remember something or like you've seen a ghost. I know that was shocking but still"

"Tristan, do you remember that story I told you about the time I spent our rent money at a casino?" asked the older Tate brother.

"Hmm, I don't think I remem— wait, I do! The story is about a kid who always won at casino games. What about it brother?" Tristan Tate inquired.

"Do you remember what game I said I saw him play that day?"

"It was the roulette. Wait, you don't think—?" Tristan was interrupted

"That day the organizers barred him from all their casinos, then they forced him to confess how he was getting consistent wins in games that require luck to win"

"Wait, you never told me this part of the story, what did the kid say?!"

"I don't know if I believe it but the kid said he could see where the ball will land before it does and that his brain does all the calculations on its own like some kind of psychic"

"What?! You can't be serious! What the hell happened to the kid?" Tristan was in shock

The older brother shrugged "I don't know, but from those terrifying blue eyes he had, I don't think he lived a normal life after that"

Tristan started to ponder "But wait, is the fact that you're bringing this up now a coincidence, or do you think that pig is somehow related to that kid?"

"I don't know, but I get a similar vibe from both of them." The older brother said then continued "I might be wrong because the kid had black hair but who knows"

"S Dust!" Walter exclaimed, interrupting them.

"What was that Walter?" Tristan asked

"I think I remember hearing about a young fellow who was involved in shady sh*t back in the day who fits that profile perfectly. Extremely smart, black hair, blue eyes but also very, unhinged."

"Really?!"

"I think so. From the rumors, he would do anything to get back at anyone who wrongs him, but it might just be rumors. I can't remember what his name was, all I can remember is S Dust. I think it was a code name but I can't remember what that S stood for"

Outside, Anthony had already gotten far from the casino and was in front of a junction with the name NEON GROVE Street. written on the signpost.

A woman was already standing there with a silver suitcase beside her. She wasn't aware that he was walking up to her, not until he was close enough and called her name.

"Annabelle!"