Chapter 39: The Stakes Are Bloody
Someone nearby cursed under their breath, yelling at the guy to hurry up. Yunice looked around and figured this was probably some kind of upscale gambling den.
They walked all the way to the back. Jordan pulled back a curtain and stepped through first. Just as Yunice was about to follow, someone suddenly tumbled out at her feet. The man was curled up on the floor, screaming in pain, clutching his thumbโwhich was goneโand gushing blood.
Yunice didnโt even flinch. She hated being hit, but blood and gore didnโt scare her. She calmly stepped over the injured man and stood behind Wyatt, alongside Jordan, careful to avoid standing dead center and drawing attention.
As her slight frame passed by, Wyattโseated at the card tableโglanced at her out of the corner of his eye. He twirled a domino between his fingers, then set it aside and leaned back, finally looking at the man bleeding on the floor.
Someone crouched down and yanked the guyโs hair to force his head up. โYou knew the pill had side effects, and you still pushed Wyatt to sign off on it in bulk? How much did the Powell family pay you?โ
Yuniceโs fingers clenched. She instinctively glanced at Wyatt. Am I even supposed to be hearing this?
Wyatt didnโt say a wordโjust watched, entertained. He couldnโt stand up, let alone beat anyone himself. Stuff like this, he never got directly involved in.
The guy on the ground sobbed and pleaded. โNo, Wyatt, I swearโthereโs no way I knew the Alphasirox pills had side effectsโฆโ
Before he could finish, there was a flash of metal. He let out another blood-curdling screamโhe was no longer clutching just his thumb, but his entire hand. Four fingers had been chopped clean off.
And it wasnโt over. The bald man with the knife grabbed the guyโs other hand, clearly ready to do the same. The man broke down. โIt was Jensen! Jensen gave me ten million!โ
The bald man pressed a foot down on the guyโs one good hand, waiting for more. The manโs face was ashen. He kept gasping, licking his lips between each word. โJensen told me to cover up the side effectsโฆ Once the drug hit the market, Wyatt would be hit with massive lawsuits, Huaxinโs reputation would crash, and the old man would never acknowledge him as part of the Powell familyโฆโ
Yunice looked at Wyatt again. So heโs the old manโs illegitimate sonโand Jensenโs biggest threat.
Jensen was pushing forty with a mediocre career, so of course, he saw Wyatt as a thorn in his side. And Wyattโwhile sharp in businessโwas constantly backstabbed by his own people. He didnโt know medicine, so he had to trust whatever the department heads told him. Thatโs how heโd almost walked straight into a trap.
Once the guy had confessed, he was useless. The bald man hauled him up by the jaw and dragged him out. As the guyโs terrified gaze briefly met hers, Yunice quickly turned her back so he couldnโt see her face.
The moment he was gone, a cleaning crew came in to mop up the blood. No one batted an eye. They just went right back toโฆ
Yunice glanced at the dominoes on the table and shook her head. He didnโt seem disappointed. Still lounging lazily, he gestured toward the table. โHelp me draw.โ
The young man across from him grinned. โOh ho, Wyattโs had rotten luck all morningโfinally switching it up for some lucky hands, huh?โ
โWomenโs hands are always lucky, right? Watch, next round Wyattโs gonna turn it around!โ
Another guy pulled up a chair for Yunice right beside Wyatt. She glanced at him. He was looking down at his phone, clearly not paying attention to the game.
When it was her turn to draw, she hesitated a moment, then picked two tiles and placed them face-down on the table. The other three players used their fingertips to feel the dots on their tiles.
Yunice peeked again at Wyattโhe still wasnโt playing. So she quietly felt her way through her own tiles while reading the othersโ expressions.
The loudest one flipped a tile with a dramatic flair. โNine! Whoโs raising?โ
Yunice was playing for Wyatt, so naturally she didnโt add anything. After some joking and bickering, the other three all revealed their handsโnothing impressive.
Yunice glanced at them, then laid down her two tiles before anyone else could. The three men paused, caught off guard.
โDouble ninesโฆ Not bad!โ Two of them threw their own tiles in, then looked at the last guy. Seven-seven, eight-eightโnot nine. If he had nines, he couldโve had triple bottom, double nines, or even a king pairโall stronger than Yuniceโs hand.
But to everyoneโs surprise, he sighed dramatically. โUgh, busted, busted.โ Then he pushed his tiles away.
โAll that noise and you pulled junk.โ
โPay up, pay up! Congrats to our boy Wyattโfinally got a win!โ