Chapter 326 - 326: The King of Gambling

*** At Grand SunCity Casino ***

After Jefferson Gong was killed two years ago and his illegal activities were revealed to the public, the Gong Casino immediately closed down by the government.

However, City Z wouldn't be complete without Casino. The hotel and casino industry was one of the famous attractions for wealthy men in noisy Cities.

Another Casino was built so that people in the City would have a nice place to play and gamble as well as to attract big spenders.

Among the different games in the casino, the game of poker was the most popular. With millions of cash prizes, progressive jackpots, and quick wins it's one of the most lucrative casino card games to play, but this game required skill to master.

And now, someone was rocking the Casino House tonight! The King of Gambling returned and he was back to town, playing poker in one of the card rooms.

It had only been an hour since he started playing but he already got consecutive wins, winning a pot every game set. He always tipped the dealer whenever he won. His opponents were losing lots of money already.

The dealer began the new round. The betting started once again. The King of Gambling was very relaxed on his seat, placing bets in front of him. By just looking at his face, they couldn't tell what he was thinking.

'He is playing poker and he is also wearing a poker face.' That's what his opponents were thinking.

His cards were in plain sight. He placed a chip on them while his opponents always kept their hands on their cards. The betting continued. When the round ended, he won another pot.

Other players could no longer continue. They couldn't believe that the person whom they called King of Gambling had this kind of great luck. They stood up and left the card room with a gloomy expression.

They looked very pissed off but they couldn't do anything about it. They had no evidence of whether that man was cheating or not. He unbelievably won every round since he started playing.

The King of Gambling and the dealer were the only ones who were left in the card room.

"Sir Congratulations! You won again. Here are your ch.i.p.s. You can exchange them in the Casino counter to claim your cash money." The dealer said to him cheerfully.

The dealer was very familiar with him because he became a regular customer of this Casino. The man simply nodded at him before giving him another tip.

After that, the man finally stood up, bringing all the ch.i.p.s he had won in the game. When he was about to leave the card room, someone entered.

"Charles…" the newcomer softly called his name.

"Master?" He also mumbled upon seeing the face of the person.

There was a moment of silence. The two men just stayed rooted on their spots, eyeing each other. Both of them had complicated emotions in their eyes.

"You are back." Charles plainly said to him, no hint of warmth at all. He was the first one to break the silence.

Phantom was dumbfounded after hearing the distant tone in Charles's voice. He didn't know what to feel at that moment. Charles was acting strange. He looked different from the Charles he had known before.

"What happened to you?" Phantom asked him worriedly.

"I should be the one asking you that? You were the one who disappeared." Charles responded to him coldly.

"Come with me. Let's talk somewhere, not here." Phantom said as he signaled Charles to follow him.

The two left the Casino. Charles was unusually very quiet during the entire duration of their journey. Phantom brought him to his place. After entering the house, they proceeded in the living room.

Charles sat down on the couch while Phantom went to the kitchen to grab two canned beers for them. He gave one beer to Charles. He gladly accepted it. Then Phantom sat down beside him.

"What are you doing, Charles? Why are you gambling again?" He started to question him.

Charles didn't respond. He just opened the canned beer and started to drink it. Phantom frowned seeing Charles's action.

"Charles… Talk to me. Are you mad at me?" Phantom confronted him. Charles merely gave him a bitter smile.

"Uncle Antoine told me everything. Why did you do that? I thought I was part of your family." There was a hint of bitterness in his voice.

Phantom furrowed his brows in confusion. "What are you talking about? Of course, you are my family, Charles. You are like a son to me."

Charles let out humorless laughter after hearing that.

"Then why did you and Elle send me away? Both of you deceived me! You persuaded me to leave City Z. No one informed me about your last mission. Am I really that useless in the eyes of both of you?" Charles began to vent his frustration and disappointment with Phantom.

"I was clueless of what was happening then suddenly I just heard in the news that Elle died! Master, why did you do this to me? I already told you before that I want to follow and serve Elle. You knew that I would offer my life for her. Why did you take it from me, Master? Why? Why did you send me away? I should have been there with her! Protecting her! But now… she's gone!"

Tears were in his eyes but Charles tried to look brave.

Every word that Charles threw at Phantom was like a knife stabbing his heart. He knew how Charles felt. Losing Elle was too painful for both of them. That's why Phantom couldn't blame Charles if he was mad at him.

Phantom clenched his fists. He was hurting inside. Even though two years had passed Elle's death was still a fresh wound in their hearts that would never heal easily.

"I am sorry, Charles. It was me who failed to protect her. I understand if you hate me." Phantom looked down, suppressing the urge to cry in front of him.

"But please don't think that way. The three of us are family. Elle and I didn't do that to deceive you. You are not useless. You are important to me most especially to Elle. That's the reason why she decided to send you away. She wanted to keep you safe, away from this dangerous life." Phantom started to explain the reason for sending Charles away.

"I knew you wanted to stay with her but after what happened to you, Elle blamed herself. She was scared for your safety. She requested me and I didn't have the heart to refuse her. She cared so much about you, Charles. She wanted you to be happy and start a new life."

"That's bullsh¡t!" Charles stood up, clenching the canned beer in his hand.

"Happy?! Start a new life? How am I supposed to start a new life and live happily without her, Master! How?!" He yelled. Charles could no longer keep his cool.

"If I had one regret in my life then that was the day I left City Z! I didn't know that day would also be the last day I would ever see Elle alive!"

After saying that, Charles quickly ran away, swung the door open, and left the house without looking back.