The casino was lively tonight, filled with laughter and sighs of disappointment. Some women pitched their seductive tones to appease men in the midst of the metallic pings and pangs of the different game machines.
Despite how loud they were, those noises were non-existent to Thompson’s ears. All he could hear was a resonating voice that screamed, “What do I do? What do I do? What do I do…”
He had lost all of his money, including the two million USD he borrowed from the loan sharks and the payment for his house. Losing the money that genuinely belonged to him was no issue compared to the pile of debt he now owed the loan sharks. Suddenly, Thompson felt out of breath.
He was fully aware of what the debt would spiral into. A never-ending increase of interest. It wouldn’t require a month before his debt would snowball into five million USD. Thompson had no way to return such an amount.
He soullessly wandered out of the casino. A familiar back appeared in his field of vision. It was Alice, passionately embracing some other man. She whined playfully and snuggled deeper into his chest. Before his eyes, she offered the man a warm moist kiss. Thompson stared at the man’s face hard. Wasn’t that James? The man who single-handedly brought him hell?
“You fucking bitch!” As he took in the sight of Alice and James making out in the parking lot, everything became clearer to Thompson. Everything in that game was nothing but a lie from the start till its end!
He stormed over to them. Before he could even get close, he collided into someone. Thompson was knocked onto the ground by the impact.
“Hey! Watch where you’re going!” The other party who had also fallen was a fuming Arabian.
Thompson was not in the headspace for petty arguments. He clambered up, just in the nick of time to watch Alice climb into a brand new Ferrari. In a blink of the eye, Alice was gone like the wind. Where was Thompson going to find James in this big bustling Sin City?
“I swear I’ll kill you all!” Thompson’s expressions morphed into something terrifying.
The Arabian on the ground seemed to be shocked by the unwarranted display. He quickly stood and ran away.
Thompson dashed to the parking lot and climbed into his military off-road vehicle. He began to follow the direction where Alice had left.
Sadly, a military off-road vehicle was not faster than a Ferrari. Thompson was quick to lose sight of that cursed luxury sports car. He then made the decision to drive to Alice’s apartment. Thompson had believed that if Alice willed to escape, she’d need to return to her apartment to pack her luggage. Her passport was still at home. She’d have no choice but to retrieve it if she was going to leave America.
Amidst the suffocating tension, Thompson received a call.
“Hey, Mister Thompson.” A cold, dark voice rang through the device. “You said you’d return my money after the game. I only agreed to lend it out of trust but you lost everything. When are you planning to return me my money?”
“Rest assured that I’ll return your money in due time. I just need more time.” Thompson chewed the insides of his cheek.
“Hmph! Your monthly salary is nowhere near ten thousand dollars. Even if you starve to save up, it’ll take you at least thirty years to repay my principal. What about my interest? More time will only mean increased interest. Are you planning to have me wait for two hundred years?”
“No, no, no. I won’t take long… I’ll think of a way to get you your money as soon as possible.”
“You have three says to sort this out.”
“Three days? How am I supposed to do that?”
“That’s none of my concern. Three days and if you don’t return me my money, I’ll go ask for it from your daughter. She lives in Manhattan, right? I heard she has a son too.”
“You…”
Doot doot doot. The line went dead.
“Fuck!” Thompson punched the steering wheel, causing the front wheels to swerve into a roadside palm tree. Vehemently, he straightened his course and slammed on the pedal. The military off-road vehicle zoomed forward.
The flames of wrath set his heart ablaze. Calming down was not an option now.
He did indeed have a daughter that resided in Manhattan. He loved her more than anything. His daughter was his biggest treasure in life, one that no one could ever replace. He could endure all the humiliation but he would never let anyone lay their hands on his daughter.
“I must get my money back! I must!” His heart screamed like a beast.
He made it to Alice’s apartment in record time. He noticed her brand new Ferrari parked on the premises. The sight of it had no doubt sparked another flame that clouded his conscience. He leapt off the vehicle, opened the boot and brought out a pistol from one of the toolboxes. He slotted the weapon in his belt and entered the apartment.
He did not bother to knock, directly lodging the extra keys Alice had given him prior in their relationship. With quick steps, he came to the door of her bedroom. The doors were opened and Alice was in the middle of packing her luggage.
Noticing Thompson in her proximity, Alice jolted frantically. But she was quick to recover from the shock. “Thompson, what are you doing here?”
Thompson scoffed coldly. “Alice, you’re thinking of leaving me so soon?”
Alice huffed, “You’re penniless and you’re in great debt! Why would I want to stay by your side? You’re not handsome and your cock is not impressive. You’re nothing! You’re nothing but a broke fuck right now!”
Hatred flashed through Thompson’s eyes. He screamed at Alice, “Don’t you dare leave me at a time like this! I’ve done plenty for you!”
“Hmph!” Alice snorted lightly. “I admit that you’ve done a lot for me but did I not repay that by sleeping with you? You’re a wrinkly old man and I’m in my early twenties. What else am I if not a gold digger?”
“We’ll talk about our relationship some other day. Tell me, did you work with that motherfucking James to deceive me tonight?” Thompson strode over to Alice. Rage and malice were overflowing out of his body.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Alice instinctively took a step back.
“Quit lying. I saw you leave with a brand new car. You bought that with my money, right?”
“What the fuck are you bullshitting about?!” Alice’s back made contact with her closet. There was nowhere else to run now.
Thompson abruptly grabbed a fistful of Alice’s collar and landed a punch on her cheek. “You filthy bitch! You fucking bitch! I treated you with kindness but you repaid it by deceiving me with another man! Return me my money! Give me my money!”
“Fuck off! Stop it or I’m calling the cops!” Alice heaved and huffed, pulling out her phone to threaten Thompson. There was some blood seeping out from the corner of her lips. Yet, she did not seem to be in pain.
Thompson pointed the pistol at her chest. “Bitch! Put the phone down and give me my money back! I’m demanding what is rightfully mine!”
Alice hissed, “I don’t owe you anything! Get the fuck out! I’m not involved with you at all! So what if I deceived you? Come on, shoot me! Shoot me if you dare!”
Thompson’s grip trembled.
Alice was out of control. “Since you’re so eager to know more about my relationship with James, I’ll tell you. He’s hot, he’s young and he’s bloody rich. He even got me in touch with a director to be the next generation Bond girl and not some fucking hooker! He’s levels above you in bed. Do you know? I don’t need to fake my orgasms when he fucks me! I’m more than willing to do anything for him!”
“Shut up!” Thompson went berserk, his hands went trembling violently at the provocation. Before he knew it, the finger he had over the trigger delivered the final blow.
Bang!
A red splatter of blood blossomed on the span of Alice’s chest. Her eyes rolled back and flew shut. Instantly, her body ceased all movement, almost as if she was deboned and left behind as a pile of limp flesh. Blood began to seep through her shirt, dyeing one side of her breasts maroon.
Thompson was stunned.
Tonight was no doubt the darkest day of his life!
Running footsteps were heard from outside the door, causing Thompson to frantically turn around. A few intimidating armed men had burst through the doors. Not only were they brandishing pistols but also terrifying shotguns.
“Put your weapon down!” Their leader shouted at Thompson. “Put that down or we will open fire!”
Clack! A few dark muzzles were raised at Thompson in unison.
Thompson was scared shitless. “Who… Who are you? I wasn’t planning on killing her. I messed up…”
“Shut up!” The muscular man roared. “We’re here for the money!”
As soon as Thompson realized that they were here to collect his debt, he felt some hope. He quickly followed, “Hadn’t I worked out a deal with your boss? He agreed to give me three days time to pay off the debt. Why are you here now?”
“The amount you owe is no small deal. Our boss fears that you may run away with the money. That’s why he sent us over to keep an eye on you. But you fucking killed someone!” The grizzly man whipped his palm across Thompson’s cheek harshly. His expressions were terrifying. “You killed the bitch with our money! How are you going to return our boss’s money? Bastard!”
“I…” Thompson was positively panicking now. “As long as you keep this a secret, no one will find out. That way I will be able to pay your boss back.”
“You little fuck! Do you want us to kill your daughter and grandson?!” The grizzly leader roared in his face.
“No… No, please. Don’t do that. I swear I’ll pay the money back. For real, I will definitely pay it back.” Thompson was pushed to his limit, tears were beginning to roll out of his rims.
“Fuck!” The big man hit Thompson’s skull with the back of his gun.
With a muted thud, Thompson’s vision welcomed a flood of darkness. He slumped over to the floor.
As soon as Thompson was knocked unconscious, Alice’s eyes flew open. She clambered up from her spot and gingerly probed at her moistened front. The woman huffed out a dry laugh. “This looks pretty convincing. What a pity for my clothes. This top wasn’t cheap.”
The menacing group of big men stared at her weirdly.
Alice was taken aback. “What are you looking at? It’s time to work. But I gotta say… Your acting skills were pretty on par.”
At this moment, an Asian man walked to the front. He fixated a cold gaze on Alice.
Alice tilted her head in confusion. “Where’s James?”
“You’ll find him in hell.” The Asian man snorted, “Idiot.”
Alice froze. “What are you talking about? Are you not extras hired by James?”
Without warning, the Asian man karate-chopped her carotid artery.
Eliciting a muffled groan, Alice crumbled to the ground.
The Asian man languidly squatted down to pick up Thompson’s discarded pistol. He removed the prop magazine inside and replaced it with its genuine counterpart.
It was only then that work truly began for the burly men. They took photographs and dragged the unconscious couple away.