The Heiress Lost Her Heart to the Man She Humiliated

Everyone in Atlantic City knew that Victoria Sterling, the Sterling family’s heiress, hated my guts. She even enjoyed humiliating me at parties. “The Sterlings built our fortune on gambling. Adrian Bennett? He’s a pretty face who can’t even tell the suits apart.” “I’d get more of a response from an inflatable doll than from bringing him into my family as a husband!” But our families had already arranged our marriage, and the impostor heir she loved couldn’t father children. So she forced me to the poker table. “If you lose, I want your best sperm. You’re going to give me a child.” I’d long since had enough of her torment. I chuckled. “Fine. But if I win, I want your womb, Victoria Sterling.” Everyone burst out laughing. They all thought I was hopelessly out of my depth. Who didn’t know Victoria was the gambling world’s infamous Phantom Hand? I lowered my eyes without a word. Yes. The Phantom Hand. After all, on that stormy night in Las Vegas five years ago, I’d guided those very hands and taught her to cheat for the first time. To save her life. With laughter ringing through the banquet hall, I calmly took my seat at the poker table. Victoria raised an eyebrow at my composure, looking almost interested. “Not bad. At least you’ve got some nerve.” Then her tone shifted, thick with contempt. “Too bad that’s all you have. Since you can’t even tell the suits apart, Mr. Bennett, would you like me to explain the rules of five-card stud?” I glanced at the green felt. An old, familiar feeling washed over me. Shaking my head, I raised a hand to stop her. “Thank you, Miss Sterling. Five cards. Four faceup, one facedown. Best hand wins. I know that much.” “Good. Since you understand, let’s begin.” Victoria curved her lips and beckoned to the dealer standing nearby. “Wait!” A syrupy voice suddenly rose from the crowd. “Victoria, stud is more fun with more people.” “What’s the point if it’s just you and Adrian? Why don’t you let me join?” Julian Hayes, the impostor heir, stepped out of the crowd in athletic wear. He walked straight to Victoria’s side, slipped an arm around her neck from behind, and gave me a challenging look. “You don’t mind, do you, Adrian?” He was crossing every line right in front of me, her actual fiancé. Victoria wasn’t offended in the slightest. Instead, she stroked his cheek and teased him. “Julian, now you’re being naughty.” “Adrian’s a beginner. Are you really going to join the table just to bully him?” Julian pouted, about to protest. I narrowed my eyes. From the side, this impostor really did bear a passing resemblance to me. Before he could speak, I cut in. “It’s fine. Whatever makes Julian happy. It’s only one more player.” “Dealer, you can start.” Victoria paused. My composure seemed to strike her as strange, but nothing about me suggested I knew what I was doing. Suppressing her doubts, she frowned and patted Julian’s waist. “All right, stop fooling around.” “If you want to play, go sit down.” Only then did Julian reluctantly leave her side and take the seat beside her. An attendant silently approached and arranged thirty million dollars in chips in front of each of us. Julian’s eyes lit up. At the same time, the dealer produced a fresh deck. He displayed it, broke the seal, selected the twenty-eight cards needed for the game, and began shuffling with dazzling speed. At last, the soft snap of the cards stopped. The game had officially begun. The dealer’s fingers moved, sliding a hole card facedown in front of each player. Then came the upcards—Victoria had the six of hearts, Julian the jack of diamonds, and I had the ace of spades. The dealer scanned the table and announced: “Under stud rules, the ace of spades is the highest exposed card. Mr. Bennett, you may bet or fold.” I acknowledged him, running my fingertips over the ivory-colored chips. But instead of pushing them forward, I suddenly sighed. I looked at Victoria with a hint of regret. “Miss Sterling, you went to so much trouble to get me to this table. Playing for nothing but money seems a little boring.” “Why don’t we raise the stakes?”Victoria looked at me and scoffed. Her expression said she thought I was an idiot who’d let one good card go to his head. “Of course. Since you brought it up, Mr. Bennett, tell me. What would you like to add?” Meeting her mocking gaze, I lightly tapped the ace of spades. “Sterling Group owns five percent of the new waterfront terminal project. Bennett Group owns three percent.” “I’d like to wager our three percent against your five.” “What do you say, Miss Sterling?” The banquet hall erupted. “Has Adrian lost his mind? That’s the new waterfront terminal! The Sterlings, the Bennetts, and several other major families spent years and a fortune fighting over that project. He’s just gambling it away?” “No wonder Miss Sterling doesn’t want him. How did the Bennett family produce such an idiot?” “Unbelievable. His grandfather worked himself to death building that fortune, and Adrian’s throwing it around like a whore tossing off her underwear. If I were the old man, I’d climb out of my urn and strangle the little bastard!” … Victoria clapped her hands. The sharp sound silenced the room. “Good. Very good! Since you’re showing such remarkable ‘courage,’ Mr. Bennett, how could I refuse?” “I’m in!” I nodded in satisfaction, then slowly turned toward Julian. “Julian, Miss Sterling’s called.” “What about you?” Julian bit his lip. He was an impostor. My mother’s family fortune had nothing to do with him, and our father, Richard Hayes, had married into the Bennetts’ money. What could Julian possibly wager? The thirty million in chips was already more money than he’d ever seen. His lips parted, but all he could do was look to Victoria for help. Naturally, Victoria couldn’t bear to see her precious darling embarrassed. She immediately spoke up. “Julian, go ahead. Whatever you want to bet, I’ll—” “Careful, Miss Sterling!” I raised my voice and cut her off, my expression cold. “This is between the two of us. You’d do well to stay out of it.” Lowering my head, I slowly turned the antique ring on my middle finger. It marked me as the Sterling family’s future son-in-law. Then I continued: “Don’t worry, Julian.” “As your older brother, I know you don’t have the resources to match that kind of wager.” I paused and slid the ring off my finger. It landed in the pot with a small click. “How about this? I’ll add my place as Victoria’s future husband.” “In exchange, if you lose, you publicly admit you’re neither Richard Hayes’s adopted son nor an innocent child mistakenly raised as his legitimate heir. You’re the bastard he fathered with the nanny while my mother was pregnant.” The room exploded. Julian went white. He slammed his hands on the table and shot to his feet, shouting at me. “That’s a lie!” “Dad adopted me! You’re just jealous that he loves me more, so you’re making things up!” “Victoria, don’t believe him! He’s slandering me!” Everyone there knew that nothing disgusted Victoria more than an illegitimate child. Years ago, a half sister who’d appeared out of nowhere had driven her from home, forcing her to spend five years struggling overseas. She’d nearly died abroad. Only a mysterious mentor’s intervention had allowed her to survive, return to the Sterling family, and reclaim everything. Victoria’s expression revealed nothing. She simply snapped at Julian: “Sit down.” Then she turned to me, a warning in her eyes. “I’ll get to the bottom of this.” I met her gaze as though I couldn’t feel the pressure at all. I even tilted my head and chuckled. “It’s just a wager, Julian. Calm down.” “If you’re afraid, you can fold. Why lose your temper and embarrass yourself?” My casual tone only enraged him further. He immediately shot back: “Afraid? Of course I’ll take that bet!” “I call.”With all three players committed, the dealer dealt the third cards. They landed faceup. Julian received the jack of spades. Together with his jack of diamonds, that gave him a pair of jacks—the strongest exposed hand at the table. Victoria received the eight of hearts. With her exposed ten of hearts, she had the beginnings of a possible straight flush. I received only the three of diamonds. Beside my ace of spades, it looked scattered and weak. I still held the highest single card, but my prospects seemed far worse than theirs. In an instant, the balance had reversed. The dealer gestured toward Julian. “A pair of jacks is currently the strongest exposed hand. Mr. Hayes, you may bet or fold.” Color rushed back into Julian’s face. He glanced at the pathetic three in front of me and nearly laughed out loud. Then the insults began. “An idiot’s always an idiot. Did you think getting an ace meant you’d win?” “No wonder Dad doesn’t like you.” He lifted his chin and gave me a vicious look. “Adrian, since you love raising the stakes, let’s make this simple.” “I’ll wager every piece of clothing I’m wearing against yours. The loser strips naked and crawls all the way around this banquet hall. Let everyone see exactly what you look like with nothing on!” “Do you dare call?” Under the crowd’s burning stares, I lowered my head and said nothing. My shoulders trembled almost imperceptibly. I looked too humiliated to speak—or perhaps utterly terrified. My face was pale. Victoria had been watching my apparent collapse without a trace of sympathy. But a shift in the chandelier’s light caught my lowered face, and something about my eyes suddenly seemed familiar. Something stirred in her, and she spoke before she could stop herself. “Adrian, if you fold now, I’ll let you keep the three percent in the waterfront project out of respect for your grandfather.” “But our engagement ends. And you’ll get down on your knees in front of everyone, bow your head, and apologize to Julian and me!” “Then we can consider this settled.” Victoria leaned back in her chair, her tone gracious, as though she were offering charity. “Think carefully before you answer.” A frightened silence fell over the hall. Everyone assumed I would take the escape she’d offered. But she had misunderstood. My shoulders weren’t shaking from fear or humiliation. They were shaking with excitement. It had been years since I’d met an idiot like Julian—someone willing to place his own fatal weakness directly in my hands. I slowly raised my head. Once again, I ran through every possible outcome at the table and confirmed the inevitable result. Good. Not a single loose end. “I call.” The words rang out. Everyone looked stunned, including Victoria and Julian. Victoria sneered openly. “You really have a death wish.” I didn’t care. Watching her dark expression, I spoke with amusement. “Miss Sterling, I’ve made my bet.” “Since you want me on my knees apologizing, let’s wager that too. If I win, you stop using your supposed love for your mentor as an excuse to find trash like Julian and turn him into a stand-in. It’s disgusting.” “That isn’t gratitude. It’s revenge.” The moment I questioned her feelings for her mentor, Victoria flew into a humiliated rage. Her eyes blazed as she snapped: “Shut up! What do you know?” “You have no idea how I feel about my mentor. You’re an outsider. Who gave you the right to comment?” Her chest heaved with anger. Abandoning all restraint, she fixed me with a venomous stare. “Fine. Very good!” “Since you refuse to appreciate my generosity, Adrian, don’t blame me for showing no mercy!” She whipped toward the dealer, speaking through clenched teeth. “I call!” “Deal the fourth cards!”The dealer flinched and hurried to obey. He immediately dealt the fourth cards. They turned faceup. Victoria received the ace of hearts. A straight flush was no longer possible, but with the ten and eight of hearts already exposed, she had a powerful flush draw. Her unrevealed hole card left plenty of potential. I received the ace of diamonds. With my ace of spades and three of diamonds, I now had a visible pair of aces. “No… No! How can it be the four of spades?” Before the dealer could speak, Julian cried out. His legs gave way, and he slid out of his chair, landing on the carpet with a heavy thud. All dignity vanished. In the process, his fingers accidentally flipped over his hole card. The queen of hearts. Four cards: a pair of jacks, a queen of hearts, and a four. That meant his best hand was already set. No matter what the final card was, he couldn’t beat my pair of aces. Julian was guaranteed to lose. The banquet hall’s silence shattered into gasps and whispers. Completely panicked, Julian forgot all about appearances. He scrambled on his hands and knees to Victoria’s feet, sobbing through tears and snot. “Victoria, save me!” “I can’t crawl naked around this room! I’ll never be able to show my face again!” Victoria’s expression was thunderous. But looking at a face that bore such a resemblance to her mentor’s, she couldn’t help softening. Swallowing her anger, she reassured him. “Get up. Stop crying. The game isn’t over yet!” “I’ll help you.” Then she drew a deep breath and looked at me. “Adrian, take my advice. Stop here.” “Fold this round, and you can take the thirty million in chips. I’ll also give the Bennett family another one percent of the waterfront project. In return, your wager with Julian is canceled. If we take this to the final card, things will get ugly for both of us.” “I assume… you’ve heard why they call me the Phantom Hand. You can’t beat me.” I shook my head, then laughed aloud. My gaze swept over Julian, trembling on the floor. I drew out my words, savoring every one. “My, my. You really do adore my little brother.” “In that case, I’ll—” Before finishing, I stopped smiling and shoved the mountain of chips in front of me into the pot. “Go all in.” “Victoria Sterling, I’m betting everything!” The crash of chips echoed through the banquet hall. I stared straight at her, each word cold and sharp. “If you insist on protecting Julian, fine. You can take on every one of his wagers.” “You cover him. If you win, all our previous bets are canceled. But if you lose, don’t forget what we agreed to.” “I want your womb.” Victoria stared at me, then laughed in fury. “Ha… Fine, Adrian. I really did underestimate you. You’re ruthless!” “If you dare make that kind of bet, why should I be afraid?” “Let me tell you something. Unless my mentor walks into this room, no one here can beat me!” She turned away and barked: “Dealer! Julian folds. Deal the final cards!” The last cards swept through the air and landed faceup. Victoria received the king of hearts. I received the three of spades. She stood, giving my cards a cruel, contemptuous glance, then slowly revealed her hole card—the seven of hearts. All five of Victoria’s cards were exposed: the eight, ten, ace, king, and seven of hearts. A flush. She looked at me with undisguised contempt. “A pair of threes and an ace. That last card you’re hiding must be a blank. Two pair at best. How exactly do you plan to beat my flush?” “Don’t blame me, Adrian.” “You brought this on yourself.” Julian immediately forgot his earlier humiliation and sprang to his feet. Vindictive excitement filled his face. He laughed shrilly. “You little bitch! Let’s see you act smug now!” “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure every major news outlet gets a good look at the video of you crawling naked around this room!” The banquet hall filled with noise, laughter, and the eager anticipation of a spectacle. Everyone thought the outcome was settled. I was finished. Yet my expression remained calm. Almost indifferent. I couldn’t even be bothered to glance at Julian as he strutted in front of me. My gaze passed through the commotion and landed on Victoria’s triumphant face. I slowly rose. “Victoria, is that what I taught you in that back alley in Las Vegas?” Her smile froze. Her pupils contracted as she stared at me. Her voice filled with confusion and shock. “You… How do you know about that?” “Las Vegas, the alley… Those memories belong to my mentor and me. How could you…” I offered no explanation. I only shook my head in disappointment. “You get a good hand, lose your head, and show your hole card too soon.” “You really… haven’t learned much.” Under Victoria’s disbelieving stare, I turned over the card I’d kept facedown throughout the game. It wasn’t the worthless card she’d been so sure I held. It was the three of hearts. My five cards lay on the table: three threes and a pair of aces. The entire hall went silent. “A full house. Three cards of one rank, plus a pair of another.” “Nothing spectacular. Just enough to beat your flush.” “Well, my apprentice? Have you learned your lesson?”