CHAPTER 105: CHAPTER 105: REPAYING IN KIND

After receiving Desmond Fairchild’s permission, Ace walked in.

Austin White was someone very adept at gauging the situation. Knowing Ace had come in to speak with Desmond, he immediately got up from Desmond’s chair and softly said, "The matter is resolved, I’ll take my leave now."

"Austin."

Just as Austin was about to leave, Desmond called out to him once more.

Austin stopped in his tracks upon hearing his name, turning his head to look in Desmond’s direction.

"What I mentioned earlier, I hope you’ll consider it."

Austin could see Desmond’s seriousness clearly, so he left without saying another word.

Meanwhile, Ace hurried in and placed the file he was holding on Desmond’s desk.

"Boss, I just found out that the person who hired the water army this time is Melanie Lloyd. It seems that Miss Sinclair’s statements at the press conference sparked Melanie’s malicious intent, resulting in a large number of water army appearances."

Desmond wasn’t surprised by this answer. The conflict between Melanie Lloyd and Seraphina Sinclair had existed for five years already, certainly not a short-term grudge.

Melanie must have underestimated Seraphina, thinking she was still as weak and isolated as she was five years ago.

"Boss, what should we do next?" Ace, seeing Desmond’s ruthless demeanor, knew he must have already formulated a plan to deal with Melanie Lloyd.

Desmond tapped his fingers on the desk and a bloodthirsty smile crossed his lips: "Of course, we should fight fire with fire."

Ultimately, Melanie needed to be dealt with by Seraphina to truly rid her of her shadow, but he didn’t mind causing her some trouble and making her life unbearable.

It was coincidental that after a huge argument with Ethan Lloyd, Melanie was in a bad mood and spent those days gambling idly at the casino.

"Hey, Melanie, you’ve had a good streak lately and won quite a lot of money."

During a break, several of Melanie’s friends at the casino gathered around her, constantly praising her good luck.

Indeed, since arriving yesterday, Melanie had won nearly a million, a streak she wouldn’t usually have.

After hearing her friends’ comments, Melanie was in a great mood and promptly handed two stacks of cash on the table to the person who spoke, saying, "You’ve got a way with words; here, this is for you."

"Thanks, Melanie. By the way, there’s a big game in our place today, with your luck being so good, don’t you want to give it a shot?"

After hearing this, Melanie was immediately intrigued, raised her eyebrows, and asked softly, "Oh? What kind of game? I’ve never heard of it."

"It was just set up today. It’s said that some well-known rich kids are coming, a million-dollar game, sis, don’t you want to check it out? With your luck, aren’t you tempted to win big?"

Melanie was initially interested, and his persuasion ultimately convinced her to take a look.

"Sure, I’m curious to see this game that’s being talked up so much!"

Melanie had been playing at this casino for years and had seen all kinds of games, but she had never encountered one so acclaimed by her gambling friends.

She certainly wanted to see what kind of scene it would be?

"Alright, sis, come with me."

Seeing Melanie agree, the smiles on their faces grew wider, and they quickly escorted her into a private room on the second floor of the casino.

At this moment, there were already a few people inside, but the game hadn’t started yet; it was apparent they were waiting for Melanie’s arrival.

"Oh, this must be Miss Lloyd, no rumors could match seeing her; she’s indeed beautiful."

The men sitting around the gambling table flattered Melanie as she arrived, keeping her engaged in conversation and laughter.

"I heard there’s a big game here, so how could I be missing? Come on, I want to see just how big you’re playing!"

Melanie, buoyed by her winnings that day, became greedy, thinking the bigger the gamble, the more she’d win.

But at that moment, Melanie never expected that after joining this high-stakes game, her luck would turn sour, losing consistently.

"Hey, Melanie, maybe you should step back, losing constantly might not be good, right?"

The people who had invited Melanie initially urged her not to play further, knowing her tenacious nature; she wouldn’t leave without winning today.

As expected, after they finished speaking, Melanie immediately took out a black card from her bag, slapped it on the table, and softly said, "What now? Think I have no money? This card has a million, and I refuse to believe I’ll lose it all!"

Little did Melanie know, this game had already been rigged, and as long as they didn’t want her to win, she would keep losing.

And with the stakes being high, the supposedly large sum of money was lost in under two hours.

Not only that, due to her excessive final bet, Melanie ended up owing them several million.

"People say Melanie is generous, and today I see it for myself. We little guys are in awe."

After the game ended, the men who gambled with her continued to praise her generosity, but Melanie’s face was now dark.

"Well... I didn’t bring enough money today; I’ll pay back the few million I owe you next time I come."

With that, Melanie quickly grabbed her bag, intending to leave, only to be surrounded with no way out.

"Hey, Melanie, this isn’t right. You’ve paid the main sum; why fuss over a few hundred thousand more?"

"Exactly, isn’t it pointless to keep playing if you can’t pay up?"

One of the gamblers began criticizing Melanie, and soon others chimed in with sarcastic remarks, the earlier praise gone.

Hearing all this, Melanie felt her scalp tingling, utterly at a loss.

Gambling was already against Ethan’s wishes. If he found out she lost several million, there’s no way he’d help her...

"I already said I’d pay you next time, why can’t you agree? What do you want me to do then?"

Ultimately, Melanie braced herself and said such impudent words.

She couldn’t let Ethan know about this, or the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Simple, if you can’t pay today, you don’t leave. David, tie her up."

At that moment, one gambler mentioned tying her up, and David, Melanie’s acquaintance of several years, complied without mercy, binding her up.

At that moment, Melanie’s eyes burned with hatred, yet she couldn’t utter a word.

"Melanie, don’t blame me; it’s your doing today. Why not call Ethan and ask him to send money over?"