I'm Victoria Corsini, the only daughter of the Corsini family's Don in Iberny.

The marriage alliance partner whom Father has picked out for me is Cesar Romano, the new mafioso upstart in the underworld.

Cesar is an ambitious man who intends to take over the casino industry in Navoles City. However, he's in the middle of getting oppressed by the alliance of powerful families due to his shaky foundation. In short, he might file for bankruptcy anytime soon.

This means his only way out is to marry me and ask for the Corsini family's protection.

In order to uncover his true colors, I put on a disguise and infiltrate Cesar's casino as a greenhorn dealer. On my first day at the job, I feel someone gripping my wrist tightly.

"What makes you think you get to deal in the VIP hall? You really think a nobody like you has the right to touch the chips here?"

I look up to see Liliana Conti, the casino's manager. She happens to be wearing an arrogant look at the moment.

Everyone else begins muttering among themselves.

"Liliana is Mr. Romano's beloved lover. He has stated more than once that he'll give this casino to her as a gift."

Liliana flashes me a contemptuous smirk. Then, she slams a tray of casino chips that are made of gold in my face.

"Drag her out of the casino and chop her hands off! Make her understand that I, Liliano Conti, am the one who determines the rules on Cesar's turf!"

I just chuckle icily in response. To think that I, the future mistress of this casino, am being threatened to get kicked out of the casino by a worker right now…

After shaking the bodyguards off me, I dial Cesar's number and set the call on speaker mode in front of everyone.

"Cesar, your manager is threatening to chop my hands off. She even declares that you've given her the right to set the rules in place.

"It seems that your casino doesn't really need the Corsini family's support, after all. I suppose we can call off our marriage, then?"

Before Cesar Romano could speak, a woman's sultry laughter came through the receiver.

His low voice rang out. "Baby, stop it. I need to take a call."

Anger surged in my chest.

"Cesar."

There was a brief pause on the line. Then, his voice turned sharp and impatient.

He asked, "Who are you? I'm discussing a business deal worth tens of millions of dollars. I don't have time for some crazy woman's nonsense."

With that, he hung up.

I, Victoria Corsini, tightened my grip on the phone. This was the fiance my father had chosen for me after exhaustive consideration.

We were engaged, yet he didn't even recognize my number.

Liliana Conti burst into shrill laughter.

She straightened up, and her chin was held high. She jabbed her red nails at my face. "Did you hear that? Cesar doesn't have time for you. You think you're worth his attention?"

Her voice dripped with contempt when she added, "And how dare you impersonate Ms. Corsini? Take a look at yourself. You're a worthless piece of trash!"

Liliana then grabbed a glass of whiskey and splashed it across my face. "Let me rinse you off, so that stench of poverty doesn't stink up our VIP hall."

The surrounding gamblers erupted into laughter.

"Hey, sweetheart. Get on your knees and lick the booze off the floor! Who knows? That might cheer Ms. Conti up, and she might just let you off the hook!"

Suddenly, Liliana pointed at me and shouted, "I knew something was off earlier! You stole the chips from the table when you were dealing cards!"

I didn't bother responding. I pulled out my phone, ready to tell my father that the marriage was off.

Liliana snatched the phone away. "You think you can leave after stealing chips?"

I frowned. In the next second, Liliana snapped her fingers.

Security moved in immediately, rummaging through my pockets.

One of them moved deftly, planting a chip in my pocket when no one was watching.

Then, he held it up high and reported, "Ms. Conti! Found it! It was in her pocket!"

Cesar's casino was famous for its chips made of real gold and silver. It drew both gamblers and thieves from all over.

Desperate regulars and seasoned crooks met the same end. Anyone who took money that didn't belong to them lost a hand.

"Here's another idiot asking for death. Where do you think Cesar will hang her hand?"

I raised my head and met the crowd's disdainful stares.

With a cold smile, I looked up at the surveillance camera above the table.

Liliana picked up on my intentions and sneered, "Don't bother. The cameras here just happen to be broken."

She then issued an even more vicious order to the bodyguards. "Strip her and search her thoroughly! I want to see if she's hiding anything else!"

The cheering grew louder. Someone even took out a phone, eager to capture the spectacle.

I watched the guards closing in and gave a humorless laugh.

"Wait," I called out, and everyone fell silent. They stared at me.

Liliana frowned in annoyance. "What tricks are you trying to pull now?"

I stared straight at her and spoke slowly. "Since we're telling different stories, and the cameras are down, let's settle this another way. Let's play a hand of blackjack on this table. If I win, you apologize to me in front of everyone and admit you framed me. If I lose…"

I paused and raised my right hand before continuing, "Do whatever you want with this hand of mine."

Liliana froze, then burst out laughing as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world. "Gamble with me? You're not worthy."

"What's the matter? Scared?" I shot her a provocative look. "You're a casino manager. Do you not have the guts to play a hand of blackjack against a rookie dealer?"

The crowd cheered, eager for the spectacle to unfold.

"Play with her, Ms. Conti! Make her lose and shut her mouth!"

"Exactly! This is your territory. What's there to be afraid of?"

Liliana's face flushed, then drained of color. She snorted coldly and responded, "Fine! I'll play with you. However…"

Her voice turned vicious when she continued, "If you lose, you won't just lose your hand. I'll make sure you disappear into the black market. I'll make your life a living hell!"

I ignored her threats and turned to the dealer standing nearby. "I'll shuffle."

The dealer glanced at Liliana. Only after receiving her tacit approval did he hand me the cards.

Liliana folded her arms. A smirk of contempt spread across her face as she waited.

I knew how tricks usually played out in a casino.

If the dealer pulled even the slightest trick while dealing, I'd lose for sure. However, my father had always said my hands were made for the cards.

The cards danced through my fingers as I cut, stacked, and flicked them with ease.

Everyone stared, stunned.

Even Liliana's expression changed. She hadn't expected a seemingly ordinary rookie to possess this level of skill.

At the end of the shuffle, I flicked my thumb lightly.

The top card spun through the air and landed squarely in the center of the table.

It was an ace.

Then I flicked out the second card the same way, placing it on top of the first.

I finished and slid the remaining deck back to the dealer. "Deal."

Liliana's expression shifted.

I had cut off every possible angle for them to play dirty.

As the hand progressed, her face grew paler. Sweat beaded on her forehead.

When it was my turn to draw a third card, I didn't even bother looking at my hand. Instead, I smiled at her and said, "You busted."

Her hand totaled 22. She went bust.

My hand totaled 21.

"No! Impossible!" Liliana's face turned paper white. She suddenly shrieked and flipped the table over.

She pointed at me and yelled, "She cheated! She must've cheated! Grab her! Beat her to death!"

Four bodyguards rushed at me.

I grabbed an empty bottle from the table and smashed it on the nearest bodyguard's head.

The sound cracked through the air.

Seeing that, the other bodyguards froze.

Right then, the doors of the casino burst open.

Cesar strode in wearing a black suit, followed by more than a dozen armed enforcers.

I had to admit, he was exactly my type.

The moment Liliana saw him, she burst into tears and threw herself into his arms. "Mr. Romano! You're finally here! This woman came to stir up chaos. She cheated and even injured our people!"

Cesar's gaze fell on me.

I straightened up and met his eyes. "Cesar, I'm Victoria Corsini, your fiancee."

I thought those words would be enough for him to grasp the situation.

However, he sized me up and said, "Who are you to impersonate someone from the Corsini family? Victoria is well protected. She's graceful and refined, not a lowly dealer slumming it in a casino."

To appease Liliana, he ordered me with contempt, "Since you're not without looks, kneel and beg Liliana for forgiveness. After that, stay here and work as a hostess."

I looked at him and announced, "The engagement is canceled. Cesar, trash like you isn't fit to marry into the Corsini family."

Cesar's face darkened instantly.

In his eyes, I had overstepped. A lowly dealer defying him in front of everyone? That was a death sentence waiting to happen.

"Very well." Cesar forced the words out between his teeth. All the warmth vanished from his gaze.

He let go of Liliana and ordered, "Since you don't want to be a hostess, we'll do this by casino rules. Pin her hand to the table!"

The dozen armed bodyguards behind him surged forward.

These were Cesar's elite enforcers. They were men with blood on their hands.

I could fight, but skill meant nothing against numbers, and they were armed.

I was quickly subdued. They slammed my face down onto the table.

Cesar walked up and looked down at me. "Liliana, do whatever you want with this thief. I'll take responsibility."

Liliana instantly stopped sobbing. She approached me with a twisted grin and picked up a chip case. "You love dealing with this hand, right? I'll make sure you never deal again for the rest of your life!"

Cesar leaned against the bar, lit a cigar, and watched coldly with interest.

Liliana raised the chip case and brought it down hard on my right hand.

Pain shot through my hand. I felt the burn through my entire arm.

"Ah!" I screamed in agony.

My body convulsed, and cold sweat soaked my back.

Darkness crept over my vision, and a high-pitched ringing filled my skull.

Just as I was about to pass out from the pain, the phone Liliana had snatched from me suddenly rang.

It was my father's encrypted line.

When Liliana saw the caller ID labeled "Dad", her face twisted with extreme contempt.

Without hesitation, she put it on speaker.

"Old man, your daughter stole from us, and I've ruined her hand! Do you wish to die too?" she shouted arrogantly into the phone.

After a second of silence, my father's icy voice came through, clear and calm. "Let her go. Otherwise, your entire family will die."

Liliana felt no sense of danger at all. If anything, she looked even more excited. She tossed the phone straight into the nearby ice bucket.

Then, she stepped on my mangled hand and dug her heel into it.

Agony tore through me again, and the world turned pitch black. I felt myself slipping away.

She bent down, grinning savagely at me. "No one is saving you today."