Page 99 of Gamble

“Please don’t make me do this. I take responsibility, please, Leone, punish me, not them,” I plead, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Wrong answer,” he shoves the barrel to the back of her head.

“Wait,” I blurt out, the word ripping through me as defeat floods my senses. The heavy air in the basement feels like a vice around my chest, squeezing tighter with every breath I take. Leone cocks the gun, a smirk playing on his lips—he knows he has won.

Tears stream down my cheeks as the words tumble out of me, raw and aching. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” I can’t look at Sienna or bear to see the fear in her eyes that I put there. “It was Sienna,” my voice breaks. Her sobs echo through the dank basement, a soundtrack to this nightmare.

Suddenly, her husband’s hand flies across her face with a sharp crack, silencing her. She crumples inward, yet another victim caught in Leone’s cruel game.

Leone’s dark eyes flicker with amusement as he tosses the revolver onto the cold steel table with a clatter. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?” His voice is like honey laced with venom, sweet but deadly.

He leans close enough for me to feel his breath on my ear, his whisper sending shivers down my spine. “But I warned you about crossing me and what was at stake if you did.” His fingers graze the gun, and time seems to slow as he draws it with chilling deliberation.

Turning, he faces Sienna and then my father, the barrel shifting between them. My pulse hammers in my ears, each beat screaming at me to do something. But I’m powerless, the muscle relaxant holding me captive within my own body.

“Leone, please...” The plea is a weak thread of sound, lost amidst the tension that fills the room.

The smirk playing on his lips tells me he relishes every second of this torment. As he moves to stand behind my father, his eyes lock on mine.

“You gambled with lives; now watch me take them. Maybe now you’ll understand—the house always wins.”

“No!” My scream is visceral, my stomach sinking. My heart stops – everything stops. I stare, unblinking, my breath lodges in my throat as Leone pulls the trigger.

Bang.