When Family Became a Place I Couldn’t Return To novel Chapter 229

The casino settled up every eight hours. That gave them a window. If they could win big before the next tally, they'd buy themselves some time to figure out an escape.

But Brody knew the truth. Even if they got out of this place, they won’t walk away clean.

Nelly… she was the storm that turned his life upside down.

“Nelly…”

Brody’s thoughts drifted. When he turned, he realized the woman who was just beside him had disappeared. Usually, Nelly stuck close, barely a step behind.

He scanned the room. It took a moment, but he spotted her not far away, already sitting at a card table. She’d placed her bet and was waiting for the cards to turn.

“Nelly, what are you…”

He started to scold her for jumping in without him, but before he could finish, the whole table gasped.

Nelly had just won on the lowest-odds bet, tripling her stack in seconds.

She scooped up her chips, grinning as she looked over at Brody. “First round. Piece of cake.”

Brody checked the game. It was a high-low setup — quick, risky, and brutal.

“You just bet on the longest shot. If you keep going like that, you’ll burn through every chip we have,” he said, his voice taking on that cold, lecturing tone he always seemed to use with her.

Nelly didn’t flinch. “Come on, gotta test my luck. Isn’t that the whole point of gambling?”

Brody’s expression darkened. “This isn’t some arcade. It’s a casino, and this is not the time to be impulsive.”

“How am I being impulsive? I won. Did you not see that?”

Nelly shoved past him, annoyed that he couldn’t even give her a bit of credit.

“I say it’s ninety percent.”

Before he could react, Nelly pulled him with her to the front of the table. She pushed a third of their chips onto the bet.

“Nelly!”

But before he could say anything else, the dealer revealed the cards. Brody could barely believe it — Nelly’s bet hit again.

She was the only one who’d backed the long shot, so the payout was huge. Five times her bet. Her second win in a row.

Everyone stared as Nelly stuffed her winnings into a bag and walked off, cool as ever.

Brody snapped out of it and hurried after her. “You’re counting cards, aren’t you?”

He was already trying to make sense of it. By the numbers, there was no way she should have won. And yet, somehow, she kept beating the odds.